Dos Pueblos had nine different players score goals in a 14-4 non-league victory over San Marcos on Wednesday night.
This was the first meeting between the crosstown rivals in two years.
“It was a cross-town rival game, but the atmosphere was full of joy from both sides,” said DP coach Sam Limkeman. “You could tell the girls were just happy to be playing out on the field after a year with no matches. The Royals and Chargers haven’t played each other in two years as they never did get a game in during the 2020 season. It was good to be back.”
Avery Ball led the Chargers with four goals and Lauren Elliott and Brooke Essig each had two.
Limkeman said DP’s quick ball movement created good scoring opportunities. The Chargers got five assists from five different players.
“One of our assists was from sophomore Rubi Friedenberg, who played against her sister, senior Shana Friedenberg, the goalie on San Marcos,” said Limkeman.
Essig and Livneh Naaman were the leaders on defense for DP. They combined to force seven turnovers. Essig also won seven draws.
“Our girls were quick to pressure the ball both in the midfield and down by our own goalie on defense.” said Limkeman. “I am most impressed by Brooke Essig. Her attitude yielded incredible plays both offensively and on defense.”
San Marcos coach Paul Ramsey praised the play of DP.
“Dos Pueblos played lights out on defense and, except for it being against us, it was awesome to watch,” he said.
Annette Bennett, who started the second half in goal for the Chargers, made nine saves in the second half. Maddie Nees had two saves in the first half.
For San Marcos, Shana Friedenberg had 11 saves. Junior Emma Neal scored two goals for the Royals.
“I am proud of the consistent effort from our players,” said Ramsey. “Even though Dos Pueblos was up the entire time, our team kept at it. We had some good offense, with some success to build on before we play Oak Park on Saturday.”
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.