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Pitman girls net first round win in high-scoring playoff game
Pitman girls soccer 1
Pitman’s Lilly Rodriguez makes a move to score her third goal in the Pride’s playoff game against Bear Creek on Friday (PAWAN NAIDU/The Journal).

The Pitman High girls soccer team rode a high-powered offense to secure a dominating win over Bear Creek, 8-3, in their first game in division two of the 2022 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Playoffs.

The game started off with the Pride playing catchup by giving up an early goal to Bear Creek. They were then able to settle down. Lilly Rodriguez drilled a goal in the 12th minute. Not to be outdone, Bella Green connected the net as well in the 14th minute to give the Pride the lead two goals to one.

“The girls started strong with multiple shots at goal that weren’t going in,” said head coach Annabel Perez-Rangel. “They had to score one for us to wake up, but the girls responded well.”

Bear Creek delivered an equalizer courtesy of a free kick with a little under half of the first half to go, but Rodriguez drilled a header in the 33rd to give the Pride the lead again. It didn’t take much longer for Rodriguez to secure her hat trick by scoring her third goal in the 37th minute. Bear Creek was able to score one more time right before the half, to give the Pride a 4-3 lead going into the half.

“She (Rodriguez) had a great game,” said Perez-Rangel. “When she’s focused, she is a real threat to the other team, she did really well today.”

The Pride didn’t waste much time taking control of the game with two quick goals coming out of the half. Rodriguez scored her fourth and final goal in the 47th minute and Camila Stephens scored only a couple of seconds later to give Pitman the 6-3 lead.

Green scored another goal in the 69th minute and Hannah Delay scored one in the 72nd minute to make it another four-goal half for the Pride. Goalkeeper Mya Sanchez didn’t allow any goals in the second half as well to secure the 8-3 win for the Pride.

Some standout players were Rodriguez, with four goals and one assist, Green with two goals and one assist, Stephens with one goal and two assists and Delay with one goal and two assists.

The Pride will host a quarterfinal match on Wednesday against either Vacaville or Oakmont. 

“The girls need to take this momentum into the next game and hopefully start off strong and things will go our way,” said Perez-Rangel.