by Niki Cunningham
Sports Editor
Ereporter: Bob Nielsen
The Lassen Grizzlies Girls Soccer traveled to Oroville to play their final pre-season game against the Oroville Tigers on Tuesday. The two teams have already met twice in the pre-season, each winning on their home turf. The Tigers came out strong, looking to take an early lead. For the first 10 minutes, Lassen played on its heels, unable to get much going.
However, the defense held strong, settled the ball, and began working the ball up the sideline. After a series of nice give-and-go passes, center midfielder Brianna Mendonca ripped a shot at the near post from just inside the penalty box. The Oroville keeper was able to deflect it out of bounds, giving Lassen a corner kick. Mendonca then crossed the ball over the keeper to Captain Katrece Lightsey, who used her stomach to redirect the ball into the net for a 1-0 lead. A short time later, freshman Jenna Monahan worked around several defenders inside the penalty box, and snuck a hard shot past the goalkeeper. Lassen held the 2-0 lead at halftime.
The Tigers came out of the locker room ready to reset the game. In the first 20 minutes, they were able to score twice, both coming off of free kicks. They were able to make an indirect free kick from 12 yards out, and quickly followed that up by another score from a free kick to tie the score at 2 apiece.
The Lady Grizzlies took the wake-up call to heart. After an Oroville foul, Mendonca hit a free kick towards the upper back corner. The goalkeeper was able to time her jump well enough to knock it down, but could not quite control it. Senior Francis Lopez was charging the goal at just the right time to put the loose ball into the goal, putting the Grizzlies up 3-2. A few minutes later, with all of the Lassen attackers near the goal, Lopez hit a hard cross through the goal box past the keeper. Forward Hailey Chittock was right there and put a head on into the open net. Lassen continued to attack, and the near misses only urged them on. When the final whistle sounded, the final score was 4-2, giving Lassen a 2-1 edge on the pre-season series.
The regular season starts Tuesday at Riverside Park against Yreka at 5:15, following the boys’ game at 3:15.
