Odessa High’s girls soccer team kept rolling Friday night.

After scoring seven goals in a victory on Tuesday, the Lady Bronchos wanted to continue to their offensive touch and consistency with District 2-6A play starting in less than two weeks, and did just that against Abilene Cooper.

Odessa High downed the Lady Cougars 4-1 in nondistrict action at Ratliff Stadium.

“I think we came out strong and confident,” Lady Bronchos’ junior Miranda Cardona said. “I think it shows us that we can do better and strive to be our best.”

Within seconds of the opening whistle, Odessa High knew it was in for a different test then its previous game (against Lubbock Estacado), as Abilene Cooper quickly got possession and put pressure on the Lady Bronchos’ defense.

“We knew we’d have to come into this game with a little more urgency and intensity,” Odessa High head coach Cecilia Kellar said.

After controlling that Lady Cougars’ attack, Odessa High (7-4-0) created sustained pressure at the other end of the field, with a few chances coming before the game’s first goal five minutes in.

That came off the foot of senior Alondra Venegas, who’s shot from the top of the penalty box drilled the bottom of the crossbar and caromed into the net.

The Lady Bronchos could have extended their lead throughout the first half, but they couldn’t capitalize on several scoring chances.

Venegas had a shot hit the left post, Cardona had a blast from six yards out just miss the right post and Jamie Natividad took a shot from just outside the penalty box, only to see it fly over the net.

“I think they’re very capable of scoring on multiple opportunities and we created a lot of opportunities for ourselves tonight,” Kellar said. “You want to put them all in, but that’s not how the game works … We want to finish as many as possible and the girls want that. It’s good for them to be driven in that way.”

Odessa High didn’t go into the break with just a one-goal lead however as Cardona found the back of the net just before halftime.

Three minutes into the second half, the Lady Bronchos extended their lead when Natividad got the ball about 25 yards away from the goal and lobbed it into the back of the net.

Abilene Cooper scored its lone goal of the game when midfielder Caylee Collier scored from a free kick from 40 yards away from goal.

The Lady Bronchos regained their three-goal lead with 15 minutes left in the game on an own goal off of a corner kick.

Odessa High’s four-goal effort tonight gives it 11 tallies in its last two games. And although Kellar believes her team isn’t close to peaking, the Lady Bronchos are in a good spot a month into the season.

“I really feel like a lot of them, especially our younger ones, are really progressing day to day,” Kellar said. “They’re really learning how to use each other.”
