Madera South dominates Hanford in the first-round

Wendy Alexander/the Madera Tribune

Madera South’s Emily Santos works the ball for the Stallions during a 4-0 win Tuesday in the Div. III first round playoffs.

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The Madera South Stallions girls soccer team cruised to a 4-0 win against Hanford in the Div. III first-round playoff matchup.

The eighth-seeded Stallions opened the scoring with two goals in the first 10 minutes, then added two more in the second half to finish the job against ninth-seeded Hanford on Tuesday at Madera South.

Aliah Avila led the way with two goals in the win.

“They came out very aggressive and they came with a determination,” Madera South head coach Ramon Delgadillo said.

Hanford tightened its defense for the rest of the first half after giving up the first two goals. But the Bullpups also struggled to create opportunities.

Still leading 2-0, Madera South landed two shots on target early in the second half. But the Stallions didn’t score their third goal until the 47th minute when Avila pounced on a rebound in front of the goal and smashed her kick into the back of the net.

Two minutes later, Madera South’s Valerie Rocha launched a shot from about 30 yards out which went just over the bar.

The Stallions found their fourth goal in the 66th minute when Avila broke away from the defense and beat the goalkeeper to cap off her line. Going into the second half of the matchup, Delgadillo encouraged the girls to keep their feet on the gas.

“During the league, it seems like in the first half we play a really good half and then suddenly we just fall apart in the second half,” Delgadillo said. “So I told them ‘No, we can’t play like that.’”