COLUMBUS — The question is no longer will Ilana Vasconez become the top goal scorer in the history of the Ottumwa High School girls soccer team.
Now, it’s a question of what record-setting marks will Vasconez leave behind?
One season removed from scoring just 11 goals in an injury-riddled junior campaign, Vasconez finished off a 13-goal week for the Bulldogs with her third consecutive hat trick on Friday. Vasconez became the first Ottumwa soccer player to score 30 goals in a season and 70 goals in a career with three of the four goals needed to secure a 4-0 win at Columbus Junction, extending Ottumwa’s current winning streak to six straight matches.
“It’s crazy to think I scored that many goals this week, but we just keep playing well and we keep pushing through,” Vasconez said. “It was good to push through this week. I feel like, in previous years, if we had a busy week we’d lose our energy and not to as well.
“We did really well having four matches in a week. We tried hard in all of them and the results were in our favor.”
Ottumwa, once 1-4 this season, can secure the program’s winningest season with three more wins this week. The Bulldogs return home to host Albia on Thursday and Des Moines Hoover on Friday after traveling to Mount Pleasant on Monday.