Shark Bites complete undefeated season
GILROY
Ten teams make up the California Youth Soccer League’s girls U9 Coast Copper ‘A’ South division. At the top sits the OVYSL Shark Bites competitive club team.
A team with players from Gilroy and Morgan Hill, the Shark Bites fed on the other nine teams in the division during the fall season, finishing 9-0-1 to lay claim to the championship.
In dominating fashion, the Shark Bites outscored opponents by a combined 43-5 margin, led by the skills of the team’s youngest player, 7-year-old Maddie Eastus.
Eastus became a goal-scoring machine, finding the back of the nylon net 23 times. She single handedly outscored every other team in the division. The Santa Clara Sporting Green, Central Valley Pride and the San Benito Lightning, teams that placed third through fifth, each totaled 22 goals as a group. The league’s second-place team, the South San Jose Strikers, had 20 tallies.
“The whole team really came together,” head coach Ricardo Espinosa said. “It was unbelievable. They had only played together since the beginning of April. Our defense was amazing.”
The Shark Bites didn’t stop at the division title and set their sights on a juicy District Cup crown.
The U9 league is broken down into three divisions: Gold, Silver and Copper. With the success the Shark Bites enjoyed in the Copper Division, they were moved all the way up to the Gold and proved they belonged.
The Shark Bites played to four draws, earning a point in each and took home second place at the District Cup held over the weekend.
“It was great for the girls,” Espinosa said. “The main thing was that they got to experience that high level.”
Eastus scored for the Shark Bites in a 1-1 tie against Los Gatos United ‘B’ to open the tournament. Hannah Pfefferlen scored for OVYSL in a 1-1 contest with the Burlingame Falcons in Game 2. A 0-0 draw followed with the Peninsula Odessy before the Shark Bites concluded the tournament with a 1-1 decision with Los Gatos United ‘A’. Alessandra Echaur posted the team’s lone goal.
