COD (5-3; 1-0) began Conference play with an opportunity to make a statement and the Roadrunners did, as Desert overwhelmed the Victor Valley Rams of Victorville (1-8; 0-2), 10-3.

The Roadrunners received multi-goal games from sophomore forward Jasmine Castillo (Indio Shadow Hills) and freshman forward Citlalli Ponce (Indio Shadow Hills) and a multi-assist game from sophomore midfielder Denise Hernandez (Palm Springs H.S.) in the easy afternoon victory.

The Roadrunners played the Rams for the first time in program history in 1998 and are now 10-24-5 all-time against Victor Valley. Desert has an 8-11-1 record against the Rams in Palm Desert.

Desert would get the scoring started in the 3rd minute, when freshman midfielder Monserrath Bedolla-Guzman (Thermal Coachella Valley) found freshman midfielder Zaynah Cortez (Palm Springs H.S.) in front of the net for her second goal of the year, giving the Roadrunners the early 1-0 lead.

In the 10th minute, Victor Valley would equalize, tying the score at 1-1, but that was the last time the game was close. In the 17th minute, Hernandez grabbed the first of her two assists on the afternoon, when she connected with sophomore defender Abigail Yanez (Banning H.S.) and Yanez rifled a shot into the back of the net for her first goal of 2021 and giving the Roadrunners a 2-1 lead.

In the 19th minute, Hernandez got in on the action, scoring her first goal of the year on a penalty kick and giving Desert a 3-1 lead. In the 38th minute, freshman forward Yisel Ybarra (Thermal Desert Mirage) snagged her first goal of the season on a feed from freshman midfielder Jasmine Hernandez (Thermal Coachella Valley), giving the Roadrunners a 4-1 lead.

Just before halftime, Ponce collected her first of two goals on the afternoon, when Castillo lobbed a pass into her and gave Desert a 5-1 lead. In the 55th minute, Ybarra pushed a pass to Castillo, who pounded the shot into the back of the net, for her first of two goals on the afternoon and giving the Roadrunners a 6-1 advantage.

In the 65th minute, Castillo struck again, for her team leading sixth goal of the season, on an assist from Cortez, to give Desert a 7-1 lead. In the 75th minute, Hernandez forwarded the ball to freshman midfielder Elizabeth Garcia (Cathedral City H.S.) for Garcia's first goal of 2021 and moments later Ponce snagged her second goal of the game and third goal of the season.

In the 89th minute, Ponce connected with freshman midfielder Narali Lopez (Cathedral City H.S.) to give Lopez her first goal of the season. Freshman goal keeper Jessica Uribe (Indio Shadow Hills) received the start facing only one shot on goal the entire first half and freshman goal keeper Unica Carrizoza-Lawson (La Quinta H.S.) was given the duty of wrapping up the win, facing four shots and making two saves.

The next game for Desert is on Friday, October 1 at home against the Norco Mustangs. The Roadrunners first played Norco on 2014 and have an 0-3-1 record against the Mustangs, including 0-0-1 record in Palm Desert. The last time Desert played the Mustangs was in 2019, in Palm Desert, where the Roadrunners walked away with a 2-2 tie.

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For additional information, please contact the COD Sports Information Office at 760.423.6641.

Information, Story & Photo provided by COD Sports Information.