Central Marin shutout Steelhead 4-0

by Pete Shepard

The Central Marin U11B,D1 soccer team blanked the Mad River Steelhead 4-0 last Sunday in a hard fought contest at the Arcata Sports Complex. Although the Marin team dominated play the Steelhead team did have there chances. The Mad River coach praised the play of goalkeeper, Carter Johnson, midfielder Diego Rameriz and forwards Edgar Hernandez and Logan Rooney.

Lightning Strikes Twice: Redwood Classic Champs Win at Eel River

Joe Homem’s U 12 Girls Mad River Lightning took home first place trophies from the Eel River Classic Tournament in Fortuna. As the reigning 2007 Redwood Classic champs, Lightning went to Fortuna confident and came out on top.

Lightning opened the tournament with a 1-1 tie against Eureka Breakers White. Alex Campbell, a.k.a. “Monkey,” scored the first goal for Lightning assisted by a cross from Brooke Coelho. Diving saves by goalie Megan Vina kept the game thrilling and Lightning fans on edge. Eureka White scored the only goal of the tournament against Lightning; Megan Vina and the Lightning defense shut out all other comers.

Lightning took on Napa 96 Saturday afternoon and showed the power of their strong passing game, maintaining possession of the ball most of the game. The first goal was set up by a Day Robins corner kick and knocked off the post and into the goal by Michaela Schunk. Kaylee Holland rocketed a P.K. passed the Napa goalie, ending the game with a 2-0 Lightning win.

☻Lighting Keeper Megan Vina won the Goalie Wars for her age group.☻

To secure a spot in the championship match, Lightning needed to shut-out Eureka Breakers Red Sunday morning and score at least 3 goals to earn 10 tournament points. They met the challenge with a 6-0 early morning win against Eureka Red and headed to the championship match with the highest tournament point total.

Alex “Monkey” Campbell started the Lighting scoring run. Monkey said, “I was happy when I scored one goal because I thought that was going to be my only one, but I was even happier when I scored again and again.”

Forwards Michaela Schunk and Madalyn McCreath added a goal each to Lightning’s total. Allissa Mooney also scored for Lightning, and she accelerated the tempo of the game with her fast-paced aggressive play.

Lightning faced Eureka White Sunday afternoon for the championship. The only goal of the game was scored on a direct kick shot over Eureka’s defense by Katerina Heppe. Katerina, Lightning’s dependable sweeper, was awarded tournament MVP.

The Lightning girls party after their win watching the Women's World Cup!

The Devil Rays Score Success in Sonoma

The U10 D3 Boys Mad River United Devil Rays added to their strong season with a powerful performance in the Sonoma Harvest Cup Tournament. In league play, the Devil Rays have defeated tough teams from Eureka and Fortuna. The Rays traveled to Sonoma ready for some serious soccer competition.

The team started the Harvest Cup Tournament strong with a 4-0 win against a Bay Area squad called Eureka Stealth. Forward Canyon Robins scored a hat trick and midfielder Wyatt Tucker also got one in the net on a long, hard shot. Keeper Kacey Ford saw a lot of action and still managed to shut out the Stealth’s offense with the help of smart defensive play by Cole Urbany, Mathew Mayer and Nick Black.

The Devil Rays played the Gryphons in their second match. Several Devil Rays’ goals were called offsides, leaving the coaches and players frustrated with the refs. Guest player Adison Prentiss relieved Kacey Ford in goal, freeing up Kacey to score the Devil Rays’ only official goal on a well-placed corner kick.

Sunday morning the Devil Rays faced the Fremont Flyers. Canyon Robins repeated with his second hat trick of the tournament. Kacey Ford fired one in for a total of four Devil Rays’ goals. The Flyers came away with two goals. With two tournament wins the Devil Rays were in the running for a spot in one of the final matches, reserved for only the top four teams. The Devil Rays ended the Harvest Cup in a three-way tie for fourth place and headed home after a weekend full of soccer and fun.