Valley soccer has historic night

Published 4:05 pm Monday, February 26, 2024

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Staff Reports

Valley’s boys and girls soccer teams had their first-ever program sweep this past Friday, February 24th. Both teams met the Ariton Purple Cats for the first time ever on the pitch. The result was two physical but great games.

The Lady Rams came out on top 10 – 0 against the Lady Purple Cats of Ariton. The girls were led by junior striker Molly Williams.

Email newsletter signup

Williams finished with seven goals, one PK goal, two assists, four corner kicks, and sixteen shots on goal. Junior midfielder Simone Floyd had one goal with three shots on goal. Sophomore midfielder Jennifer Montero also had one goal with two shots on goal. Junior midfielder Daniela Cardenas had one assist with three shots on goal. Lastly, sophomore defender Gracie Llorens had two shots on goal as well.

The Lady Rams were led defensively by sophomore goalie Katelyn DeLoach. DeLoach finished with ten saves for the night. 

“We played well, we have a lot to work on,” Valley coach Fern Piper Said. “They are a young team so we have a lot of growth left to do. Our captains are definitely doing their job and I’m proud of them.”

The boys soccer team ended up having a historic night. For the first time since the 2019-2020 season, the Rams came away with a win as Valley beat Ariton 6-0. 

The Rams were led by sophomore forward Jeiner Ariza. Ariza finished with a hat trick for Valley. Jeiner had three goals on three shot attempts.

Next for the Rams was junior midfielder Axnel Revilla. Revilla had one goal, two corner kicks, and three shots on goal. Freshman defender Micah Williams had one goal with one shot attempt. Lastly, junior Hector De La Cruz had one goal with one assist and two shot attempts. In addition, senior forward James Jones had two assists with three corner kicks and two shot attempts.

The Rams were led defensively by sophomore goalie Xander Newton. Newton finished with ten saves. Head Coach Will Elliott was speechless after the game.

“I don’t really have the words to express what I feel at this moment,” Elliott said. “I am extremely proud of my guys tonight. Jeiner’s hat trick was crazy to watch. I am proud of how my defense played. Chris, Edgar, Esmer, Micah and Xander played lights out. Offensively this is probably the best performance I’ve seen since being at VHS. Axnel, Hector, Santiago, Miguel, JJ, and Jeiner played exceptionally. It’s been a long time coming! We finally put everything together. I can’t wait to see how the rest of this season plays out.”

Both soccer teams will continue their season on Monday, Feb. 26 at home against Troup County.