Vance County falls short in 2-0 defeat to Southern Durham
May 8—DURHAM — On Monday, the Vance County girls' soccer team suffered a disappointing 2-0 loss at the hands of the Southern Durham Spartans.
The game was still scoreless at halftime after a miraculous, top-of-the-net save from second-year goalie Mia Ponce to keep it tied. During the break, head coach Roanna Evans gathered her team and urged them to make a second-half rally. Instead, the Lady Vipers allowed the Spartans to score a few moments into halftime, sending the game's momentum in the wrong direction.
To make matters worse, as the Vipers fell behind dark storm clouds gathered and shortly after began drenching the field and everyone on it. The game was paused for a 30-minute lightning delay.
When play resumed, the Vipers still had 11 minutes to find the equalizer. but instead, the offense stalled and the defense let in one more goal to abolish all hope of a late-season victory.
"They always play horribly in the rain," said Evans after the game.
The loss was not just disappointing as the Vipers had a clear chance to pull ahead after halftime, but because it serves as a microcosm of what this team has been all year.
There is more to a season than wins and losses, especially when rebuilding a program. However, there have been multiple opportunities where the Vipers have had a chance to strike first, but shrunk in these big moments.
Instead of going on the offensive in the attacking third like they did going into halftime, the Vipers found themselves on their heels to start the second period. The Spartans racked up 11 total shots on goal and Ponce was called upon multiple times in the second half, until finally, she let one slip past her.
According to Evans, a lack of defensive communication was the root cause of the first goal they let in.
"Their energy toward the game dropped," said Evans.
She said working on cohesion and improving the "tiny details" will be the key to a better performance next year.
"We just have to get that connection going, to be honest," said Evans.
Spacing, ball control, footwork and "getting a body behind the ball" will all be part of the equation headed into summer camps in June. Evans said the girls need to work on letting the ball do more of the work and learn how to stop and turn the corner to get their shots off quicker.
The silver lining for the Vipers is that they are a young team and their best two offensive players, Allisson Lira and Maria Dominguez-Galvez, are only freshmen — and other standouts, Ponce, Lisa Hayes, Selena Banda and Nicola Thompson, are all returning next year.
"Allisson has impressed and improved so much this year, but she still needs to work on turning with the ball," said Evans.
Evans said her main goal for this team is to make an appearance in the state playoffs, and in order to see that happen, she said they need to "attack what needs to be fixed.
With the season all but over, the Vipers hold a record of 4-14-1 and will finish second-to-last in the conference in front of J.F Webb, which went winless in conference play. Since a playoff berth is not on the table, all the Vipers can do is set their sights on next season as they look for answers.
"We have girls that are young and vibrant," said Evans. "We'll be back better than before."
STATSCristela Gomez (Fr.) — 1 assist
Guerra Aguilar-Joselin (Sr.) — 1 goal
Martha Agurcia (Sr.) — 1 goal
