At the winter break, Kern Valley High School girls soccer is 4-3 overall, with a 2-2 mark in High Desert League play.
A win-one-lose-one soccer dance season for the Lady Broncs began with a 9-0 stampede over Mojave, followed by a tight 1-0 loss to Summit Charter Academy. A 2-0 shutout of Frazier Mountain was followed by a 3-1 loss at Desert. Then came a 3-1 win over Mojave, followed by a 2-0 loss to Mammoth. The first half ended on a high note, with a return to the win column in a 5-0 shellacking of Boron.
Kern Valley girls soccer coach Paul Armes said injuries have plagued the team, but the results have been about as expected.
“On paper I had us at 5-2, so we’re not far off,” Coach Armes said. “Injuries set us back a bit, but everyone is healthy now. We just have to deal with having a huge break mid-season.”
Coach Armes said his biggest positive surprise has been in the goal.
“Our goalkeeper, Isabelle Mosqueda, has really stepped up and filled a huge hole on the team,” Armes said.
On the downside, Armes said his biggest disappointment this year was losing to Desert, 3-1.
“We had a key player out and we didn’t play well,” Armes said.
During the winter break, the team hit the practice field. Armes said the squad would stick with the plan.
“Our focus from the beginning was to improve our first touch, passing and taking more shots,” Armes said. “That’s what we work on in practice.”
With nine scheduled games remaining in the regular season, Armes said he expects the team to win.
“Our goal is nine wins the rest of the way. We have to play very well to get there against some tough teams,” Armes said.
So far on the stat sheet, the Lady Broncs have scored on 20 of 24 shots on goal. Alex Armes and Kylie Weeden lead the team with five goals each, Alaina Check has scored four goals and Aspen Hacker has three tallies. Shirley Mondragon, Karla Lozano and Mitra Kiosef each have one goal. Kayley Sietsma has assisted on four goals, Armes has two assists and Ellie Allen and Mondragon each have an assist. Minding the net, Isabelle Mosqueda has 24 saves.
The next game on the schedule was Jan. 10 against Rosamond (4-6). Game results were unavailable at press time. The Lady Broncs host Cal City, Jan. 12, and travel to Bishop Union, Jan. 17, followed by a road game at Mammoth, Jan. 19.
.