Competitive
Boys 14U
Stingrays 1, Spartans 0
The Orchard Valley U14 Boys’ Class I soccer club traveled to Sunnyvale last Saturday and defeated the Sunnyvale Spartans 1-0.
The Stingrays recorded their 3rd shutout in their past five games and advanced three spots in the Abronzino League standings. The defense for the Stingrays has been stellar, as sweeper Casey Mott, fullbacks Eric Miller and Nick Rodriquez, stopper Danny Nelson, and goal-keeper Kevin Grove have dominated their opponents over the past several games. The Spartans were only able to muster two shots on goal for the entire game, with the Stingrays recording 18. Midway through the second half, Grove had a goal kick which found Nelson at mid-field. Left un-marked, Nelson entered the scoring zone and made a nice lead pass to Ricardo Plata who blasted a shot past the keeper. The Stingrays continued their offensive pressure, as Murilo Almeida, Gerardo Murillo, Noel Vera, Matt Altamirano, and Blake Presar each had excellent games. Center-midfielder Sheldon Steenhuis controlled play in the middle of the field, and helped stifle the Spartans attack.
Girls 12U
Belmont Jamboree
The Tornadoes traveled to Belmont for a three game Jamboree with some very strong teams. The strength of the field was evidenced by the fact that in the six game event, no team scored more than one goal in a game. The Tornadoes had every flavor of result, battling the ninety plus degree heat to come home with a tie, a win, and a loss.
Girls 10U
Toros 4, Cobras 1
The Orchard Valley Toros soccer team faced a tough Los Gatos team in league play but managed to come out on top 4 – 1.
“This was our best passing game yet this season. We were able to keep our offense up and our excellent midfielders beat the Cobras to the ball consistently,” Coach Kevin Dunwoodie said.
Forward Jennae Cambra scored two goals, and was assisted beautifully by Sara Sauceda and Megan Rauschnot. Single goals were made by Katelyn Nebesnick and Rauschnot.
The Toros had a total of 16 shots on goal and dominated the game.
Defensively, Dani Hemeon had an outstanding game by denying the Cobras any opportunity to attack down the right side.
Goal keeper Chelsea Hill played most of the game and denied seven Cobra shots. The Cobras only goal came in the last five minutes when goalie Holly Dunwoodie’s excellent deflection ended up in a five player scramble knocking the ball into the right corner.
Cheetahs 2, Lightning 1
The Blue Cheetahs broke out to an early lead on a goal by Paige Menage. The Lightning fought back to tie the score with a goal in the first half. Great defense by both teams kept the score even until Katie Machado broke through the Lightnings defense with a game winning goal for the Cheetahs.
Tornadoes 0, Divas 0
The Tornadoes matched up with their league rivals the Divas in the first game of the Jamboree, and gave a much better showing than in league play. The Tornadoes had the better opportunities to score, having the ball right in front of the goal on more than one occasion, but were not able to capitalize on any of their opportunities. Goalie Nichole Downing registered another shutout. Cloey LemMon, Stephanie Wan, Sarah Block, and Lindsay Pund turned in their usual solid defensive efforts. Taylor Johnson and Amanda Kline also turned in fine defensive efforts, as did midfielders JC Clayton, Bella Comin, Lexi MacPhail, Alex Seda, and Mary Thatcher. Amanda Whitling and Clarissa Hammer led the forward corps, as most of the girls took shifts at several different positions.
Tornadoes 1, Wildfire 0
Surprisingly, in the game in which they should have been the most tired, the Tornadoes came up with probably their best game of the weekend, and certainly their best result, downing a previously unbeaten Wildfire. Nichole Downing saw action in the field as Whitling and Kline, relieved Downing in goal for one half each, and continued the shutout streak. It looked as though the team would come away with two scoreless ties on the day, as the Tornadoes played to under the two minute mark with no goals. Then JC Clayton came up with the ball in the Tornadoes defensive end, and moved up field, looking for defensive pressure that never came. Clayton simply kept going on the three quarter field run until she finally broke through the last line of defense and beat the goalie for the only score of the game.
Tornadoes 0, Belmont 1
Had the soccer gods looked just a bit more kindly on the Tornadoes, they could easily have come away with another win. The Tornadoes worked themselves into several very good scoring opportunities, but were not able to capitalize. The Tornadoes had one defensive lapse on a throw in from near the corner, and a Belmont forward ripped the shot where the goalie couldn’t possibly touch it, right in the top of the net, for the only score of the game.
To send in soccer scores, email them to cbarrera@ morganhilltimes.com
