Coronado girls soccer defeats Liberty thanks to goals from Ryan Neel

Coronado’s girls soccer team just missed on a few scoring chances Thursday at Liberty that would have tied the game between two of the state’s top programs.

But the Cougars ultimately found the back of the net when they needed to the most.

Coronado scored three goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation plus stoppage time to earn a 4-2 road win against the Patriots. The Cougars, ranked No. 1 in the Review-Journal’s Class 5A rankings, handed second-ranked Liberty its first loss of the season.

“The style we were playing, we were managing the game well and that’s what I told them at halftime: To keep doing (what) we’re doing and the goals will come,” Coronado coach Dana Neel said. “It’s fun to see the hard work, dropping back and winning the ball, to see all that pay off. We brought the fight and showed our colors.”

Ryan Neel scored twice late for Coronado (10-1, 6-1 5A Southern League) to turn the game in her team’s favor.

She headed in a pass from Jazmine McCallum to tie the game, then scored again in the 79th minute to put her team ahead 3-2.

“I saw the ball coming in and I was hungry for the ball and I wanted to get it in on the first header,” Neel said. “Then on the second one, it was a perfectly bouncing ball and I just cracked the heck out of it.”

Liberty (5-1-2, 5-1-2) had a chance to answer in stoppage time, but Ayva Jordan’s shot attempt from a few yards out drifted over the top-left corner of the goal. Abby Obregon scored Coronado’s final goal in stoppage time.

“(This win) was everything for us,” Ryan Neel said. “I think we’re on the right track for the season. … Our hunger was there and we all knew we could get (the win).”

Asia Moises put Coronado up 1-0 in the 12th minute. The Cougars’ lead didn’t last long. Jordan scored from almost 30 yards out and then drilled a penalty kick to put Liberty ahead 2-1.

Coronado had a tough time getting shots past Patriots goalie Brooke Kramer, who came up with several saves before the Cougars broke through late.

Coronado, the defending 5A state champion, suffered its first loss of the season Tuesday at home against No. 4 Bishop Gorman. Dana Neel said there was “quite a bit of fine-tuning to do” after the loss.

“Every game that we play, we’re growing,” Neel said. “We learned a lesson the other day against Gorman and each time we play. It’s what layers can we add to ourselves. Tuesday was a new layer that we added and we just got to keep growing.”

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.