Seven OVYSL players were on teams that took first this
winter
MORGAN HILL — The boys and girls soccer teams of St. Francis High brought home Central Coast Section championships this winter, and it was in no small part due to the help of Orchard Valley Youth Soccer League.
The St. Francis boys team, which won its first section title since 1993, included Kyle Dunne, a junior who played with the Orchard Valley Blast coached by former OVYSL board member and coach Dick Mussallem; Sean Little and Nick Salvemini, seniors who played for the OV Eagles coached by Jack Salvemini; and junior Garrett (Salvemini) Wheeler, who also played for the OV Eagles.
Keeping it in the family, the No. 2-seeded Lancers (14-4-6) are coached by Mike Salvemini, a former OV board member and longtime coach.
They beat an upstart Willow Glen team 3-2 in a hard-fought Division II final March 6 at Gilroy’s Garcia-Elder Sports Complex. After leading 2-0 at halftime, St. Francis looked complacent in the second half — and the No. 8 Rams (14-5-1) capitalized. They tied the score 2-2, but Nick Salvemini answered with the game-winning goal on a long shot in the 70th minute.
After the match, the St. Francis players took off for Valley Christian High School where the No. 2-seeded St. Francis girls upset top seed Woodside 2-1 to capture a second Division I championship in three years.
The Lady Lancers (19-4-3) featured OVYSL players Lauren Schmidt and Alex Fordham, who currently play for coach Tony Vasquez.
Also, Aneska Alino — another of Vasquez’s OVYSL players — was on the Presentation girls soccer team that tied Aragon 2-2 in the Division II final March 6 at VCHS.
