Lemoore's boys' and girls' soccer teams lose to Pioneers in West Yosemite League play

The Pioneers scored with just seconds left in regulation to break Lemoore's heart and send the game into overtime. Mt. Whitney scored in the first overtime period with about six minutes left in the game.

Hunter Ford and Christian Gonzalez each had goals for Lemoore.

Lemoore's girls' team, fell to 6-3, and remain a game behind Golden West and Redwood High School with 7-2 marks. Coach Janet Brown's girls are 14-4 overall.

Lemoore’s talented Lady Tigers’ soccer team lost a chance to vault to first place all alone in the West Yosemite League after a heartbreaking loss last week to cross-valley rival Redwood, but almost as important, they may have lost one of their key players to injury.

Lemoore, after leading the Rangers 2-1 at the half, watched Redwood take the lead in the second half on a pair of goals to go ahead 3-2.

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Lemoore tied the game when a breaking Kelley Mellott took in a key pass from Yavilex Ledesma and slipped the ball by the Redwood goalie for a 3-3 tie.

Perhaps the key moments occurred in the overtime period when Lemoore appeared to score a goal, but went unnoticed by the referees.

“We went into overtime and a game changer happened when Keelynn Kaalekahi passed the ball in from corner flag to Traci Roa, who aggressively attacked the ball and slipped in the mud and knocked the ball in,” said Tiger Coach Janet Brown.  “The ref didn't see it go in, therefore no goal was recorded.”

On the play, Roa was injured after slipping in the mud caused by a brief rainstorm earlier that day. Roa injured her knee and had to be carried off the field. The loss of Roa, the team’s captain, would be a blow to the Tigers. 

“My girls went on to play hard and tough but in the last few minutes Redwood scored their 4th goal.  It was a heartbreaker, but we knew it could go either way,” said Brown.

Fortunately, the Tigers are still in a virtual tie for first place with a 5-2 record. Both Redwood and Golden West sit atop the league standings with 6-2 marks while Lemoore is at 5-2. The Tigers can join the two WYL teams by beating Hanford West Monday night in a makeup game, postponed from earlier this season due to unhealthy air conditions.

“We will take each game one at a time and hopefully be able to play strong to the end of the season despite losing Traci Roa to injury.  I am proud of my team for staying positive through this hard loss,” said Brown.

 Mellott scored the Tigers’ initial goal as she ran past the Rangers defense and slid the ball through for a score. Michaela Ramirez notched number two in similar fashion.

For the Rangers Maddy Messier scored twice while Vanessa Perez and Brooklyn Morris each had a goal.