Ontario’s Alondra Tinoco sets up for a kick during a game against La Grande Saturday in Ontario. La Grande defeated the Tigers 8-0. (The Enterprise/Kristine de Leon).
ONTARIO – The Ontario girls soccer team lost 8-0 to La Grande on Saturday at the Alameda Elementary School soccer field.
“We only have a couple seasoned players on the team. They’re a pretty young team,” said Stacey Captein, Ontario coach. “But they did a good job.” The Tigers are rebuilding this year and learning how to work together, players said.
“I think we actually worked a lot better as a team,” said goalkeeper Maya Luna. She’s one of the two seniors who have played the longest on varsity.
“We just need to stay confident and keep at it because I feel like we got down on ourselves and that lets the team down,” said Jazmine Ware, who plays defender and striker.
“A lot of the girls do get all down on themselves very quickly. And once they get down on themselves, they shut down and that takes the team down with them,” said Luna.
“I feel like that turns into a lack of communication,” said Lizzy Reyes, forward and midfielder.
“When we get down on ourselves, we just shut down and not talk at all.”
On the other hand, the girls say that the team did a good job following through on tactics.
“We did really well on containing and attacking the other team,” said Luna.
The Tigers also improved on their passes, said Ware.
“We’re a developing team,” she said. “We just need to train and improve for our next games.”
After Saturday’s loss, the Tigers are 0-3 in league with an overall record of 1-7.
“Looking forward, in honesty, I believe we could beat all three teams in our league,” said Luna. She thinks her teammates could succeed if they had more confidence and improved their defense.
“I think we could do better with communication, too,” said Reyes. “Communication is a big factor in the game.”
Reporter Kristine de Leon: [email protected] or 541-473-3377