LAKEPORT — It’s a rivalry again.
Nancy Ruzicka’s header in the final minute of the first half snapped a 1-1 tie and lifted the Clear Lake Cardinals to a 2-1 victory over the Middletown Mustangs in a battle of undefeated North Central League I girls soccer teams Tuesday evening at Don Owens Stadium in Lakeport.
Clear Lake improved to 3-0 in league play and 4-3-1 overall with its fourth straight win while Middletown, which hadn’t lost to the Cardinals since late in the 2014 season, fell to 3-1 in the league standings and 6-3 overall.
“I’m on cloud nine,” said Clear Lake High School head coach Derick Fiske, a Middletown High School graduate who owns Perry’s Deli in Middletown. “He owes me a free sandwich,” Middletown head coach and former Mustangs standout Ashlyn Welton joked following the game.
“Most I’ve ever been hyped up before a game,” Fiske said. “I couldn’t be prouder of my girls’ effort.”
Middletown has dominated the season series between the two schools for the last 15 years during which time the Mustangs won 12 straight NCL I championships (2008-2019) and two sectional titles (2012, 2019). However, the two teams tied 1-1 earlier this season at the Tyler Duncan Memorial Tournament in Upper Lake.
“It’s a big one for us to get back on top. They’ve been running us for years,” Fiske said of the Mustangs, who scored first Tuesday as freshman phenom Jenna Tufo staked the Mustangs to an early 1-0 lead.
“That’s pretty impressive for a freshman to be that good,” Fiske said. “But we didn’t change our defense for her.”
Tufo’s goal was one of the few scoring opportunities the Mustangs had in the first half as Clear Lake spent nearly the entire 40 minutes peppering away at the Middletown net and keeper Krystal Ocken, who made some great saves to keep the Mustangs in it.
Clear Lake pulled even midway through the first half on Ashton Fiske’s line-drive direct kick, one of the few shots that eluded Ocken’s grasp during the match.
“This one goes into the dad file. Forty years from now I’m going to be telling people about that one,” Fiske said of his daughter’s game-tying shot.
Fiske was playing with hurt ribs, too, according to her dad and coach.
“She toughed it out,” Fiske said. “All my players did today.”
Fiske’s corner kick right before halftime also set up Ruzicka’s game-winning goal as the shot ricocheted off a Middletown player and right to Ruzicka, who smartly headed it into the net for a 2-1 Clear Lake lead.
“The more we got on them and kept the ball at their end, I figured one was going to go in eventually,” Fiske said.
The two teams traded a handful of attacks in the second half, Middletown just missing on a two-shot sequence late in the half. Clear Lake keeper Kiley Bartell made a great save on the first of those two shots. As the ball bounded away from her, a Middletown player had an open net in front of her but pulled her shot just wide.
Middletown’s Ocken also did her part to keep Clear Lake from adding to its lead in the second half as she made a number of diving stops.
“Ocken was absolutely fantastic,” Welton said of the sophomore.
“Clear Lake has a good coach and they’re a great team,” Welton added of the Cardinals. “They’ve got size and they’re fast.”
Middletown was minus three defensive starters because of injury and Welton said that limited what she could do because her bench is so thin this season.
“I was playing forwards and midfielders on defense,” she said.
The two teams meet a final time Oct. 20 in Middletown.
“I told them this is what it’s like to lose a league game, it hurts,” Welton said of part of the postgame speech she delivered to her players. “They still played a great game. It was a good game.”
“Nancy, Anyssa, Grace … all of my captains and all of my seniors came through for me tonight,” Fiske said. “I’m sure it’s going to be another good one when we go to Middletown. I can’t wait.”
