West High’s soccer team had to be persistent to find a way past Lodi High’s defense Wednesday.

The Wolf Pack, 2-1-2 in the preseason, ended regulation in a 3-3 tie and then beat Lodi 5-4 on two rounds of overtime penalty kicks.

Lodi denied West the outright win in regulation after the Flames assaulted the West goal with a series of shots. Though none of those found the net, the Flames drew a penalty kick with West ahead 3-2 and five minutes left. The goal was made to force a five-shot round of penalty kicks and then a sudden-death shootout.

West assistant coach Nate Perry said the West vs. Lodi matchup has become a preseason rivalry, with the Flames taking a 2-1 win in Lodi the week before. Perry said coaches wanted players to get a taste of the postseason, so rather than end Wednesday’s game with a tie, they went into a penalty kick shootout.

The teams play in different leagues, but both have their eyes on the playoffs as they prepare for the league season, which begins at home for West on Sept. 24 against Stagg High of Stockton.

West and Lodi held each other scoreless for most of the first half. West kept up the pressure on Lodi’s goal but ran up against a Flames defense that was in position before the Wolf Pack could get a clear shot. The Flames went ahead in the final minutes of the half on a drive up the middle, with a shot that bounced over the heads of the Wolf Pack’s defenders and goalie and rolled into the net.

West tied it up six minutes into the second half. Miguel Flores fired a shot from the middle that hit the crossbar and bounced straight down to where Jovany Suarez waited to knock it in. Lodi took the lead back 17 minutes later on a clear shot into the left side of the West goal after a breakaway.

Later on, West’s Adrian Delgado got a pass from Akbar Mohad and took a shot from about 40 yards out, which hit the upper-left corner to tie it up again. Mohad realized it was his best chance to score after trying hard all first half to get past the Lodi defense.

“I just got my head up and saw that I had an open shot and went for it,” Delgado said.

Five minutes later, Flores found Suarez open on the right side of the goal, and Suarez shot it in just left of the Lodi goalkeeper.

After Lodi tied it again on a penalty kick, the teams went into a round of penalty kicks and finished the first series tied 3-3. West scored two more in the sudden-death round, and Lodi’s chance to keep it tied ended on a shot that went high.

Junior varsity

West’s freshman/sophomore team took a 2-1 win. Rolando Hernandez scored on a pass from David Reyes to put West ahead 22 minutes into the first half. Lodi’s Brandon Miller scored unassisted to tie it up near the end of the half. With six minutes left, West’s Miguel Madruga scored on an assist from Hernandez.

Golf Riverbank 156, Millennium 185

The Millennium girls traveled to Escalon Golf Course on Thursday to face Riverbank High on the par-29 course. Millennium’s Kendall Cripe shot the low score, a 35, followed by Riverbank’s Amanda Cagle, 37, and Carlyle Avey, 38. The Falcons’ No. 2 golfer was Brittany Oswald, 47.

The Falcons will play again Thursday at Greenhorn Creek Country Club against Bret Harte High.

West vs. St. Mary’s

West High’s golfers took a loss Thursday against St. Mary’s after West showed up short of a five-member team. Among the four West girls who played, Alice Trisri shot 44, Belinda Mahan shot 45, Erin Whitcomb carded a 56, and Shana Garrett posted a 60. St. Mary’s had a team score of 238 with five golfers.

Kimball High

Kimball High’s girls golf team hit the links this week to start its league season against teams from the Tri-City Athletic League.

Coach James Tiffaney said he has been working with a group of girls who are new to the game, and in their fourth week, they were able to field a full five-player team against Edison High and finish nine holes Tuesday at Tracy Golf & Country Club. They finished with a team score of 541, compared with Edison’s 373.

On Thursday, the team played again at Swenson Park Golf Course in Stockton against Stagg High, and while Kimball forfeited, individuals took the opportunity to knock a considerable number of strokes off their games. Lydia Nolen shot a 72 over nine holes, Amanda Larson shot a 73 and Gina Gerstenberger carded a 76.

Volleyball Kimball 2, Manteca 0

The Kimball High sophomore team started its season with a win on the road Wednesday in Modesto. The Jaguars won the games in close fashion, 27-25, 27-25, which head coach Milo Iosefa said is an encouraging start for a new team.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done, but for the first time they played together, they’re cohesive as a team,” he said.

Kimball will play its first home game Tuesday at Williams Middle School, where the Jaguars will have most of their home games.