KEVIN LU | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
MISSION —The Sharyland High girls soccer team beat crosstown rival Sharyland Pioneer behind Vanessa Guevara’s hat trick in a 3-0 win at home on Tuesday night.
The Rattlers wrapped up at least a share of the District 31-5A title in the win. They will take the district outright with a win in one of their final two games.
Guevara broke through 11 minutes into the game. The Rattlers’ sophomore took a pass and dribbled down the left side. When the lefty got enough room from her defender, she fired a ball past the Pioneer keeper for a 1-0 lead.
About 10 minutes into the second half, Guevara padded the lead. After a poor clearance by the Diamondbacks defenders, she took the ball left of goal. From a tough angle 20 yards out, she rocketed the ball into the net. There was nothing the Pioneer keeper could do to prevent a 2-0 Sharyland High lead.
The game’s final goal came on a corner kick with seven minutes remaining. Guevara took the kick from the right corner and curled it toward goal. The ball skipped past the Diamondbacks defender tasked with guarding the near post, giving Sharyland High a 3-0 lead and Guevara her first hat trick of the season.
“It was a beautiful kick. Vanessa has a beautiful leg, she just put it where she needs to put it,” Sharyland High coach Aaron Clemons said. “She just had a great day.”
Pioneer had a couple of good chances to get on the board in the second half. Seven minutes after halftime, Hannah Padilla took a good-looking shot off a rebound, but Rattlers’ senior Nikki Gonzalez was there to deflect the ball away. 29 minutes into the second half, Padilla found a loose ball in a dangerous area but fired above the crossbar.
Sharyland High forced Diamondbacks’ goalkeeper Stephanie Barrientos to make 11 saves on the night, including a sequence where she made four skillful stops in a two-minute span to keep a 2-0 deficit at the time.
Pioneer will host Roma on Friday, while Sharyland High will travel to Valley View.