The U11 Orchard Valley Youth Soccer League Eagles was eliminated
from State Cup contention Saturday at the Morgan Hill Soccer
Complex.
The U11 Orchard Valley Youth Soccer League Eagles was eliminated from State Cup contention Saturday at the Morgan Hill Soccer Complex.
“Unfortunately, we drew a very difficult bracket for the first round,” said coach Jack Salvemini, “And we were missing one of our strongest defenders this weekend. But advancing to the State Cup is as much the luck of the draw as anything else.”
The Eagles opened up their first game of the State Cup play Saturday against the South San Jose Pumas.
These two teams have faced each other often this past season during league and tournament play and were very equally matched.
They played to a scoreless tie thanks to some outstanding defensive play by lead goalie Brian Behrad.
On Sunday, the Eagles matched against the Pleasanton Ballistic United, who is always a formidable opponent, and ended up on the short end of a 2-0 loss.
The final opponent was the Santa Cruz Breakers, who the Eagles hadn’t seen before.
The Breakers scored first, but the the Eagles tied the game on a goal by Behrad.
The Breakers eventually scored another goal to win 2-1 and eliminate the Eagles from the tournament.
“We will hopefully do better next year,” Salvemini said. “In the meantime, the team will pretty much stay together over the spring, playing spring soccer and indoor soccer to stay in shape and hone their skills for fall.”
