ST. HELENA — The sky opened up in the second half and so did the St. Helena offense as the Saints, tied 1-1 with Upper Lake at the intermission, went on to beat the Cougars 5-2 in a North Central League I South girls” soccer match on Tuesday in St. Helena.
“In the second half there was a major downpour of rain,” Upper Lake coach Mike Sheets said.
Along with rain came the wind, according to Sheets.
“We almost lost the canopy we had set up on the field,” Sheets said. “Because it”s an artificial turf field we couldn”t stake it down and it nearly blew away. We were trying to keep our players as dry as possible.”
Upper Lake (0-4 South, 6-6 overall) battled St. Helena to a 1-1 draw in the first half.
“My defense played great,” Sheets said. “But they (Saints) have a lot of fast players coming at you.”
Yessica Ayala scored the Cougars” two goals, both unassisted.
Upper Lake keeper Annie Martinez stopped 13 shots.
Other Cougar standouts were Amanda McQueen, Laura Wold and Jojo Stifter, according to Sheets.
Upper Lake opens the second half of its South schedule Thursday against St. Vincent in Petaluma.
In volleyball action on Tuesday:
Volleyball
Clear Lake def. Upper Lake
At Upper Lake, the Clear Lake Cardinals and Upper Lake Cougars went in opposite directions after playing a tight first game in their NCL I South volleyball match, one that Clear Lake went on to win 29-27, 25-11, 25-12.
“We struggled passing the ball in the first game,” Clear Lake coach Marci Psalmonds said. “Once our passing got going, our offense got going.”
“It”s very frustrating,” Upper Lake coach Sandy Coatney said. “Instead of picking it up (after the first game), we kind of disintegrated. No so much our game, but our confidence seemed to disappear. You can”t play safe.”
Sophomore Vanessa Tullos turned in a strong performance for the Cardinals, pounding out 15 kills to go along with six digs and two aces.
“She had a great night,” Psalmonds said.
Clear Lake setter Katie Reynolds had 25 assists and three digs. Other Cardinal leaders were Riley Gabehart with six kills and one block and Jessica Asbury with six kills.
Emily Knispel”s seven kills and 12 dinks led Upper Lake, now 0-2 in the South standings. Clear Lake improved to 2-1.
Kelseyville def. Middletown
At Middletown, the Kelseyville Knights beat Middletown twice a year ago to finish ahead of the Mustangs atop the NCL I North standings and the defending North champions picked up right where they left off with a come-from-behind 21-25, 25-21, 25-12, 25-10 victory in the first league meeting between the two teams this season.
Kelseyville improved to 2-1 in the North standings while Middletown fell to 1-1.
“We shouldn”t have dropped the first game,” Kelseyville coach Donelle McCallister said. “Our passing and communication were better after that.”
“That”s the most team spirit they”ve had,” Middletown coach Jennifer Breiner said of the Mustangs” effort. “Sometimes they worry so much about each other that they almost forget to play.”
Kendra Schwegerl”s eight kills and three aces propelled the Knights. Skyler Olsen added six kills and seven digs while Ty Van Housen had four aces and two blocks.
The passing of Olsen and Sarah Johnson also helped propel the Knights, according to McCallister.
Kayla Robinson”s 10 kills and two blocks led Middletown and Jenny McGee had nine kills and two aces.
Kelseyville”s win combined with Lower Lake”s four-game win over Willits leaves the Knights and Trojans tied for the league lead.
“It”s a wide open field,” McCallister said.
