LAKE COUNTY >> Lake County hosts not one but two quarterfinal-round North Coast Section soccer games today as the Middletown High School girls and Kelseyville High School boys look to extend their seasons by at least one more game.
Middletown (15-3) is up first as the Mustangs host Technology (15-4-1) of Rohnert Park beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Bill Foltmer Field in Middletown. A win would put the Mustangs into the semifinals against tonight’s winner between No. 1 seed Sonoma Academy, the two-time defending Division III champion, and at-large team St. Helena (9-5-3), a 3-0 winner over Kelseyville in first-round action on Wednesday.
The Mustangs won their eighth straight undisputed North Central League I championship this season with a 13-1 record. They reached the sectional championship game in both 2012 and 2013, winning the title in ‘12. Last year they fell short of the finals after losing to St. Vincent in the semifinals.
For three of the seniors on the Middletown squad — Kaleigh Alves, Rosie Emerson and Ashlynn Welton, all four-year starters — this year’s postseason tournament is one last chance to deliver another sectional championship.
Middletown also has a pair of battle-hardened juniors in Madison Ketchum and Caitlin Lemoine along with many other talented underclassmen who will be looking to carry on the winning tradition of Mustang soccer in the coming seasons.
Kelseyville
Kelseyville, competing in the Division I boys’ bracket, is working on two straight NCL I championships. The second-seeded Knights (12-1-2) host No. 10 Fortuna (16-3-4) tonight at 7 p.m. at the Kelseyville High School football field.
With a few exceptions, the 2015 Knights roster is an improved version of the 2014 squad that fell 3-2 in a first-round playoff game a year ago. Seniors Enrique Cacho, Elias Alvarez, Ricardo Covarrubias and Eduardo Castellanos along with junior Victor Cacho lead the Knights into action.
Fortuna beat Gateway 5-4 in first-round action on Wednesday while Kelseyville had an opening-round bye. Gateway defeated Kelseyville in last year’s first round.
A victory moves the Knights into Wednesday’s semifinals against the winner of tonight’s game between No. 3 seed Elsie Allen (9-3) and No. 6 Lick-Wilmerding. Kelseyville would host the game at a time to be determined.
The last time a Lake County boys’ team won a sectional title was in 1997 when Clear Lake did it in the old Class A format.
Sectional championship games in all boys’ and girls’ divisions take place a week from today.
