Local team wins tournament final in sudden-death PKs
MILPITAS — Orchard Valley Youth Soccer League’s Hotshots, a class four club, placed third in a tournament last weekend in Milpitas.
The team won three matches and lost one after posting a 5-2-2 record during the regular season.
The third-place game was a nail-biter. The Hotshots played against the Miltipas Youth Soccer League Sharks, a club they faced three times earlier this season, including a tournament-opening 3-0 win for the Sharks. Their first meeting ended with a 1-0 win for the Hotshots, and the second was a scoreless draw.
The fourth meeting was just as thrilling. The Orchard Valley team won 5-4 in a rare sudden-death round of penalty kicks.
“I told our girls, ‘They’re a team just like us. You have to believe in yourselves,'” Hotshots coach Mike Bingham said Monday. “We played very well during the season, so it wasn’t a surprise that we were able to finish third.”
The game was tied 1-1 after 60 minutes and remained that way through two five-minute overtime periods, sending the game to penalty kicks. Both teams scored in four out of five shots, and the match proceeded to sudden-death PKs. Neither side scored in the first round.
After the Sharks missed their second shot, Melinda Martinez buried her attempt to clinch the win, sending the Hotshots into celebration.
Orchard Valley scored 27 goals this season.
