KELSEYVILLE — Drawing only one-on-one coverage from the Lower Lake defense, Kelseyville High School forward Miguel Martinez scored three goals in the first half and four overall as the Knights shut out the Trojans 6-0 in a North Central League I North varsity boys” soccer game at Kelseyville.
Kelseyville is unbeaten in the NCL I North standings at 2-0-1. The Knights improved to 5-1-1 overall.
Lower Lake (0-3, 2-10) kept the game scoreless until Martinez broke through in the 17th minute. He scored again, this time on a penalty kick in the 23rd minute, and his third goal of the day, in the 36th minute, made it 3-0.
Maurilio Gomora scored later in the first half to make it 4-0.
The Knights added insurance goals in the second half, the first by Martinez and the final score by Tom Burke.
Kelseyville”s defense also did its part, limiting the Trojans to just a handful of scoring opportunities.
“My defense is very solid,” Kelseyville coach Eduardo Ledesma said. “I”m breaking in a lot of new players so that I”m not wide open next year.”
Martinez also had one of four assists for the Knights, joining Luis Macias, Andres Macias and Gustavo Valadez.
The Knights wrap up the first half of their North schedule Tuesday at home against Middletown.
St. Vincent 2, Clear Lake 0
At Petaluma, the homefield advantage proved to be a big one for the St. Vincent Mustangs, who didn”t let the soggy turf stop them from handing the Clear Lake Cardinals their first league loss.
Clear Lake fell to 1-1-1 in the NCL I South standings and 7-3-2 overall.
While no rain fell during Tuesday”s action, rain from earlier in the day left the St. Vincent field a mushy mess, according to Clear Lake coach Brian Figg.
“They practice on it and they were prepared for it,” Figg said of the Mustangs. “We had six opportunities to score but we couldn”t set out feet for that hard shot.”
It was a scoreless battle until the second half, when St. Vincent scored both of its goals.
“They”re a good team,” Figg said.
Girls” soccer
Middletown 1, Fort Bragg 0
At Middletown, Kelsey Welton fought off 18 shots on goal to preserve Middletown”s shutout victory over the Fort Bragg Timberwolves in NCL I North play.
Middletown, 3-0 in league and 5-4-1 overall, jumped out to 1-0 lead when Amber Lofton scored in the seventh minute with an assist from Teina Moore.
“They”re a very tough team,” Middletown coach Louise Owens said of the Timberwolves, one of the more physical teams the Mustangs have faced this season.
But the Mustangs were still able to deliver a birthday win for their coach, who said her team, while playing well, hasn”t peaked yet.
“You know what, we can play better,” she said. “I can”t say our defense played bad because we didn”t allow a goal, but they (Timberwolves) had a lot of opportunities to score and were able to get through the defense to take those shots.
“Kelsey did a great job in there,” said Owens, who also praised the defense of Brittany Turner.
Kelseyville can finish the first half of league play with a perfect 4-0 record at home on Tuesday against Kelseyville.
Kelseyville 3, Lower Lake 0
At Kelseyville, Angelina Ryan scored twice and Megan Andre scored off an indirect kick to lead the Kelseyville Knights past the Lower Lake Trojans in NCL I North action.
“Our defense has been really good,” Kelseyville coach Mike Leuck said. “We”ve been working on the offense but today we were really hindered by the mud and rain. The weather definitely had an affect on the offense.”
Leuck also credited Lower Lake”s goalie with stopping several shots.
Ryan and Andre scored in the first half to give the Knights (2-1 league, 4-3 overall) a 2-0 halftime lead.
Clear Lake 3, St. Vincent 1
At Lakeport, Karina Martinez, a four-year varsity starter, scored all three of the Cardinals” goals as Clear Lake defeated St. Vincent in a key NCL I South battle.
Clear Lake improved to 2-0-1 in the South standings while St. Vincent dropped to 2-1.
Martinez scored on a penalty kick in the first half to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. St. Vincent pulled even later in the half.
In the second half, Martinez dribbled around multiple St. Vincent defenders before shooting the ball and collecting her second goal of the game.
“She dribbled around five players and put the ball into the side of the net,” Clear Lake coach Paul Larrea said. “It was a beautiful play.”
Martinez connected on another penalty kick later in the half to give the Cardinals, now 11-3-1 overall, some much-appreciated breathing room.
“She”s really solid,” Larrea said of Martinez. “That”s one of the benefits of having a four-year starter.”
Clear Lake”s defense, spearheaded by keeper Candy Diener, center-midfielder Haley Sanderson and defender Jen Carley, held the Mustangs at bay much of the game.
The Cardinals also got a big lift from freshman Megan McDonald at marking back, according to Larrea.
“The entire team played well today,” he added.
The Cardinals face a big week next week when they travel to Upper Lake on Tuesday and then turn right around and host St. Helena on Wednesday in NCL I South games. They also host non-league powerhouse Mendocino on Saturday.
Volleyball
St. Helena def. Lower Lake
At Lower Lake, the St. Helena Saints swept the Lower Lake Trojans in NCL I interlock varsity volleyball action.
“We couldn”t pass a ball to save our lives,” Lower Lake coach Danessa Udy said. “I”m confident in our hitters, but if you can”t get the ball to the setter, forget about it.”
Fort Bragg def. Upper Lake
At Fort Bragg, multiple serve receive and hitting errors made it a long and frustrating night for the Upper Lake Cougars, who won the first two games against Fort Bragg only to watch the Timberwolves rally for an 18-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-6 NCL I interlock victory.
“It was ugly,” Upper Lake coach Sandy Coatney said of the Cougars” uneven performance. “We had almost as many errors as kills.”
Caity Falge”s 16 digs and Samantha Bullard”s 11 assists were about the only highlights for the Cougars.
St. Vincent def. Middletown
At Middletown, St. Vincent won a see-saw NCL I interlock match with the Middletown Mustangs, prevailing 25-18, 18-25, 22-25, 28-26, 18-16.
“They played with a lot of heart and never gave up,” Middletown coach Dore Holt. “The way my girls played was absolutely phenomenal.”
Kayla Wood led the Mustangs with 14 kills, 14 digs, 17 assists, three aces and two blocks, Julia Leathers also had 14 kills and Jessica Boylan had nine. Nikeedra Davis added 22 assists and five kills and Kristina MacPherson had seven kills.
