Starmount mercy rules Lady Cardinals on the pitch

Starmount’s Rachel Fuentes makes a diving stop in the first half of the Lady Rams’ 9-0 win last Thursday.

BOONVILLE — Six different Starmount girls soccer players found the back of the net in the Lady Rams’ 9-0 win over East Wilkes on Thursday evening.

But no ovation was bigger than the one after Victoria Sanchez’ goal in the 39th minute that put the Lady Rams ahead 4-0. The sophomore also added an assist in the match.

Before Sanchez’ goal, Amy Ocampo gave Starmount (7-10-1, 4-7 Northwest 1A) the early 1-0 advantage; then Meyli Carrasco collected two of her four goals in the 15th and 29th minutes.

The senior, who also assisted on four goals, added two more goals in the second half, including the eventually game-ender in the 79th minute.

The Lady Cardinals, who are now 2-9 in Northwest 1A Conference play and 4-15 overall, had a chance to score in the 33rd minute.

Alyssa Baker charged down the pitch and she found herself one-on-one with Starmount goalkeeper Rachel Fuentes. The senior came up with the sliding save for one of her six saves.

Ahead by four at halftime, four different Starmount players scored in the second half.

Ashley Santos record a goal in the 53rd minute and then Annette Arellano and Karla Mondragon scored nearly a minute apart in the 58th and 59th minutes, respectively.

Mondragon scored off Carrasco’s miss to go up 7-0.

Despite being peppered with shot attempts, Kierstin Dowell recorded 23 stops in goal for East Wilkes, which lost 4-0 to Mount Airy on Monday evening. The Lady Cardinals close out the season at Elkin on Wednesday.

In addition to Carrasco and Sanchez, Crystal Ruiz, Melissa Jimenez and Tania Lorenzo-Cortez added assists.

Starmount, which snapped a five-match losing streak on Thursday, returned to the pitch on Monday and dropped a 5-3 decision at West Wilkes.

The Lady Rams, who close out the regular season on Thursday against North Stokes, led 3-2 at halftime behind a trio of goals from Ruiz; the Lady Blackhawks (10-6-1) rallied for three second-half goals.

Carrasco assisted on a pair of goals and Jimenez added a helper. Fuentes finished with 14 saves.