Girls' soccer beats Torrance in first game after Winter break

Jones PitskerStaff WriterSamo girls’ Soccer has achieved another victory at their latest home game against Torrance High School on Jan. 4, which ended with a final score of 1-0.“This was a tough game,” coach Jimmy Chapman said. “The teams were really well matched — physical against physical. Eventually, it came down to watching for who blinks first. Lucky for us, [the other team] did, and we scored a goal that let us win the game.”Neither team scored during the first half of the game. During the second half, senior and captain Kristen Vasquez took a corner kick to senior captain Lidia Battaglia, who headed the ball into Torrance’s goal, scoring Samo the point that won them the game.“Lidia let us win the game, and it was lucky that we were able to make that shot,” Chapman said. “But we couldn’t have won without the rest of the team. We are performing as a group, and we have good team chemistry.”Vasquez said the win against Torrance is a big accomplishment for the team.“It all went really well considering this is a tough team,” Vasquez said. “They’ve beaten a lot of teams that we’ve lost to and winning against them will restore faith in the team. It’s a big ego-booster for us ; it shows us that we can beat teams, even if they’re teams people expect us to lose to.”Chapman hopes the team will use the victory as motivation and continue to get better.“We’re still a work-in-progress as a team, and we will continue to work to get better,” Chapman said. “We lost 12 seniors this year who have been replaced by underclassmen, and it’s good to see that they’re stepping up. If we keep it up, we can continue to win games and be a strong team.”jpitsker@thesamohi.com