On a cold and windy Thursday night, the killer D’s came through to lead Richards to a 4-0 girls soccer victory over conference rival Evergreen Park.
Sophomore Diana Lozano scored two goals, while junior Desiree Rores had three assists to lead the Bulldogs (2-7, 2-4 in the South Suburban Conference) over the Mustangs (2-7, 1-4 in the SSC).
Richards entered the match on a high note, having defeated Bremen earlier in the week. Rores scored twice and had an assist against the Braves. She continued her stellar play at Evergreen Park, assisting on a give-and-go with Lozano, who scored the first goal of the match with 32:41 to play in the first half.
“I passed it to Dez and there was an empty space,” Lozano said. “I called out her name, and there was the give-and-go right there. I just took the shot in the corner.”
Neither team was able to find many scoring opportunities until Richards had a chance with under a minute to play in the half. Sophomore Nilly Al-Beitoni received a pass from Lozano in front of the goal. However, Al-Beitoni was unable to get a good foot on the ball, and it sailed out of bounds to the right of the goal.
Richards continued its aggressive play in the second half and controlled possession in the opening 10 minutes. After three scoring opportunities, the Bulldogs finally put their second goal in the net when sophomore Brittany Wagner found the goal on another assist from Rores. Off a throw in on the right sideline, Rores drew the goalie in the box, which left Wagner wide open for the easy chip in a few feet from the goal. With 28:48 to play, Richards led 2-0.
The Bulldogs wasted no time in adding a third goal. Lozano scored again off an assist from Rores and Richards led 3-0 with 27:15 to play. Senior Ashley Solus found the net on a chip shot with 2:33 to play to give Richards the four goal lead. Solus started the game in goal but came in during the second half to play in the field.
Evergreen Park had trouble getting the ball to their offensive half the entire second half. With the wind blowing hard, the Mustangs had trouble clearing the ball.
“The wind was a factor the second half,” Evergreen Park coach Anna Wilson said. “But Richards wanted it. They got it.”
Wilson said that her team needs to work on its aggressiveness. “We need to get aggressive,” she said. “We need to want that ball and then get to it.”
Richards coach Marie Strelka was excited about the win, which was the team’s first road win.
“Overall, we passed the ball a lot better and were a lot more aggressive than we’ve been in the past,” she said. “We’re still a very young team, so getting their confidence is really going to help us out.”
Lozano knows road conference wins are important.
“We need wins," she said. "That’s two in a row. Let’s keep on going."
