Southwest girls beat Imperial, 2-0
IMPERIAL — The Southwest and Imperial high school girls soccer teams met for the first time this season Tuesday night at Shimamoto-Simpson Stadium for a match that echoed their two closely contested matchups last season.
The difference was, the Eagles were able to walk away from this one with the win, 2-0.
Last year’s games ended in a 1-1 tie and a 2-0 victory for Imperial. The Eagles didn’t forget.
“We wanted the redemption,” SHS senior Veronica Saavedra said. “Actually, me and my friends we’re like, ‘We want the win.’ We wanted to show that we can get this back, and we did.”
While Saavedra and her teammates may have had the Tigers highlighted on their 2018 schedules, Southwest’s head coach Lluvia Montero saw her team’s matchup against Imperial as something of a fresh start.
“We didn’t want to bring in anything from last year,” Montero said. “We honestly did not talk about it or mention last year at all, but we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We kind of took that upon ourselves to see this as a fresh start and to come out hard. We had to set the tone starting with a win. That’s kind of what we wanted, and we definitely did it.”
Fresh start or not, the Eagles’ win was the result of its experienced players, as the team’s first goal came from a Saavedra shot from just outside the right side of the penalty box at the 29-minute mark of the first half.
“I just wanted to shoot. I just wanted to win. I just wanted to score,” Saavedra, normally a midfielder who played forward for the night, said. “That’s what we needed, and the good thing is that it did happen.”
Montero described Saavedra’s shot as a “beautiful goal”, and was glad she had switched her position.
“We’re trying her out on the wing,” Montero said. “She definitely took that initiative in taking that shot. We really wanted something right off the bat, and she definitely created that for us so we could continue working with confidence throughout the game.”
While a stubborn Southwest defense kept Imperial from gaining any momentum on offense, Montero was eager for her team to widen their lead.
They complied with a Giselle Hernandez goal in the final five minutes that gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
“That one goal didn’t give us full reassurance that we were going to win it,” Montero said. “I was just hoping for more, but then when the second goal came in, it kind of made us feel like, ‘OK, we got it this,’ since it was toward the end.
“I just hope the girls continue connecting those pieces and that they really realize they can really win and work together through communication,” Montero said. “I really hope the girls feed off this game and continue working and attacking one game at a time.”
The win evened the Eagles’ overall record at 2-2, while the Tigers dropped to 3-3.
“This gives us great confidence,” Saavedra said. Honestly, we really needed this win, and from here on out, I think we’ll be good. I think this game set us up for whole season.”
Next up, the Eagles are set to play at 2:30 p.m. Friday in Blythe against Palo Verde Valley High as part of the Martha Arroyo Tournament, while the Tigers are set to play at 6 p.m. Thursday in Yuma