MIDDLETOWN — To put Middletown’s decade-plus stretch of dominance into the proper perspective, senior forward Kassi Agapoff was in grade school when the Mustangs won the first of their 11 consecutive North Central League I championships in girls soccer.
Some of Agapoff’s underclassmen teammates such as sophomore midfielder Sophie Kucer hadn’t yet started school back in 2008. Yes, it’s been quite the long winning streak for the Lady Mustangs, and there’s no telling how many more league titles these Mustangs are going to win before it ends.
Middletown officially clinched No. 11 in a row on Tuesday with a 2-0 victory over the St. Helena Saints at Middletown High School. In a game matching two teams unbeaten in league play, it was the Mustangs (12-0-1 league, 19-2-2 overall) who proved to be the better team on this day against the Saints (9-1-3, 9-3-4). Middletown shared the title with St. Helena a year ago when league play was severely interrupted by the October firestorms that struck Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma and Napa counties. Mother Nature played no such role in the league’s outcome this time.
“We set a goal at the beginning of the season to win the undisputed league title and these girls never took their eye off the ball,” Middletown coach Lamont Kucer said of his players’ quest to avoid any type of co-title outcome in 2018. “St. Helena to their credit is a good team. They’re aggressive, always a fun challenge.”
The Mustangs entered play Tuesday needing a win to secure the outright title and they earned it on their natural grass field after battling St. Helena to a 0-0 tie last month on the Saints’ artificial turf.
“We controlled the ball a lot more than they did,” Kucer said. “We’re more used to the bounces the ball takes on our field.”
St. Helena had two good scoring opportunities in the first half, the first of which was a shot that just went above the crossbar on the goal just minutes into the game.
“I think (keeper) Hanna (Morris) would have gotten it, but there were a few anxious moments,” Lamont said.
The other chance was late in the first half when a ball glanced off of Morris but was quickly cleared by two other Middletown defenders before the Saints could take advantage.
The Mustangs scored the only goal they would need when Agapoff, one of six seniors on the squad, scored late in the first half with an assist from Zamora Rogers. Middletown nursed that 1-0 lead into halftime but struck quickly in the second half when freshman Paige Astley took a pass from freshman teammate Georgia Guerrero and buried the ball into the back of the net.
“It was a gut punch really to them,” Kucer said of the effect the goal just two minutes into the second half had on the Saints. “It literally happened right away.”
Once up two goals, Middletown shifted to a more defensive posture, moving Agapoff to the midfield and dropping midfielder Julisa Garcia back to defensive mid.
“We were going to keep attacking until we had a two-goal lead,” Kucer said. “We changed tactics once we had the two-goal lead.”
Since it also was Middletown’s final home game of the regular season, the team’s six seniors – Agapoff, Garcia, Morris, Ellie Bazzano, Alyssa Hart and Kelsey Lemoine – all were honored before the game started.
“It’s going to be tough to replace them,” Kucer said. “They’re all starters, every one of them. Five of them (Agapoff, Garcia, Bazzano, Hart and Lemoine) are on the field all the time. They’re all solid players and they all stepped up today. They also challenged our younger players to play hard for themselves and the team. The future is still pretty bright. I think you’ll see us back challenging for a 12th title next season.”
Middletown’s deep bench, an asset all season, came in handy once again versus the Saints, according to Kucer.
“It was a warm day and we needed our bench,” he said. “I needed to give my starters a break and they did a great job. Look what Paige and Astley did with that second goal.”
Kucer said it was entirely appropriate that Agapoff, one of the team’s tried and true veterans, scored what proved to be the game-winning goal.
“She showed the way for the team,” Kucer said.
Middletown’s third-year coach also gave another shout-out to his midfielders for taking the steam out of St. Helena’s offense. Bazzano, Garcia, Astley, Sophie Kucer and Maddie Ferguson off the bench denied the Saints the through balls their offense depends on, according to Kucer.
“Our midfielders controlled the game,” he said.
Middletown wraps up its regular season Thursday in Lower Lake where the outcome will have no bearing on the league race. The North Coast Section playoffs are scheduled to open the week of Oct. 29, so the Mustangs will have a week off to rest.
“We’ve got some bumps and dings,” Kucer said. “We can use the rest.”
In other girls soccer action Tuesday:
Willits 1, Lower Lake 0
At Lower Lake, Willits scored early in the first half for the only goal of the game and went on to shut out the Lower Lake Trojans in NCL I action.
Despite taking 30 shots on goal, the Trojans (6-5-1 league, 7-5-1 overall) couldn’t convert.
“We just could not seem to hit the back of the net,” Lower Lake head coach Andrea Mahling said. “We had some beautiful crosses from our side and couldn’t seem to get it into the net.”
Lower Lake’s defense turned in a strong outing, according to Mahling.
“Our goalies did phenomenal,” she said.
Lower Lake celebrates senior night Thursday at home against league champion Middletown.
Kelseyville 3, Clear Lake 1
At Kelseyville, during a season when wins have been tough to come by for both of these teams, the Kelseyville Knights knocked off the Clear Lake Cardinals behind two goals and an assist from junior Kelcie Paulson.
Kelseyville (2-8-3, 3-11-3) has beaten Clear Lake (0-13, 1-17) for its only two league wins this season. The Cardinals also defeated Kelseyville in non-league action earlier this season for its lone victory.
Paulson’s stellar play was the big story on Tuesday, according to Kelseyville head coach Eric Hoefler. She scored in the game’s 13th minute with an assist from teammate Paloma Ortiz, and her pinball-like shot right before halftime made it a 2-0 game.
“It was a rocket of a shot,” Hoefler said. “It hit the far post and bounced across and hit the other post and went in. It definitely had some English on it.”
Paulson’s corner kick set up an Ortiz goal in the 65th minute to put the game away.
“That one kind of iced it,” Hoefler said.
Clear Lake scored on a Riana Kniss unassisted goal to make it 3-1.
“We held tight, communicated well and played like a team,” Hoefler said of the game’s final mintues.
Hoefler praised the play of his defense, especially keeper Paula Vargas and sweeper Daniela Valerio.
Clear Lake coach Annie Zombil said her young Cardinals once again had multiple scoring opportunities but couldn’t convert outside of Kniss’ goal in the second half.
“She didn’t give up and she was able to finish,” Zombil said of Kniss.
Zombil said she was most impressed with the Cardinals’ ability to compete and keep the game interesting.
“The most important thing is we’re competing,” She said. “Next year is giving me a lot of hope because my young players come a long way.”
Zombil said the Cardinals received solid play off the bench from defender Fernanda Garcia, who replaced an injured starter.
“She gave it everything she had back there and she helped bring the ball up for us a few times,” Zombil said.
The Knights close out the season Thursday in St. Helena while Clear Lake travels to Cloverdale for its finale.
