KELSEYVILLE — It was probably the best shot Osvaldo Rojas never saw.
Kelseyville”s sophomore forward punched a shot past the Willits goalie midway through the second half to lift the Knights to a 1-0 North Central League I interlock varsity boys” soccer win over the Willits Wolverines on Thursday in Kelseyville.
Rojas worked his way up the left side of the field and charged toward the keeper on his game-winning shot. As he approached the goal, Willits” goalie came out to meet him and just as Rojas kicked the ball, the goalie collided with him and sent him sprawling to the turf.
“He never saw it,” Kelseyville coach Eduardo Ledesma said of Rojas. “He was on the ground (when the ball went into the net).”
Ledesma said he was mystified by Willits” strategy, which was to pack defenders in front of the goal.
“They packed the backfield,” Ledesma said. “It was like they wanted a tie, they didn”t want a win.”
While Kelseyville peppered away at the Willits goal, the Wolverines attempted only four shots and Kelseyville keeper John Kincannon made only one save.
David Koeppel assisted on Rojas” goal as the Knights squared their North record at 1-1. They are 4-3 overall.
Boys” soccer
Fort Bragg 2, Lower Lake 0
At Lower Lake, the Lower Lake Trojans held the Fort Bragg Timberwolves scoreless for a half before falling in NCL I North play.
Lower Lake (0-1, 3-4-1) accidentally scored Fort Bragg”s first goal a little more than a minute into the first half. The Timberwolves added an insurance goal later in the period.
Defensive standouts for Lower Lake were sweeper Jonathan Guevara, midfielder Chris Chapman, left-side defender Jose Garcia and right-side defender Miguel Martinez.
Lower Lake travels to Kelseyville on Tuesday.
Cloverdale 2, Clear Lake 0
At Cloverdale, the Clear Lake Cardinals, still awaiting the return of injured forward Armando Martinez to the lineup, lost to the Cloverdale Eagles in NCL I South action.
It was the league opener for Clear Lake (0-1, 2-6).
The Cardinals did generate a handful of solid attacks on the Cloverdale goal but came away with nothing to show for it, according to coach Brian Figg.
“Our midfielders developed maybe eight good scoring opportunities,” Figg said of K.C. White and Robert Anderson. “And our forwards (Scott Stegman and Reynaud Misslin) played pretty well, too.”
Standouts on the defensive end for the Cardinals were keeper Daniel Gregorio, Ivan Sanchez and Andy Weiss.
“We don”t have Armando back yet, but we”re still able to play good soccer and Cloverdale is one of the teams to beat in the South,” Figg said. “And the kids are having a lot of fun.”
Girls” soccer
St. Helena 2, Middletown 1
At Middletown, in an NCL I interlock match where all of the scoring took place in the first half, the Middletown Mustangs lost another starter to injury but still battled the Saints before falling.
“I came into this game skeptical,” Middletown coach Louise Owens said of the loss of starters Teina Moore and Emily Beckwith, who did not suit up because of injuries. “But I came out of it very encouraged because my other girls stepped it up and did a great job filling in. The girls came out strong, aggressive and confident.”
St. Helena led 2-1 after the first half. Middletown”s goal came on a penalty kick by Kayla Welton.
Middletown”s Shelby Davis had to leave the game in the second half with a pulled calf muscle, but the Mustangs held their own, according to Owens.
“I think I started three or four freshmen in the second half,” Owens said. “They shut them (Saints) out. I”m really proud of my underclassmen.”
Both teams took 10 shots on goal.
“We had trouble finishing off some of our crosses,” Owens said. “We had some really good opportunities.”
Middletown (4-3-1) faces a tough NCL I North road test Tuesday in Fort Bragg.
St. Vincent 3, Upper Lake 0
At Upper Lake, minus one of their top players, the Upper Lake Cougars fell to the St. Vincent Mustangs in NCL I South action.
“We had three good attacks,” Upper Lake coach Anna Santana said of a trio of one-and-one opportunities against the St. Vincent goalie, “but we didn”t make it.”
Upper Lake (0-2 South, 4-4-1) was without star forward Daniella Santana, who missed the game with an ankle injury that may keep her out of action next week as well. “She rolled the ankle,” Santana said. “She can walk on it, but not very well.”
St. Vincent led 2-0 after the first half.
“It”s not the same St. Vincent team,” Santana said of the Mustangs. “They would have beaten us 6-0 or 7-0 last year (without Daniella).”
One bright spot for the Cougars was keeper Maria Mendoza, who made several hard saves.
“She was my shining star,” Santana said.
Kelseyville 0, Willits 0 (tie)
At Willits, in a game that was all about defense, the Kelseyville Knights and Willits Wolverines battled to a 0-0 draw in NCL I North action.
“Both teams were pretty defensive,” Kelseyville coach Mark Andre said. “Each team had its best players back on defense.”
There were a handful of scoring opportunities for both sides.
“Each team had some, just not many,” Andre said.
Kelseyville standouts were Cassie Sutton at midfielder, Stephanie Juarez at midfielder/forward and Eline Beck at defender.
Kelseyville is 0-1-1 in the North standings.
Clear Lake 1, Cloverdale 1 (tie)
At Cloverdale, Julie Jackson”s first-half goal was all the offense the Clear Lake Cardinals could muster as they tied the Cloverdale Eagles in NCL I South action.
It was the league opener for the Cardinals (0-0-1, 5-4-2).
“As a team we didn”t play very well,” Clear Lake Paul Larrea said.
Cloverdale pulled even on a goal in the second half.
“We had a little breakdown in our defense,” Larrea said.
Clear Lake took 12 shots on goal to Cloverdale”s four.
Ashley Tipton assisted on Jackson”s goal.
Volleyball
St. Helena def. Kelseyville in five
At St. Helena, wasting as much as a five-point lead in game five, the Kelseyville Knights dropped an NCL I interlock match to the host St. Helena Saints, who pulled out a 25-20, 21-25, 18-25, 25-16, 15-10 victory.
It was a frustrating night for the Knights, who won two of the first three games in the best-of-five match.
“The last game we couldn”t pass and that”s all she wrote,” Kelseyville coach Deanna Goff said. “We just ran out of gas.”
Kaitlyn Goff pounded out 15 kills to go along with 10 digs and three blocks for Kelseyville. Sarah Johnson added eight digs from the libero position, Kristina Swenston added six digs and 25 assists, and Maillie McCallister had seven digs and two aces.
Middletown def. Cloverdale in four
At Cloverdale, the Cloverdale Eagles defeated the Middletown Mustangs 25-18, 25-12, 20-25, 25-23 in NCL I interlock action.
Kayla Wood led the Mustangs with 15 kills and one ace. Kelsey Guzman added nine kills.
“It was just a rough night,” Middletown coach Jennifer Breiner said. “Our passing was off, our serving was off, our hitting was off. I”m just glad it”s over.”
Editor”s note: Results of the Middletown-Cloverdale match were received too late to make the print edition of Friday”s Record-Bee.
Clear Lake def. Willits in four
At Willits, super freshman Jesse Sondag pounded out 21 kills, Claire Mansell had 12 service points and Katie Reynolds added 10 assists as the Clear Lake Cardinals beat Willits 25-217, 25-22, 24-26, 25-19 in NCL I interlock action.
Junior varsity coach Julie Reynolds, filling in for varsity head coach Marci Psalmonds, said the Cardinals turned in a solid performance.
Briana Butcher also had seven kills for the Cardinals.
Willits won the junior varsity match 25-15, 25-17.
Editor”s note: Results of the Clear Lake-Willits match were received too late to make the print edition of Friday”s Record-Bee.
