Photos courtesy of Cartershots
The Pampa Lady Harvesters (2-9-1, 2-4-1) hosted the Dumas Demonettes on Friday and picked up their second win in three games, knocking off their 4A opponent with the 3-1 win.
“We finally played like a team,” Head Coach Brennen McGinty said. “For the first time, we didn't just send the ball up hoping Chloe could outrun defenders.
“We worked the ball and sent it through, looking for a teammate with a better shot. I felt we kept the pressure on their defense while letting our backline stay fresh.”
After starting District 0-3, the Lady Harvesters have quietly put together some offensive momentum over their last four games. They scored three goals in a tie with Hereford, a goal in their Perryton win, another goal in their Randall loss and now three more goals in the Dumas win.
“Really we haven't changed anything we do practice wise outside of a formation change,” McGinty said. “The girls have finally started to believe in themselves. I have told them for weeks, if they would see themselves the way I see them, they can move mountains. They've bought into that and you can see they are playing with more confidence.”
The Lady Harvesters were first on the board in the contest with a score from Junior Annette Luna assisted by Sophomore Yaelin Barraza. They carried that lead into the half, then in the second half Junior Kaylee Gamez had a goal assisted by Freshman Yadira Vasquez and Junior Bianette Ortega had a goal assisted by Freshman Chloe Larrazolo.
Vasquez was a late addition to Friday’s line-up after an illness sent a starter home earlier in the day.
Yadira Vasquez
“Friday at lunch Yadi was still under the impression she would be playing for the JV,” McGinty said. “One of our starters went home sick, so I had to pull Yadi up an hour before kickoff. She played extended minutes, got an assist on a perfect flat ball, and was inches away from scoring.
“The mental fortitude to jump into a pivotal district match and excel shouldn't go unnoticed, especially for a Freshman.”
While they may not always appear on the stat sheet, Juniors Michelle Barriga and Rachel Jaime are a pair of unsung heroes for the Lady Harvesters.
Rachel Jaime
“Rachel is the shortest person on the field but plays with such aggression. It's rare to see someone win the ball from her,” McGinty said. “She's been such a crucial addition to our back line, setting the tone early in games.”
“Michelle has come a long way this season. She's been moved back and forth multiple times position wise, but has started to excel at Center Back.
“The funny thing about Michelle is she is constantly looking to improve, no matter what. In games, she will play near-perfect soccer, and the first thing she will say at halftime is ‘What am I doing wrong? What can I do better?’”
Michelle Barriga
The Lady Harvesters hope to keep the momentum and their postseason hopes alive as they continue District play when they host Canyon.
“Canyon is currently sitting at fourth place in district,” McGinty said. “Our first game, we were so injury-ridden and the game was still in the ballots until roughly 10 minutes left.
“We've preached not letting the name on the jersey play a role, and how every school with that reputation needed one class to turn the tide to get to that point. Why are we any different? Canyon tied Dumas last week. Knowing this, the girls should be chomping at the bit to go out there and earn the respect of the district.”
Standings
Team GP W L D
West Plains 7 6 0 1
Borger 7 6 1 0
Randall 7 5 1 1
Canyon 7 3 3 1
Pampa 7 2 4 1
Dumas 7 2 4 1
Hereford 7 1 5 1
Perryton 7 0 7 0