LAKEPORT — Hannah Diaz scored midway through the second half to break a 0-0 deadlock and the Middletown Mustangs held off the Clear Lake Cardinals 1-0 to clinch the undisputed North Central League I varsity girls” soccer championship on Thursday in Lakeport.
“The girls are elated,” Middletown coach Lee Hoage said. “We”ve had Clear Lake in our scope all season, especially after losing to them the last time we played (3-1 on Oct. 4 in Middletown). This is something they really wanted.”
The league race went right down to the wire. Middletown finishes 12-2 to Clear Lake”s 11-2-1 and St. Helena”s 11-3. St. Helena was upset 3-2 by Willits on Wednesday, paving the way for Thursday”s winner-take-all game between the Mustangs and Cardinals, who could very well meet again in the upcoming North Coast Section playoffs.
“If we do meet again it will another hard-fought game that goes down to the wire I”m sure,” Hoage said.
“It was a good game,” Clear Lake coach Paul Larrea said. “We also held them to one goal the last time we played, but the difference is we didn”t score this time.”
Both coaches agreed there”s a lot of soccer remaining as the sectional playoffs approach. Seedings and pairings will be announced Sunday. Larrea said he expects Sonoma Acadmey, St. Vincent, Middletown and Clear Lake to nail down the top four seeds, although he wasn”t sure of the exact order.
Middletown is 16-3 overall to Clear Lake”s 17-4-2.
“We came out of tonight healthy, that”s the big thing,” Larrea said.
Diaz created her own shot in the second half, according to Hoage, who said she dribbled the ball a couple of times before launching it with her left foot just inside the box.
“It hit the far right corner (of the net), she placed it just perfect,” Hoage added.
“It was a good shot,” Larrea said.
Both teams had only seven shots on goal, according to Larrea, who said the game was even in all respects.
“We did a good job of not giving them quality shots,” he added.
Hoage said the Mustangs were looking for a low-scoring contest and packed in their defense with the hope of winning a 1-0-type game.
“After Hannah scored I moved her back on defense and made her almost a second sweeper,” he said.
Larrea praised the play of two of his underclassmen, sophomore Kelcie Reynolds and freshman Hannah Norwood.
“They both did a great job for me,” he said.
