The Millikan Rams scored four times in the second quarter without allowing a goal on Monday night, pulling away for a 5-1 lead over Long Beach Poly which they would never relinquish. The Jackrabbits never cut the deficit to less than three the rest of the night as Millikan cruised to a 9-4 victory at the Cabrillo High pool.
“I feel like we did a lot of great things,” said Millikan head coach Jose Guzman, who admitted his team’s performance was a little sluggish. “We’re still a young team, but they’re identifying things a lot quicker. They’re starting to be more cohesive, but we’ve got to start putting the ball in the cage, because that’s what counts, that’s how we win games. If we do that, I think we’ll be a very hard team to beat.”
Sophomore Faye Garcia led the Rams with a hat trick and an assist on the night. She got scoring help from Evelyn Giron and Jennine Osorio, who each added a pair of goals for the Rams.
“Faye did very well, she’s stepping up big-time,” said Guzman. “That’s instrumental for the team to see someone other than our heavy-hitters putting the ball in the cage. That’s a great sign for our opportunities on the outside for our counterattack. She’s young, and she’s fierce. I can’t say enough good things about her performance today.”
Makayla Lankford and Emma Schmidt split time in the cage for Millikan and combined for nine stops. The Rams were also efficient with their man-up advantages, converting on three of their five opportunities.
Julia Miller scored the first and last goal for Poly to lead the Jackrabbits in scoring on Monday night. She was joined on the scoresheet by Georgia Buffington and Kathleen Juarez.
“I think this team is really starting to grow together,” said Jackrabbits head coach Brandon D’Sa. “You can tell we’re not physically there because of the practice restrictions before all this, so those little moments hurt us, but overall we’re growing and getting better every game and that’s all I want to see out of these girls.”
Both teams will get a second shot at Wilson in their next league game, with the Jackrabbits facing the Bruins on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. and the Rams facing Wilson on Friday at 7:15 p.m. Both games will be played at Cabrillo and will end Moore League play for both squads.
