Coming in with a three-game losing streak, Orestimba High School women’s soccer entered back into the win column on Friday against Hughson High School, 2-0, at Deputy Dennis Wallace Soccer Field.

Senior striker Maya Barajas has been the driving force in the team’s success this season, leading the team in goals scored with 10 before Friday’s match. Against the Huskies, she continued to put the Warriors on her back by recording her fourth brace this season in the first half.

Orestimba head coach Alexa Avila spoke highly of Barajas’ skill set as a player and what she’s contributed to the team.

“She’s our striker; a true striker. She might not be the biggest so I think people overestimate how aggressive and strong she is,” Avila said about Barajas. “She’s just a big part of our team … she’s a good player.” 

Early in the match, Barajas had a clear breakaway toward the Hughson goal post where she struck the ball past Hughson’s junior goalkeeper Emily Villalobos to take a 1-0 lead.

Moments after the Huskies nearly converted a goal, Barajas once again had another breakaway opportunity where she kicked the ball near the left side of the goal box to record what would later be the last goal of the match.

Going into the second half with a lead, both teams seemed to amplify their defensive coverages as whenever each team had an opportunity to score, a timely stop was made.

Junior forward Madden Nobles had an uncontested shot at Orestimba’s goalbox that ended up going over the goalpost. Moments later, she had another opportunity to covert but her attempt went towards the left side of the goalpost and was caught by Warriors’ senior goalkeeper Mariah Avila.

Near the end of the match, Barajas had the opportunity to record her third goal. As she dribbled past multiple defenders, Barajas almost had a clear breakaway towards Hughson’s goalpost but sophomore defender Keylee Lundquist collided with the senior striker last second and was forced to attempt a difficult shot that was saved by Villalobos.

Orestimba improved to 6-6-1 overall and picked up the program's first win in Trans Valley League play; they are now 1-3 in TVL play. This is the team’s The Warriors also record their second consecutive win and shutout against the Huskies, improving their all-time record to 4-11-1.

“Coming off that three-game losing streak, it starts to get in athlete’s heads,” Avila said.

Orestimba will continue their three-game slate of road matches, traveling to Ripon Christian School. Ripon - who are 8-4-1 overall and 2-2 TVL play - has won three out of their last four matches. They’ve recorded shutouts in all three wins.

Both teams have a history against each other during their tenure in the Southern League. Ripon currently holds a 16-3-4 record against Orestimba. Their last matchup was a 2-1 Ripon win in January 2024. Prior to that game, the Warriors had broken the Knight’s unbeaten eight-game streak against them with a 1-0 win earlier that month.

“We got to take it one game at a time but we can’t overlook anybody,” Avila said. “This is our first season in this league (TVL), teams are strong … the teams that we played, we’re going to play them again and we’ve just got to take advantage of knowing how they played before.”

Navtej Hundal is a freelance journalist in Stanislaus County.