In a league of her own

All match long, the shouts from Wheatland High's bench kept coming.

"Stop No. 12!"

"Stay on her!"

"Double her!"

"Don't give her any space!"

However, as most teams have figured out over the past two-plus seasons, stopping Sutter High striker Erika Linch is a lot easier said than done.

Linch, the reigning A-D All-Area Player of the Year, recorded a hat trick in the first half and added one more goal in the second on Tuesday afternoon to lead the Lady Huskies to a 4-0 Butte View League victory over the Pirates in Wheatland.

It was the sixth time in eight games in which Linch had scored three or more goals this season, and her four-goal performance upped her total for the year to 24.

Tuesday's scoring outburst also gave her 104 goals for her career, breaking the school record of 100 set by Jaymi Hill in 2010.

And to think, she's only a junior with a full year-and-a-half remaining to add to her already impressive resume.

"It's all of her offseason work," Sutter coach Jeff Stanhope said. "We do personal training all the time one-on-one, and she just does more than the average player does to get where she wants to go.

"Her drive and determination is better than any girl I've ever coached."

Linch opened the scoring in the 11th minute of the match when she received a corner kick from Jenna Lewis and headed the ball into the net to give the Huskies a quick 1-0 advantage.

Her prettiest goal of the day came in the 19th minute when she gathered in the ball 40 yards away from the goal, dribbled past four defenders to the right side and nestled a shot into the lower-left corner of the cage for a 2-0 lead.

After scoring with her head and with her foot, Linch added her third goal of the match by using her stomach to knock in a goal off a free kick from Jayden Garcia in the 33rd minute.

She then drilled a shot in from 17 yards out early in the second half to complete the scoring. Four goals — one with her left foot, one with her right foot, one with her head and one with her abs.

"Teams double and triple team her, but it doesn't matter," Stanhope said. "She just has a nose for the ball."

Despite being marked by multiple defenders this season, Linch said it does have its pluses. With her being the focus of so much attention, things are freed up for other players on the squad.

"It motivates me to do more for my team," she said. "When you double me, it always leaves one of my teammates open."

The Pirates (3-2, 0-2) weren't without some strong performances of their own, though. Goalkeeper Emma Willard kept the score respectable by recording 19 saves in the match and defenders Norma Horario and Sariah Garcia combined for 22 steals to help bolster a backline that was on the defensive all day.

"They're just an awesome team," Wheatland coach Joey Contreras said. "They've played together for a long time and for us to stay within four of them is a big improvement from last year.

"We have mostly freshmen and sophomores on the team, so I'm happy with the way we played," Contreras continued. "I just wished we would've scored."

The Huskies (7-1, 3-0), who have won seven consecutive Northern Section titles, also saw strong play from Lewis on defense and Martina Damboriena at midfield.

"I really want to add another championship," Linch said. "We're a younger team this year and we have some big shoes to fill. I just want to build my team up and give us that confidence."