MIDDLETOWN — Natalie Diaz scored on a penalty kick late in the first half, the only goal of the game as the battered Middletown Mustangs shut out the Kelseyville Knights 1-0 in a North Central League I North varsity girls” soccer game on Thursday in Middletown.
With four injured starters watching from the sidelines, the Mustangs started four freshmen, one of them Diaz, and held their own against the Knights, who fell to 1-2-1 in the North standings. Middletown improved to 2-1 and 5-4-1 overall.
Besides Diaz, the other Middletown freshmen that distinguished themselves with their solid play were Kaitlyn Agapoff, Kaitlyn August and Michelle Hill, according to Middletown coach Louise Owens.
In other action Thursday:
Clear Lake 8, Upper Lake 1
At Upper Lake, the Clear Lake Cardinals broke out of their scoring slump and throttled the Upper Lake Cougars in NCL I South play.
Anisa Green scored Clear Lake”s first three goals and also had two assists as Clear Lake improved to 1-1-1 in the South standings and 6-3-4 overall.
“She had kind of a breakout game for her, something we”ve been waiting for,” Clear Lake co-coach Paul Larrea said.
Kaila Sterbank added a goal and two assists.
Yessica Ayala scored for Upper Lake (0-3 South, 4-5-1 overall).
Boys” soccer
Clear Lake 6, Upper Lake 1
At Upper Lake, after a horrible start, Clear Lake is rolling. Armando Martinez and Matt Stegman each had two goals and Robert Anderson added three assists in the Cardinals” NCL I South win over the Upper Lake Cougars.
Clear Lake improved to 2-1 in the South standings and 4-7 overall.
“Good things are starting to happen now that we”re getting everyone back,” Clear Lake coach Brian Figg said.
Kelseyville 3, Middletown 0
At Middletown, Eduardo Ledesma, Jesse Arroyo and David Koeppel scored goals as the Kelseyville Knights completed the first half of their NCL I North schedule with a shutout victory over the Middletown Mustangs.
With Middletown completely on the defensive, the Knights (3-1, 6-3) spent nearly the entire game on the Mustangs” side of the field, according to Kelseyville coach Eduardo Ledesma.
Volleyball
Fort Bragg def. Clear Lake in four
At Lakeport, nine service mistakes hurt the Clear Lake Cardinals as Fort Bragg won 25-23, 25-22, 16-25, 25-19 in NCL I interlock action.
Jesse Sondag registered 16 kills to lead Clear Lake, Danielle Howard had nine kills and Kirsten Wascom added six kills and five blocks. Other team leaders were Katie Reynolds with 12 assists, 10 points and five aces, and Claire Mansell with 17 assists.
Cloverdale def. Kelseyville in three
At Cloverdale, the Cloverdale Eagles dominated the Kelseyville Knights 25-8, 26-24, 25-17 in NCL I interlock action.
“We couldn”t serve, we couldn”t pass, we couldn”t set,” Kelseyville coach Deanna Goff said. “Cloverdale is good, they were moving the ball, they were playing volleyball.”
Middletown def. Upper Lake in five
At Middletown, Kayla Wood and Jessica Boylan led the Middletown Mustangs to a 25-20, 23-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-8 NCL I interlock victory over the Upper Lake Cougars.
“It”s the best I”ve seen them play so far,” Middletown coach Jennifer Breiner said. “Both teams played great.”
Wood logged a team-best 16 kills and 10 aces to go along with two blocks. Boylan added 13 kills and three aces.
Rebecca Grupe led Upper Lake with 11 kills, Jackie Lovrin had eight aces, and Sam Bullard logged 18 assists.
Lower Lake def. St. Vincent
At Lower Lake, Amber Shoffeitt pounded out 11 kills and had seven aces as the Lower Lake Trojans overcame 17 service errors to beat St. Vincent 25-19, 23-25, 25-14, 23-25, 15-10.
Darlena White contributed seven kills, eight aces and two blocks to Lower Lake”s victory and Renita Gilliam and Tashee Denson each had six kills.
