LODI SOCCER WINS BATTLE OF GIANTS
After an exhausting battle, Lodi and Tracy’s girls soccer teams had no score to show for it as time ticked away.
But Shaina Hummel and Ally Bender tipped the scales in the final seconds of Friday’s match, connecting on a corner kick — Bender to Hummel — for the only goal of the night. Seconds later, the final whistle blew on the Tri-City Athletic League opener as the duo screamed in triumph with a 1-0 Lodi victory, surrounded by teammates near the middle of the field.
“We had a lot of practice in preseason on the corners, definitely, me and her,” said Hummel, who added that she intended to head the ball, but in the confusion it instead bounced off her shoulder and into the net. “We just kind of practiced me going to the middle. We’ve gotten pretty good at it.”
Added Bender, “I curved it in so she could get it.”
Both defenses made their opponents work hard for any chance they got, with Lodi having more looks in the first half. Tracy took just one shot in the first half, which went far wide. Tracy goalkeeper Anjelica Gonzalez blocked three shots before the break.
Up until the final 15 seconds, Tracy kept the pace in the second half, but just two of the Bulldogs’ chances were on target.
“I think it was a combination of I think we got a little tired, and he (Tracy coach Nate Perry) makes good tactical changes,’ Lodi coach Tim Stutz said. “Our midfielders started to not trap back as well, and we kind of struggled, they started controlling the movement.”
Tracy’s best shot came at about the 60th minute when Jessica Taylor took a free kick from about 25 yards out. The low shot made it just past a diving Lodi goalkeeper Shelby Hand, only to ricochet off the post. A few minutes later Tracy put another ricochet in the goal, but it was waved off, since the bounce came off the football goalpost just above the goal, which is out of bounds.
The loss was just the second for Tracy (8-2, 0-1 TCAL), and Perry argued with referees after the game, contending that the goal had come after time expired.
Hand finished with two saves for Lodi, one a diving stop amid a mass of players in about the 70th minute. Gonzalez finished with seven saves, several with diving blocks.
For the Flames, the victory was a solid start to league play against what they expect to be their toughest opponent.
“The other teams are going to be like, ‘Oh my God, they beat Tracy,’ and they’re going to be more nervous playing us,” Bender said.
Added Hummel, “It puts us in the top for sure. It makes us a target.”
Stutz indicated that even though it was the first game of the league slate, it could have championship implications.
“That’s a tough battle. That could be the difference between league cochampions and champions right there,” he said. “I wouldn’t expect them to lose to anyone else in league, from what I’ve seen.
“They feel they’re top dogs in the league, and that’s their first or second loss, and they’ve had a tough schedule. All in all, I’m proud of what we did.”