Yuba City sweeps season series with River Valley, 4-0
Jan. 20—Already trending upward, the Yuba City High girls soccer team looked to continue pushing for the upcoming Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs Tuesday against rival River Valley at Honker Field.
Coming into Tuesday's game, YC was a win away from matching the most victories since the 2017-18 season.
While it took about 20 minutes to warm the engines, the Honkers eventually got into gear to rout RV, 4-0, and sweep the season series between the teams.
YC moved to 8-7-1 and 3-4-1 in Capital Valley Conference play with a full two-and-a-half weeks left in the regular season. The Sac-Joaquin Section recently extended the regular season for soccer from Feb. 4 to Feb. 7, according to a news release.
The Honkers, currently in playoff contention in fourth place in the CVC, have four games left in the regular season. Head coach Jerry Schicht's team heads to Roseville Jan. 25, followed by a home bout against Bella Vista Jan. 28, a trip to league-leading Inderkum Feb. 1 and senior night versus Woodcreek Feb. 4. All games are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.
"We treat every game the same," Schicht said. "We approach it just like you would life ... approach every opportunity the best you can and you work into that."
Once YC found its rhythm Tuesday against the winless Falcons (0-10, 0-7 CVC), the goals followed. The hosts got on the board in about the 20th minute when center midfielder Mia Ramos found the head of Tayler Gomez, who punctured the net to convert a corner kick for a 1-0 lead.
YC spent most of the final 20 minutes of the opening half in RV territory, attempting three more corner kicks — the last one RV headed out of the box.
Junior two-year captain Lorelai Miller got the first of her two goals on a breakaway in the final two minutes, 15 seconds of the first half, extending YC's lead to 2-0 at the break.
Miller would get multiple opportunities in the second half, finally coming through with her 21st goal of the season near the 60th minute.
RV didn't quit, as Atilana Lara, at about the 61st minute, took a ball about halfway downfield and delivered a beautiful cross over the center portion of the goal that nearly missed a score.
It was one of just a handful of offensive chances for RV, but an improvement from the team's initial go-around with YC, coach Gabriel Coomes said.
"This time they came in with a different attitude," Coomes said. "Last time we let them pretty much have free range. Today I don't think they did that, they came out pressured and played to their ability."
Although still searching for that first win, Coomes feels the team is striding forward entering the final stretch of the season that begins back home at 6 p.m. Friday against Roseville.
Coomes' team is scheduled for two more home games against Woodcreek Feb. 1 and Antelope Feb. 4. Both are set for 6 p.m. starts.
All games are subject to change. Games postponed can be made up through Feb. 7, according to the section.
