TATIANA SOGLIN (17) screens off a Vallejo player during Benicia’s 2-0 victory last Thursday.

Benicia High’s girls varsity soccer team finally got to play at its Drolette Stadium home base last Thursday night and celebrated with a 2-0 victory against the Vallejo Lady Redhawks.

The Lady Panthers – who won their only previously scheduled home game by forfeit and played the other 11 games on the road – got a goal from Alyssa Lisenko late in the first half and an insurance goal from Tatiana Soglin late in the second half to topple Vallejo.

The win bumped the Lady Panthers to 6-6-1 overall and 3-1-1 in the Solano County Athletic Conference, two points behind first-place American Canyon (4-1) and one point behind second-place Vanden (3-0-2) at the midway point of the conference schedule.

“It was good to get the points and stay close,” said Benicia head coach Javier Martinez. “We can’t afford a tie.” “We have to keep winning and keep scoring goals,” Lisenko said.

The game was still scoreless 35 minutes into the first half when Katie Lovelace lofted a corner kick in front of the net and Lisenko popped it in for a 1-0 lead. It stayed that way until Soglin got fouled in the Vallejo box with nine minutes left and booted the ensuing penalty kick into the right side of the net.

“Every game matters, so we’re trying to play our hardest for every game,” Soglin said.

Benicia’s defense was strong all night as Kaela Thyrion, Esperanza Chavez, Taylor Coppa and Eli Lopez kept the Lady Redhawks pinned down. Sophomore Madison Goodmiller played all 80 minutes in goal and recorded the team’s second straight shutout.

It was the third straight victory for the Lady Panthers, their longest winning streak of the season. Benicia’s defense has allowed only one goal in its past three on-field games.

“I think we’re starting to slowly figure it out,” Soglin said. “We’ve been trying to work together as a team and play better together.”

“We’re definitely learning how each other plays and getting more team chemistry,” Lisenko added.

The Lady Panthers have owned Vallejo for years, winning 22 straight meetings dating back to 2007 while outscoring the Lady Redhawks 137-2. But leading only 1-0 with nine minutes remaining Thursday had Martinez feeling a little disappointed.

“I saw a lot of good things, but we’re still making decisions at the wrong time,” the ever-critical Martinez said. “We had several opportunities where we got the ball right where we wanted it but didn’t get it into the net. For whatever reason, we’re not finishing and we need to clean that up real quick.”

The Lady Panthers will take some time off for Spring Break before playing at Vallejo on Tuesday, April 14.

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