COD (1-4) had held a 4-2 lead going into the 68th minute, but three goals in seven minutes by the Walnut Mt. San Antonio Mounties (1-2-1) dashed the Roadrunners hopes of an upset, 5-4.

The Roadrunners christened their 2017 home opener in a somber mood as both teams honored a moment of silence prior to kick off, in remembrance of Patriot Day, September 11th which will take place on Monday.

Desert would get things started in the 6th minute as, freshman midfielder Henessy Pena (Cathedral City H.S.) fed freshman forward Jianna Guerrero (La Quinta H.S.) a beautiful through ball and Guerrero found herself all alone with the Mounties keeper, lifting a shot from about 30 yards out and finding the back of the net, giving the Roadrunners an early 1-0 lead.

The Roadrunners would strike again, in the 20th minute as Henessy Pena found sophomore forward Melita Pena (La Quinta H.S.) who darted in and around the Mounties defense, pounding a shot past the diving Mt. San Antonio keeper to give Desert a 2-0 lead.

In the 29th minute Mt. San Antonio would score and then in the 34th minute they were awarded a penalty kick, equalizing at 2-2. But in the 36th minute, Desert would regain the lead when freshman forward Reanna Rivera (La Quinta H.S.) found herself all alone with the keeper after a deflection on a shot by Guerrero. As the Mounties keeper attacked the shot by Guerrero, the keeper kicked the attempt wide, right to the feet of Rivera, who calmly took two strides towards the net and poked in the goal, giving the home side a 3-2 advantage going into the halftime break.

In the 61st minute, sophomore goal keeper Maranda Palmer (Twentynine Palms H.S.) made the save of the year, as depicted in the photo above, she leapt in a full lay out and punched the Mounties shot attempt wide of the net, keeping the Desert lead intact.

Moments later, Rivera would find the back of the net again in the 64th minute, as she rifled a shot into the lower left corner of the net to give the Roadrunners a commanding 4-2 lead.

Then goals by Mt. San Antonio in the 68th, 73rd and 75th minutes put a damper on the home crowd.

Photo by Britney Vargas (COD Sports Information)
Information, Photos & Story provided by COD Sports Information.