Citrus Valley, Yucaipa draw, remain tied atop Citrus Belt
Southern California News Group
Wednesday’s marquee high school match between unbeaten Citrus Belt League girls soccer powers Citrus Valley and Yucaipa ended in a 0-0 draw, setting up a potential season-finale showdown for the league title.
“Sometimes when the teams are both good, they cancel each other out,” Yucaipa coach Eric Corona said. “This is a tough place for us to play.”
Yucaipa (9-5-1 overall) and Citrus Valley (8-7-2 overall) now both have 4-0-1 CBL records.
Neither goalkeeper had to make
REDLANDS >> spectacular saves, but each player — Citrus Valley senior Kylie Mccue, and Yucaipa junior Mia Mares — was in the right position to stop shots.
“Yucaipa is our biggest competitor, and I think we played our best game,” said Mccue, Citrus Valley’s senior goalkeeper. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get a win, but it’s better than losing.”
This was the fourth shutout this season for Mccue in support of an attack that had better scoring chances but wasn’t able to get one past Mares.
“They put a lot of pressure on you,” Corona said. “We expected them to come at us with pressure from the beginning. We didn’t see much of the ball and when we had our chances, we just didn’t connect.”
Mares had two strong saves in the 57th minute.
“Mia is good with her feet, and she brings us calmness,” Corona said. “She’s our foundational piece. She gets other players to go to the right places.”
The two teams play again on Jan. 31 in the final CBL match of the season. If both teams win the rest of their league matches, that match would be for the league title.
“We should be rested for that game, and we will have our fanbase behind us,” Mares said.