Elizabeth Amezquita’s goal gives Rancho girls win over Eldorado

Rancho girls soccer players have learned to give head coach Christian Castellanos a bag of Skittles every time a pressure situation arises.

With his Rams mired in a 2-2 tie to Eldorado late in the second half Thursday, Castellanos scoured the sidelines for the fruit-flavored candies.

He eventually got them, but also something a little sweeter just minutes after.

Elizabeth Amezquita scored the go-ahead goal off an assist from Marlene Godoy with seven minutes remaining to help Rancho squeak out a 3-2 win over the host Sundevils in a key Northeast League match.

The Rams (4-2-1, 3-1), who are seeking their first playoff appearance since the 2011-2012 winter season, moved into second place in the Northeast League with the win. Las Vegas High (7-4-1, 4-0) currently is first.

“Sometimes, as a coach, you worry more,” Castellanos said. “We had so many shots, so many chances for us to score and they didn’t go in. But we always try to play smart and that was my philosophy from the beginning.

“It would’ve been super hard to get a draw today.”

After a scoreless first half, Rancho rarely let the ball cross midfield in the second half and finished with 17 shot attempts, including 11 on goal.

Amezquita also helped the Rams get on the board before her late-game heroics,. The junior assisted on Saipress Jones’ goal to give Rancho a 1-0 lead in the 54th minute.

“My head was just in the game today,” Amezquita said. “I was trying to help the girls and push them to do their best and motivate them. … One thing I love doing is giving assists. I’d rather give the assist than score. That’s just how I am. It’s something I like to do.”

Eldorado’s Brianna Duran answered with two goals in a three-minute span to help the Sundevils take a 2-1 lead in the 61st minute.

But the lead was short-lived.

Rancho’s Natividad Martinez scored the equalizer in the 62nd minute to set up the dramatic finish.

Dina Goc-Ong made seven saves, including six in the second half, for Eldorado (4-6-1, 2-2 Northeast).

“We came out far too much in a defensive mind, especially in the midfield,” Eldorado coach Jill Yacubovich said. “In the neutral third (of the field), we were thinking about playing defense rather than capitalizing. And we did a lot of the passing back and trying to set up instead of clearing and catching up.”