Lady Raiders come out firing

The Cibola girls soccer team's six goals came in all kinds of ways, from all sides of the field and from short and long distances in their first game of the season.

The one constant factor in each score: Itzel Rodriguez.

Rodriguez scored three goals and assisted in the Lady Raiders' other trio of points Tuesday night at Raider Field for a 6-0 win against Phoenix-Barry Goldwater, sending an early message to the rest of the state about their offensive firepower.

"You never know what you're going to get from that first game sometimes, so I was just hoping we'd come out and play hard and give a good effort," Cibola coach Mike Fritz said. "It's the one thing we talk about all the time, and that's what they did."

What's even worse news for future opponents is that Cibola scored five of its goals in the first half, and played the entire game without senior forward Nikki Talamante. Fritz said Talamante was held out after getting "a little dinged up" in practice.

So add Yvonne Flores and Lolve Perez to the list to players who will also need to be marked. Flores displayed her quick feet and good timing to score two goals within a span on 10 minutes, and Perez served up a high, bending shot that found the back of the net in the same time period as well.

Rodriguez started off Cibola's blitz of goals in the 17th minute, blasting a ball from approximately 20 yards out away that brushed the goalkeeper's raised hands but didn't change its path. Her other two goals came from even further distances but required less work to free herself for a shot, one on a free kick and the other all alone with a straightaway look from the middle of the field.

"Look at the girls around her," Fritz said of Rodriguez's teammates. "They were doing a lot of great things, so it's not just Itzel. We've got girls around the whole field that can play, so to give her all the credit wouldn't be fair to the 10 other girls."

Often the recipient of passes and throw-ins from her twin sisters Amiee and Naybie, Rodriguez's strong foot and skills in the midfield set up Flores and Perez for their goals. Flores chased a crossing pass over the Bulldogs' defense from Rodriguez, made a short turn inside and took her shot. The same combination worked again just before halftime as Rodriguez dribbled through defenders 30 yards upfield before sliding the ball into the goal box for a streaking Flores to tap across the line.

"Amiee plays defense and she played well, and Naybie had a solid game, but Itzel's the leader of those three," Fritz said. "She make sure they know what they're doing. She does big sister things, and they put a lot of balls together."