MIDDLETOWN — Telia Paskaly, Kristy Hayes and Nadine Bradley all had goals as the Clear Lake High School varsity girls” soccer team, behind solid midfield play, shut down Middletown”s high-powered offense 3-1 in a North Central League I battle for first place on Tuesday in Middletown.
Clear Lake (6-0-1 league, 11-2-2 overall) now leads Middletown (6-1, 10-2) by half a win at the midway point of the league race. The two teams meet again Oct. 27 in Lakeport, with a possible playoff meeting after that.
While Middletown out-shot Clear Lake 17-11, Clear Lake sophomore keeper Heather Werner, who is filling in for injured starter Darian Ottolini, was more than up to the task as she logged eight saves.
“Heather did great,” Clear Lake coach Paul Larrea said.
Two other Clear Lake underclassmen, freshman Hannah Norwood and sophomore Kelsie Reynolds, also came up big with their play on defense by shutting down Middletown”s Emily Reed and Kylie Agapoff.
While Hannah Diaz did score for Middletown late in the second half to make it a 3-1 game, Larrea said that Diaz was held in check by Amely Ballesteros, who marked her throughout the game.
“She (Diaz) did have eight shots on goal, but that one (the goal) was the only threatening shot she had,” Larrea said. “Amely did a tremendous job.”
Ballesteros, Bradley and Chelo Lundquist-Krag anchored the midfield, according to Larrea.
“We figured if we could control the midfield, we would be in good shape,” Larrea said.
While the Mustangs were without one of their top scorers, senior forward Brittany Cash (injured knee), Larrea said Middletown”s offense still has plenty of weapons, among them Reed, Agapoff and Diaz.
“We played really well as a team and I can”t say there was anybody who didn”t play well,” Larrea said. “It was a good win for us.”
The last time the two teams met, Middletown defeated Clear Lake in the playoffs.
In other action Tuesday:
Kelseyville 5, Lower Lake 0
At Kelseyville, Shan-non Fontana and Rachel Michel scored two goals apiece as the Kelseyville Knights notched their first win of the season in a league game against Lower Lake.
Sabrina Lyon also had a penalty kick for the Knights (1-6, 1-7).
“We played well as a team. We were really strong during rainy, adverse conditions,” Kelseyville coach Cheryl Mostin said.
Rain fell throughout the game, according to Mostin, leaving players on both sides “sopping wet.”
Sophie Sells led the Kelseyville midfield.
“She did a really good job in there. She kept pushing the ball up to the forwards,” Mostin said.
Freshman keeper Jennifer Johnson, filling in for injured starter Shana Cossey, also turned in a solid outing as did defenders Emily Goldner and Chelsea Hammers, according to Mostin.
Fontanta”s two goals came in the first half as the Knights opened up a 2-0 lead.
