The Diamond Bar Brahmas tied their long-time rivals, the Walnut Mustangs in a heated overtime match, 3-3 on Jan. 15. DBHS seemed like the only team on the field in the first, but Walnut came into existence in the second half to send the game into overtime.

The Lady Brahmas had no problems getting past Walnut’s defense with sophomore Mia Truggerro scoring the first goal of the match. From the start, DB played outstandingly on both ends of the floor, scoring with ease and not allowing any goals for the opposing team. Building on the team’s momentum, sophomore Angie Puerta scored the second goal, increasing the lead to 2-0. DB had complete control of the game throughout the first half. Walnut struggled to get past DB’s strong line of defense, finishing the half scoreless, 2-0. “First half went really well. We were in complete control of the game, scored early. We set the tone, and we were cruising,” Coach Matthew Brummett said.

However, the team was not consistent. Although DB came out scoring two goals with stellar defense that kept the Mustangs scoreless, things did not go their way in the second half.

Walnut was a completely different team coming out of halftime. The Lady Brahmas defense fell asleep and Walnut took advantage of it, scoring two consecutive goals tying the game 2-2. “Second half, we kind of lost the game in a sense. We gave up an early goal, changed momentum a little bit. A bad call from the referee put as in a bad position in the second goal which  swung the momentum in their favor,” Brummett commented.

However, the game was not yet over as the Lady Brahmas stayed resilient. After an unfavorable start to the second half, senior captain Tatum Lockett scored the third goal to give the Lady Brahmas the lead. “What really helped us out were winning 50/50 balls in the mid-field and being aggressive up top,” Tatum Lockett commented. However, defense still remained a problem in the second half as DB uncharacteristically gave up a goal with five minutes left in the game. With was score 3-3, and the final whistle blew, sending the game headed into overtime.

In overtime, the Lady Brahma’s defense seemed to be back on track as Walnut had zero shot attempts at goal. On the other end of the field, DB failed to convert despite three or four decent shot attempts on goal. Overtime remained scoreless and the game finished in a tie.

Lockett, Trugerro, and ophomore Helena Kisor  had notable performances in this match against Walnut. Kisor controlled the game in mid-field during overtime. “Overall we played alright, we didn’t play great and we didn’t play bad. It was a team we should have beaten and the game didn’t go our way,” Brummett said.