Recreational League
Boys 8U
The Cheetahs defeated the Green Dragons 3-2. Brent Bottomley scored two goals for the Cheetahs, and Eric Orta scored the other goal.
Brandt Garber made some key stops in goal for the Cheetahs. Defensively, Bobby Bettencourt, Austin Anderson, Brenden Shilling and Kyle Alexander stopped several scoring efforts with key steals.
Andrew Warnock, Daneil Orta and Anthony Beltramo ran the field well playing both forward and defense during the game. Kyle Horne and Nate Shilling turned in a solid effort for the Cheetahs.
Boys 1uU
The Cobras defeated the Dark Venom in the season opener for the two teams.
The Cobras took a few minutes to get into the game after the Dark Venom to scored the first goal.
The Cobras then took charge with Nelson Pyle scoring four goals in the first half.
David Robinson played well in the goal stopping numerous shots on goal. Brian Warnes had numerous steals and displayed excellent hustle.
In the second half Gabriel Cheadle scored again for the Cobras. Matt Gamez played well in the goal the second half to help secure the Cobra victory
Ben Nuno showcased good awareness of the ball, while Michael Dukes had a great chance to score for the Blue Thunder. David Molyneux made a nice save to keep the ball in play. Brian Freitas also showed his talent dribbling the ball up the field. Conner Porzio and Austin Chenoweth made numerous saves as goalies in the 8-0 loss to the Earthquakes.
Class 1
Boys 10U
The Lightning struck twice during a tough game against DeAnza Force Black. Henry Cullen was the first to score for the Lightning. His scoring opportunity was initiated with the quick hands of goalie Dalton VandenBrandhorninge. The blocked shot was picked up by Scottie Henningsen who dribbled through a maze of baffled DeAnza players and then passed swiftly forward to Cullen. Aggressive play by Marshall Deogracia kept the pressure on DeAnza. Trevor Fuhriman was next to score for the Lightning. Miles Mammen and Matt Abrahamson had strong play for the Lightning. David Guenther continued to play impressively as his big kicks kept the ball bounding toward the DeAnza goal. Cam Weirhauser’s stalwart defensive was impregnable.
Boys 14U
The Orchard Valley U14 Boys’ Class I soccer club traveled to Watsonville this past Saturday and tied the 2003 State Cup runner-up SCC Assault 1-1.
The Assault scored first on a rare Stingray’s defensive breakdown that the right winger placed above keeper Ricardo Plata. Later in the half, left back Matt Altamirano made the save of the game, as he stayed with his man and knocked a sure goal away for a corner kick.
The Stingrays actually outplayed the Assault in the first half, with three legitimate scoring opportunities. Kevin Grove’s corner kick almost went in the goal, and the Stingrays missed two rebounds to an open net from a few feet away. Two other opportunities went awry, and the half ended with the Assault in the lead, 1-0.
Midway through the second half, center midfielder Danny Nelson drew a foul just outside the penalty box and the ensuing free kick was placed perfectly by fullback Casey Mott to Nelson, who deftly put the ball past the keeper.
With the game now tied at one, both teams worked hard for the winning goal. Grove made three nice saves in goal, and the Assault keeper made a diving save off a blast by left winger Noel Vera. Bryan Faulk played an outstanding game in midfield, consistently winning the ball. This was the fourth straight game the Stingrays have only allowed one goals.
Class 3
Boys 9U
The OV Quakes won their home opener at the Morgan Hill Soccer Complex on Saturday by beating a tough Central Coast Tiger team by the score of 3-0. Christian Manzo assisted on two goals by Jonathan Deleon, with Luke Schmidt knocking in a rebound for the Quakes third goal. The Tigers played a swarming defense which made it hard for the Quakes to get shots on goal. The Quakes defense, led by strong efforts from Dwight Payne and Christopher Nojadera, shut down the Tigers for the Quakes second win in a row. Quakes keeperCarlos Herrera got credited for the shutout.
COMPETITIVE
Girls 12U
The Orchard Valley Tornadoes put on an impressive display Saturday morning against the visiting DeAnza Freedom to win 5-0. The Tornadoes got on the board early as Amanda Kline split a pair of defenders and fed fellow forward Taylor Johnson, who beat the goalie for the first goal of the game. The Tornadoes never looked back as JC Clayton made a long lead pass through the defense, and Johnson again cashed it for her second goal. Sarah Block closed out the scoring in the first half, digging a ball away from the defenders and beating the goalie with a nice left foot shot to make it 3-0 Tornadoes.
The Tornado midfield dominated the game as Amanda Whitling, JC Clayton, Bella Comin, Sarah Block, Clarissa Hammer, Lexi MacPhail and Alex Seda kept the play in the Tornadoes’ end throughout the game. If the Freedom did crack the first line of defense, the Tornadoes’ defenders, led by Stephanie Wan, Cloey LemMon, Lindsay Pund and Mary Thatcher were quick to stop the ball. Although goalie Nichole Downing handled the ball several times, she was never seriously threatened.
In the second half, Amanda Whitling relieved Nichole Downing in goal. Downing made the most of her opportunity to play in the field, first scoring off a nice lead pass from Bella Comin to push the lead to 4-0 and again scoring with a left footer to make it 5-0 and close out the scoring. Whitling held up her end with a nice leaping save off a corner play to maintain the shutout.
