Weston Ranch Varsity girls soccer settled for a 1-1 tie with Riverbank High School yesterday at Weston Ranch.

Riverbank took the lead on a breakaway goal late in the second half. Although the Cougars had a ferocious attack all game (16 shots), they couldn’t solve the Bruins’ goaltender. However, with five minutes remaining in the game, Leslie Jaurez sent a majestic shot toward the net and knocked home the equalizer.

“We dominated the game, as shown by the number of shots,” said head coach Bailey Nelson. “Our main focus is to finish. We get a lot of shots on goal, but we have two ties and two losses to show for that effort. We need to look at our technique and speed to get the ball to the back of the net.”

Anabelle Mayorca played goalie for the Cougars and had five saves.

It has been a busy week for the team (back-to-back games on Monday and Tuesday), and it will get busier at the end of the week. The Cougars will play in a tournament hosted by Sierra High School this Friday and Saturday. Balancing school and sports in December are challenging for Winter student-athletes. However, Nelson continues to see the improvement and will push her team to get them better.

“With the tournament coming up this weekend at Sierra, we are ready for a competitive environment and to make a statement before the season starts,” Nelson said. “This week, we had a game on Monday and Tuesday, so these girls are working hard to maintain academics and make it out to every practice. The dedication the girls have is different from any other year. The spark is there, and it’s time to ignite that fire for the season.”

Weston Ranch will play on December 9 and December 10 at Sierra. Game times and opponents will be announced later.

The JV got goals from Megan Garcia and Abril Landa and beat Riverbank 2-0.