Fast start (7-2-1) rewards Sanger High girls with Fresno area’s top soccer ranking
The high school soccer season has barely kicked off, but the Sanger High girls have quickly stamped themselves as the Fresno area’s top team.
Following a 2-1 win over Clovis East last Thursday in its home opener – and a 2-1 victory the following day against Centennial High of Bakersfield – Sanger is 7-2-1 and ranked No. 1 in the Fresno region by Max Preps.
The Division II school, which stumbled in a 1-0 loss on Monday to El Diamante, is ranked third in the CIF Central Section behind Bakersfield programs Garcés (9-1) and Liberty (6-1-1).
Sanger, which lost 4-2 to powerhouse Buchanan High in the second round of the Division I playoffs last season, opened eyes by capturing the Harold Young Soccer Tournament.
“It’s looking good,” said head coach Jesse Camarena after the win over Clovis East. “We havea very, very good team. A very inspired team.”
Camerena believes he has the players needed to challenge for a section title. The 2021-22 squad went 24-6-1 and pocketed the section Division II title.
“We have some players who are very, very good, and they’re mature,” he said. “We’re getting our freshmen ready to go.”
Freshman midfielder Veva Vaca scored what turned out to be the winning goal with 11½ minutes left in the first half against Clovis East. Teammate Andrea Alverenga, a senior midfielder who leads the team with nine goals, scored the opening goal.
“They know what’s at stake,” said Camarena. “They know that when I came here (last season) I told them I’m here to win it all; and they all bought into that.”
Camarena, who faulted himself for a late Clovis East goal in the final 4 minutes of play due to playing more conservatively, said Sanger’s “culture has changed a little bit.
“Our team is united, so that’s a big plus,” said Camarena.
Against Clovis East, Sanger jumped out to the 2-0 advantage by halftime, and Camarena got a chance to see different players.
“Clovis East is a very good team. I knew they were going to come in here and give us a battle, which they did,” said Camerena.
The visitors had numerous opportunities to score the tying goal, but Sanger goalie Haylee Márquez managed to prevent several shots on goals while other shots missed their mark in the final minutes of play.
“It came down to the last minute, just like it should be at Division I soccer,” said Camarena.
Sanger will have to rebound from the El Diamante loss when it hosts Kerman High on Jan. 4.
This story was originally published December 19, 2023 at 5:30 AM.