SUNRISE REGION: Rancho gets payback against Green Valley
Jahmela Muhammad couldn’t be blamed if she was thinking about revenge on Thursday.
Instead, it was the furthest thing from Muhammad’s mind.
The junior forward scored one goal and set up another in the first half as Rancho beat Green Valley 3-1 in the Class 4A Sunrise Region girls soccer semifinals at Bettye Wilson Park.
It was a small measure of payback for Rancho, the top seed from the Northeast League, which fell 4-0 to Green Valley in the regional final last season.
The Rams (15-1) meet Southeast League No. 1 Coronado in the title game at 6 p.m. Monday at Bettye Wilson.
“This is a whole different thing,” Muhammad said. “We know they lost 13 seniors (from last year’s team). We were more confident. We weren’t really even thinking about it.”
The Gators (15-2-1) were seeking their fifth straight regional title and fourth consecutive appearance in the state title game, but their inexperience was too much to overcome against a talented Rancho squad.
The Rams have won 10 in a row, outscoring their opponents 49-6 during the streak.
“Good luck if anybody wants to try to beat those guys,” Green Valley coach Joel Parks said of the Rams. “They’re fast, and they can finish.
“But I’m proud of my kids. I have no complaints.”
“But I’m proud of my kids. I have no complaints.”
Muhammad’s cross from the right wing set up junior Alyssa Williams for Rancho’s first goal in the third minute. Muhammad then made it 2-0 in the 13th minute when she took a pass from Zakiya Bywaters, fought off Green Valley defender Megan Brickley and tucked the ball past goalkeeper Kylie Lowe.
“We wanted to play possession, start off strong and end strong,” Muhammad said.
Green Valley closed within 2-1 as sophomore Kayla Varner converted in the 14th minute off a feed from Christina Schrader. But the Rams added the clincher 16 minutes into the second half as sophomore Lexa Green beat Green Valley’s offside trap and scored for a 3-1 advantage.
“We’ve got talented players that are able to do things individually,” Rancho coach Sarah France said. “But cohesively, as a team, we didn’t play with possession the way we like to.
“We have a lot of work to do to get ready for Monday.”
Coronado 4, Silverado 1 — Senior Veronica Subu finished with a goal and an assist to help the short-handed Cougars beat the Skyhawks in the Sunrise Region semifinals.
Coronado (15-1-2), the Southeast League champion, carries a 16-game unbeaten streak into Monday’s final against Rancho.
“They kept hammering away and didn’t give up,” Cougars coach Dana Neel said of her team.
“They kept hammering away and didn’t give up,” Cougars coach Dana Neel said of her team.
The game was delayed for nearly 30 minutes in the first half when Silverado senior Shelbi Spooner suffered an apparent broken left leg following a hard tackle by Cougars goalie Alexis Mansoor and was taken off the field on a stretcher. Mansoor was assessed a red card, and Coronado played the final 73 minutes with 10 players.
“Any time you see a friend and teammate go down, it’s hard,” Skyhawks coach Jenna Carter said. “They came together and tried to play for her.
“She’s one of our captains and a leader on the field. Missing her definitely affected our play.”
Taylor Richard converted the ensuing penalty kick to put Silverado (9-6-3) on top 1-0 before the Cougars stormed back with three first-half goals.
In the 11th minute, Silverado goalie Samantha Lewis slipped trying to clear the ball, and it went right to Subu, who put it into the empty goal to tie the game.
Leticia Lopez then scored off a long free kick in the 22nd minute before Grace McConnell’s blast just before halftime deflected off Lewis’ outstretched hands to put Coronado up 3-1.
“All we had to do was stay calm,” Neel said. “They had heart and didn’t get down.”
Subu, who has signed with New Mexico State, also set up Nataly Yosef three minutes into the second half for a -1 lead.
