MIDDLETOWN >> The Middletown Mustangs unleashed Kaleigh Alves on the Technology Titans of Rohnert Park on Saturday night in the quarterfinal round of the North Coast Section Division III girls’ soccer playoffs at Bill Foltmer Field in Middletown.
The Titans didn’t stand a chance.
Alves, a four-year varsity veteran, scored Middletown’s first three goals and assisted on two others as the Mustangs blanked Technology 6-0 to earn a berth in Wednesday’s semifinal round against No. 1 seed Sonoma Academy (17-1), the two-time defending section champion. Middletown (16-3), the No. 4 seed, will even be at home for that game because the Coyotes and head coach Chris Ziemer voluntarily gave up the right to host out of respect for those Middletown players who lost their homes in the Valley Fire on Sept. 12-13.
Simply put, the Coyotes want Middletown to feel right at home by playing at home, which is something of an unprecedented move.
“I’m not sure why he did it because teams don’t give away the homefield in the playoffs, it’s usually a big advantage,” Middletown coach Amy Emerson said. “The girls are excited, grateful and thankful that he did. They (Coyotes) play on a turf field, which is much faster and our girls aren’t used to that.”
Led by Alves, who scored her first two goals less than three minutes into Saturday’s action and her third a few minutes later, the Mustangs built a 5-0 halftime lead. Caitlin Lemoine and Aly Ferguson also scored in the first half, assisted by Alves.
“She had a great game but so did everybody else,” Emerson said. “We had a ton of energy. The energy is always different at playoff time.”
Rosie Emerson’s penalty kick early in the second half closed out the scoring.
Wednesday’s semifinal-round game marks the third time in four years Middletown and Sonoma Academy have squared off in the playoffs. The Mustangs beat the Coyotes in the 2012 section final and the Coyotes returned the favor in 2013 with a victory over Middletown in the championship game.
