The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
Much like their first go-around, Millikan and Wilson’s Moore League bout on Tuesday evening was headlined by a pair of goals from a home-team player—only this time that player was from Millikan.
Sophomore Alexandra “Furby” Rios came up huge for the Rams for the second straight game, scoring a brace while hosting Wilson in a dominant 3-1 Millikan win.
“[If you told me before the season about these last two games], honestly, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Rios said of her performances. Rios also scored the Rams’ only goal against Long Beach Poly in a 1-0 win just a week ago. “It’s just been my teammates and my coach and all their motivation is all I’ve needed. It feels awesome. We came in with a plan and executed and it feels good.”
“Because of what’s happened in the summer with injuries she’s had to take on a bigger role,” said Millikan coach Tino Nunez. “Obviously she’s been great, she’s shifty, great on the ball, but now she’s been asked to be that player and she’s stepped into that role. She’s shown it in the last two big games and it’s fun watching her.”
Nunez came into the game with a simple message to his team: be aggressive. The Rams flipped the script from their first go around with Wilson when they were outshot 15-4 while being shutout in a 2-0 loss. This time Millikan found shots early and often, outshooting the Bruins 17-7 in a dominant offensive performance.
“It’s just the want in these games,” said Nunez of the difference between the two games. “We were very young in that first game and you could tell we weren’t ready for that type of energy. But they stuck to it and tonight we just wanted to set the tone early. I’ve told them to be aggressive, take risks and take chances early on and we were getting rewarded for it.”
With that aggressive tone came a handful of fouls for either team in what became an instantly physical game. Millikan had two of the three yellow cards handed out in the first half while also out-fouling the Bruins 5-3.
The Rams totaled nine of their shots in the first half including a pair of shots to each Rios, Karly Gallo, and Gissel Fang. Rios’s goal came in the 18th minute near the 20-yard line, before another Millikan goal from junior Isabella Nunez in the 29th minute. Rios then found her second goal on her first shot of the second half in the 43rd minute.
“We knew that we needed to show them early on who we are and that’s what we did,” said Rios of her team’s first half. It feels good especially after the 2-0 loss earlier in the season.”
Rios had been moved around the Millikan lineup this season as Nunez looked to fit her in as a starter in just her sophomore year. Nunez says that she eventually found her groove in the lineup and has played “freed up” for the Rams midway through their season with back-to-back crucial performances.
“It was just giving her the freedom and the confidence where she can just get after it and go make it happen. So I think that she’s started to feel that it’s obviously shown in the outcome of our last couple of games.”
“It was a lot to handle but I’ve started to get a handle of it and we’re starting to get settled,” Rios said. “I’ve been focusing on my work ethic and just trying to execute my work and today I did.”
Wilson was able to find more success in the second half after posting just one shot in the first. The Bruins found six shots in the half including a goal in the 77th minute from Kai Fontenot to cut the lead to two.
Fontenot had Wilson’s two goals the first time they played Millikan but was unable to get many opportunities alongside her sister and forward Zoie. The pair each found the ball out in space a handful of times but were thin with their opportunities near the goal. After the game, Nunez credited the sisters and said it took a group effort to try and contain them.
“You just gotta try and contain them but it’s tough, they’re great players,” he said. “Once they get running it’s scary so we just tried to have that support and have numbers around them. It takes a collective group to slow them down.”
Wilson will gear up for a handful of road games coming up against Compton, Lakewood, and Long Beach Poly. Millikan will be at Jordan on Thursday and hosts Long Beach Poly in a marquee matchup on Jan. 30.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009. Despite trailing by five runs in the fifth inning of the Moore League softball opener on Tuesday, there was never a doubt in the Lakewood dugout. “We have great chemistry and I knew we had each other’s backs,” Lakewood junior Laci […]
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In a comeback thriller Wilson overcame an 8-4 halftime deficit to top crosstown rival Poly, 12-10. The Bruins improve to an unbeaten 6-0 in their second season. Kristin Berry led Wilson with five goals, backed up by Kate Rael’s three goals and Aunna McMahon’s two. Sam Thompson and Kaylen Harley scored the other goals. Wilson […]
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