YC scores 16 goals in region opener
Leamons (5 goals) leads way vs. Wickenburg
The moment her leftfooted cross bent into the top-right corner of the goal, the Yuma Catholic’s Ariana Leamons spun around toward the Shamrocks’ bench and apologetically announced, “I didn’t mean to do that!”
The freshman forward had broken the rule that coach Jesus Quintana had implemented at halftime, mandating that Shamrock players shoot only with their weak foot.
YC tried not to run up the score Tuesday night against Wickenburg at Ricky Gwynn Stadium, but wound up with its most lopsided victory (16-0) in three years anyhow.
“I was being strict on the rules, and she didn’t want to get punished for something that was accidental,” Quintana said of Leamons’ reaction with a laugh.
In what was their 3A Region 6 opener, the Shamrocks (5-0-1 AIA) got multigoal performances out
YC: 5-0-1 AIA, 1-0 region WICK: 1-4-1 AIA, 0-1 region
of five different players: Leamons (5 goals), junior midfielder Natalie Camarena (3), junior midfielder Isela Estrada (2), senior midfielder Kylie Escalante (2) and sophomore forward Savannah Rush (2).
YC, which beat Wickenburg by scores of 14-0 and 10-1 a year ago, put up seven goals in the first half and nine in the second on Tuesday. The second-half scoring all came under the Quintana-implemented rules that also included everybody must touch the ball before pushing forward.
“We got into a good rhythm, especially in the second half we did a much better job of moving the ball around, playing all the way back into our goalkeeper and starting attacks from the back line,” Quintana said.
Leamons’ “accidental” goal, which came in the 65th minute to make the score 13-0, was actually only her third of five. But on her next two, she followed the rules. In the 75th minute, she chested a Dianna Sanchez cross in; and with 1:14 remaining, she gave the Shamrocks their 16th goal with a right-footed blast from point-blank range.
Leamons, just a freshman, has emerged as the Shamrocks’ top goal-scorer with multiple goals in four of the team’s six AIA games.
“She’s a terrific player; very, very competitive, and she loves the game,” Quintana said. “She’s definitely skilled, and one nice thing about her is having a natural left-footed player we can move around and do different things with that the other team may not expect.”
Eight Shamrocks had at least one goal or one assist in Tuesday’s win, as senior defender Corinthia Reyes also had a goal and junior midfielder Melissa Quintero also had an assist.