Local team wins Hannah Welker tournament
Wade Katsuyoshi, special to the Times
MORGAN HILL — The Orchard Valley Knights U9 boys soccer team, coached by Hugo Ojeda and Mike Mercurio, took first place at the “On Your Toes” Hannah Welker tournament held in Morgan Hill this past weekend.
After going 2-0-1 in their first three games of the tournament, the Knights advanced to the final game.
In the final game, the Knights played hard against an aggressive South San Jose Tigers team. Right before halftime, Caleb Ojeda scored to tie the game 1-1. Jesus Duran got the final score to win it 2-1. The strong defensive plays and hustle of Niko Katsuyoshi, Cory Taylor and Jack Tomlinson and a great save by goalie Ethan Gonzales kept the Tigers from scoring in the second half.
The Knights were unsure if they had won the tournament until the official scorer tallied the points.
“This was the most aggressive play we have seen out of this group of boys. It was a very competitive bracket up for grabs. Flat out, our kids battled harder and took that trophy with their hearts,” coach Mike Mercurio said.
In the first game against South SJ Force, the Knights’ Blake Mercurio scored in the first half to tie the game. The Knights trailed 2-1 in the second but came back with two goals in the last five minutes by Gabriel Cornejo and Ben Perron.
The second game against the Los Gatos United Panthers was a tough, hard- fought game that ended in a 2-2 tie. The Knights knotted it before half with a nice goal by Ojeda. Late in the game, Brahel Morales had a breakaway goal for the equalizer. Some great defensive stops were made by Davis Arca and Owen McCarry to keep this game close.
The third game against the OVYSL Blackhawks started with an early goal from Mercurio. At halftime, the score was tied 1-1. Duran kicked the ball so hard it slipped out of the goalie’s hands for a goal. Jesus and Ethan Gonzales got the next two goals, which led to a 4-1 win.
