UPPER LAKE — Coming off a tough 1-1 tie with the Clear Lake Cardinals on Tuesday in their North Central League I South opener, the St. Helena Saints were looking forward to their first win of the season on Thursday against the Upper Lake Cougars.
They didn”t get it.
For the second match in a row, the Saints had to settle for a 1-1 in varsity girls” soccer action at Upper Lake.
“They were frustrated,” Upper Lake coach Ana Santana said of the Saints, who battled the likes of Clear Lake and St. Vincent for the NCL I South title last season. “And I think it (the match) was a morale boost for my team. They have so much potential but they don”t believe in themselves. I hope they believe what I believe … they”re a tremendous team and I don”t think they get enough recognition from the other schools.”
Both teams scored in the first half. After St. Helena opened up a 1-0 lead, Rachel Godwin tied it after punching in a corner kick from Courtney Gatton.
“It was so awesome,” Santana said of the game-tying goal. “But we won it on it defense. We shut St. Helena down.”
Defensive standouts for the Cougars (1-0-1 league, 3-6-1 overall) were Crystal Snyder, D.J. Bohlen, Laura Wold, Daniella Santana and Rebecca Breton.
In other action Thursday:
Middletown 1, Willits 0
At Middletown, Kayla Welton scored on a breakaway in the 70th minute and sister Kelsey, the Mustangs” keeper, had eight saves in an NCL I North win over the Willits Wolverines.
It was a scoreless game until Welton took matters into her own hands, according to coach Louise Owens.
“It was a breakaway to the right and she cut in front of the goal and put the ball in,” Owens said of a high shot that the Willits keeper was unable to reach. “She was too far out in front,” Owens said.
Sweeper Alex Snodgrass and left fullback Jessica Olson spearheaded another solid effort by the Middletown defense.
“Our defense was a workhorse out there,” Owens said. “They had their work cut out but they worked hard.”
Middletown”s second-half comeback was no surprise to Owens, who has watched the Mustangs start slowly and pick it up during the final 40 minutes almost all season.
“That is true of us,” Owens said. “We start slow and then we”re a different team in the second half. I don”t want that and I don”t want them to think that”s OK, but that”s what we”ve been.”
Middletown out-shot Willits 18-11 but had only three shots on goal in the first half.
Kelseyville 4, Fort Bragg 0
At Fort Bragg, Kelseyville couldn”t penetrate Fort Bragg”s defense and was shut out by the Timberwolves.
“All in all they”re just a good team that plays good defense,” Kelseyville coach Michael Leuck said of the Timberwolves. “We played hard, but we need to keep working hard in practice and improving.”
Clear Lake 11, Lower Lake 0
At Lower Lake, with only 13 players in uniform because of illness, the Clear Lake Cardinals didn”t miss a beat in their NCL I interlock rout of the Lower Lake Trojans.
Amanda McKinney, Haley Sanderson, Kaila Sterbank and Julie Jackson scored two goals apiece for Clear Lake (9-2-1). Karina Martinez had three assists.
“All 13 players played very well today,” Clear Lake coach Paul Larrea said. “With only 13, everyone played a lot.”
Clear Lake led 3-0 at the half.
Lower Lake standouts, according to coach Pam Campbell, were Megan Riley, Luz Hernandez and Kaleena Budwell.
Boys” soccer
Kelseyville 2, Fort Bragg 2 (tie)
At Kelseyville, the Kelseyville Knights rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit on goals by Gustavo Valadez and Miguel Martinez, but Fort Bragg scored with 15 minutes to forge a 2-2 tie, which turned out to be the final score.
It was the NCL I North opener for the Knights, who improved to 3-1-1 overall.
“We had a couple shots near the end, but they didn”t go in,” Kelseyville coach Eduardo Ledesma said. “My kids were playing hard, but the shots just didn”t go in … it was just one of those games,” he added.
St. Helena 6, Upper Lake 2
At St. Helena, Upper Lake fell behind 5-2 in the first half and fell to the St. Helena Saints in NCL I South action.
Jacob Cruz and Max Curtis scored goals for Upper Lake (0-1-1 South, 6-4-1 overall).
Clear Lake 7, Lower Lake 1
At Lower Lake, Armando Martinez scored twice and Fabian Guzman had a goal and four assists as the Clear Lake Cardinals beat the Lower Lake Trojans in NCL I interlock action.
“We played fabulous but they played pretty well,” Clear Lake coach Brian Figg said of the young Trojans. “He (Lower Lake coach Jeff Parker) is going to have a lot of fun in the future with those 10 freshmen has has.”
Antonio Aceves scored Lower Lake”s goal.
JV girls
Clear Lake 3, Lower Lake 0
At Lower Lake, Monique Liddiard scored twice and Tara Bastian had the other goal as the Clear Lake junior varsity girls” soccer squad shut out Lower Lake.
Liddiard also had an assist for the Cardinals, now 9-2-2.
“Everybody played well and did a great job on defense,” Clear Lake coach Alice Holmes said.
Defensive standouts for Clear Lake were Kori Darling, Logan Brodnansky, Erin O”Rourke and Sarah Bowen.
