FLAMES SOCCER: GIRLS CLINCH PLAYOFF BERTH
Lodi High girls soccer coach Tim Stutz feels his goalie Reese Odell played the biggest game of her life at the right time.
Entertaining West in a battle for the Tri-City Athletic League third playoff spot on Tuesday, Odell came up with many saves. Sprinkle some defense and offense, and Lodi posted a 2-0 win over the Wolf Pack at the Grape Bowl. The game was originally scheduled to be played at Don Rostomily Field, which is Lodi High’s grass field on campus. But because of field conditions from rain storms that hit the area over the weekend, the game was moved to the Grape Bowl, which has artificial turf.
Now that Lodi (4-5 in the TCAL, 5-11-1) has booted West (2-5-3 in the TCAL, 7-95), it will join Tracy, which won the TCAL title, and St. Mary’s, which took second place, as the league representatives entering the SacJoaquin Section playoffs. According to Will DeBoard, the section’s assistant commissioner, the playoff brackets for Divisions I through VII will be released on Friday.
Lodi led 1-0 at halftime. Eleven minutes into the second half, Odell, a sophomore, was able to hunt down a save when West midfielder Stella Hunt took a shot on goal near the Flames’ right side of the goal. Then in the 52nd and 60th minutes, Odell had two more saves when, at both times, West players battled for the loose soccer ball inside the box.
“She’s been incredible lately; she’s worked hard,” said Stutz of Odell. “I think her confidence finally went up. She finally realized that this is ‘my spot to keep and I have to work hard.’ Without her stepping up, we’re not in the playoffs.”
At the 61st minute of the game, Lodi midfielder Annie Musgrave moved the ball near the out of bounds line on the south end of the stadium. Then Musgrave kept the ball in front of her for 25 yards. Seeing West goalie Ariana Arzate standing in the middle of the goal, Musgrave booted a slow roller into the left corner of the net to make it 2-0.
Lodi midfielder Rachel Sutter, who scored the first goal in the first half, had a shot on goal on a turnover thanks to the Flames’ defense. But Arzate raced toward the front of the box for the save in the 63rd minute.
Odell rose to the occasion again for the Flames in the 65th minute. West midfielder Jasmine Cochiaosue lined up in the center on a penalty kick attempt. Odell calculated Cochiaosue’s move before the kick. Then Odell sprinted to the other side of the goal for another save.
“I just sort of looked at the girl and the ball,” Odell said. “I could tell she was going to
go to left; she opened up her hips so she was going to go wide.”
For an encore, Odell recorded another save in the 69th minute. This time a group of Lodi and West players were battling for control of the ball in the center of the goal. A West player took a shot to the right side, only for Odell to scoop up the soccer ball.
“That one scared me,” laughed Odell. Sutter scored in the 11th minute of the game. Going 1-on-1 with a West player on the west end of the Grape Bowl, Sutter broke free and had another 1-on-1 encounter with Arzate, who was standing near the front of the box. That’s when Sutter, a four-year starter, tapped the ball to the center of the goal.
“We played a little simpler defensive system,” said Stutz of the Flames’ steal to set up Sutter’s goal. “Not as much overlapping on the back. We did a great job; we were really patient. We did an excellent job driving down the sides, trapping them and just until (a West player) got to the ball.”
The Flames’ defense working for the shutout were fullbacks Makenzie Overly and Allyson Bender, along with midfielders Andrea Becerra and Talia Duran.
“The defense worked really hard today,” Odell said.
Earning a playoff berth is rewarding for Lodi, which won only one pre-season game. On top of that, Stutz moved underclassmen from the junior varsity team to play in place of many returning players, including Sutter and Musgrave, who were battled injuries and illnesses. There were also some returning players who opted not to play this winter.
“The blows we took this year,” Stutz said. “One girl goes down, another one steps up. I’m very happy with where we are. To make the playoffs is a big step.”
Freshmen Madison Howell and Ella Waters, who were on squad during the preseason, were moved back up from the JV team. The two girls played extensively in the first and second halves of Tuesday’s game.
Lodi will host Lincoln in the TCAL finale at Don Rostomily Field on Thursday.