Coming off an undefeated season in league play and a second consecutive league championship, Diamond Bar girls soccer will advance to the second round of CIF after trampling Western High School on Feb. 14. Led by senior captain Tatum Lockett and sophomore Angie Puerta, the Lady Brahmas dominated from start to finish, shutting out the Pioneers 3-0.
DB took control early with Lockett scoring the first goal five minutes into the game. DB’s high intensity set the tone for the entire game as the Pioneers could not match DB’s energy. Following the goal, the Lady Brahmas continued to attack the Western defense, wearing down their defenders. However, DB could not get a clean look as it had very few shot attempts despite being in the heart of the Pioneer defense. “I think I did well. I had four marks on me a lot of times in the game. I think I handled it well and finished my opportunities when I could,” Lockett said.
The messy offense would come back to hurt DB as Western was awarded a penalty kick after tangling up with a DB player. This resulted in the opening that DB needed as the Lady Brahmas pushed the ball after the missed penalty kick. The goalie was out of position and Puerta took advantage of this opportunity and scored, increasing the DB lead 2-0.
After the second goal, the Pioneers started playing with desperation as they felt their season coming to an end. This resulted in a loss of field position as DB was slowly being pushed back. As the Pioneers started playing with more aggression, the game started to become more physical. After several no calls which coach Matthew Brummett disagreed with, he was given a yellow card for excessive complaining. This, however, reinvigorated the Lady Brahmas as they started advancing the ball, regaining field position. A DB player was then fouled and awarded a penalty kick, which was skillfully headed in once again by Lockett.
The Pioneers needed to play a flawless second half to win the game. However, DB continued to play the aggressive style of soccer that won it a league championship last week. The Lady Brahmas could not finish its penalty kick opportunities. After a corner kick which bounced off the goal post, DB relinquished field position and allowed for Western to get into DB territory. However, the Pioneers could not capitalize as they could not properly secure the ball and get into scoring range. Thanks to an excellent first half, DB came out on top 3-0.
DB’s girls soccer is one of the most successful teams on campus and is going undefeated in league play this season. The Lady Brahmas traveled to Flintridge Prep to play in the second round of CIF yesterday. “I expect us to win every game, but every game is a challenge and you never know what’s going to happen so we expect to compete and be involved in every single game,” Brummett stated.
