Girls Soccer: Chanel Koepke, Ana Valdez rally Reavis to victory

Updated: April 9, 2012 10:32PM

Down 1-0 near the midpoint of the second half Monday and playing into a strong wind, things weren’t looking great for Reavis.

But with two talented strikers in Chanel Koepke and Ana Valdez on the field, the Rams have the ability to quickly turn the game around.

Reavis scored three times in a span of just over eight minutes as Koepke found the net twice and Valdez added a goal and an assist to lift the Rams to a 3-2 win over Argo in a battle for first in the South Suburban Red in Burbank.

“I thought our midfielders picked it up and started distributing the ball well,” Reavis coach Phil Basile said. “And obviously, my two forwards are phenomenal. They have great chemistry with each other. I’m so fortunate to have them.”

Koepke tied the game at 1 with 21:10 to go, making a strong rush down the left side and beating Argo goalie Donna Miskiewicz (5 saves) with a high shot to the far post.

Koepke gave Reavis (6-2, 4-0) the lead four minutes later, taking a pass from Valdez and clanking a shot off the inside of the post and in.

“I got lucky that it went in off the post,” Koepke said. “Everyone kind of pulled together at halftime because we knew this was a big game. Hopefully, we can stay atop the conference now and win it.”

Valdez’s goal 13 minutes left proved key as Kkatanya Martinez scored for Argo (6-3, 3-1) in the final minute.

Argo struck first with 12:32 left in the first half when Wendy Miranda fired a shot that deflected off a defender and went in.

“I thought we played really well in the first half against the wind,” Argo coach John Gaytan said. “We broke down in the second half and we didn’t finish our chances like they did.”

Heidi Ibrahim made three saves for Reavis.

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