Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – McKinleyville’s Cecelia Ferreira (10) and Jaycee Morais (1) try to keep the ball away from Fortuna’s Nyah Cacren during Wednesday’s game.

The Eureka girls maintained their perfect start to league play with another emphatic win in soccer on Wednesday.

The Loggers improved to 5-0 in the Humboldt-Del Norte League with a 10-0 win at Ferndale, remaining a game-and-a-half clear of their closest rivals.

The next week will be interesting for the Eureka girls, however, with key league games against both Arcata and Fortuna, who are tied for second in the standings.

A pair of wins in those games would leave the Loggers in a very commanding position.

Senior Athena Miller and sophomores Klayre Barres and Liza Crassweller each scored twice in Wednesday’s win, while senior Hannah Taylor, juniors Adriana Newland and Kellina Pratton, and sophomore Aquena Tolfeson each added a goal.

Senior standout Olivia Stone, playing in a more defensive role than normal, finished with a pair of assists.

Fortuna 4, McKinleyville 1

The Huskies scored four goals in the opening half and never looked back on the way to a comfortable win over the Panthers.

Fortuna’s Monceratt Bernal

The win was the third straight in league play for the Fortuna girls, who now find themselves 3-1-1 and tied with Arcata for second in the standings.

Sarah Killfoil scored two goals in the win at Mack High, while Briana Rimney and Kallia Yang each netted once.

“We settled down and started passing the ball,” Fortuna head coach Kevin O’Neil said. “And I feel when we did that, and our central midfielders marked up and transitioned back to defense, we did fine.”

Dakota Andersonspirit scored McKinleyville’s goal in the second half, after a disappointing first period for the home team.

“The first half was bad,” McKinleyville head coach Adam Canepa said. “And then we came out in the second half and played much better.”

With the loss, the Panthers drop to 2-2-1 in league play and 5-3-1 overall.

Fortuna’s Darly Diaz

The Fortuna defense frustrated the Mack attack for most of the game, with standout performances from center backs Lorelei Lorang and Lauren Tindall, who have grown into a formidable backline pairing.

“They both saved us several times and kept us in the game when we were struggling,” O’Neil said. “They had a good game, and they played smart, and they kept the defensive line organized for us. They’ve come a long ways.”

The Huskies are 4-2-1 overall.

Arcata 4, St. Bernard’s 2

The Tigers traveled to Eureka and came away with a big league win, their first in three games.

The victory keeps them in the chase for the championship, with a huge showdown against table toppers Eureka on Saturday.

After leading 2-0, the Tigers saw the advantage slip away and went into halftime tied 2-2.

But the Arcata girls had the better of the second half, scoring a pair of unanswered goals to seal a key road win.

“The girls played pretty consistently throughout the entire game,” Arcata head coach Patrick Stranahan said.

Senior midfielder Karina Zumbrun continued to impress with a pair of goals in the win, while junior Zakiya Elloway-Wonenberg added a goal and an assist.

Senior Audrey Shelton also had a goal, while Emily Ramirez had an assist.

The game, however, was won with a strong defensive effort.

“They’re coming together as a really cohesive unit,” Stranahan said of his defense. “I’m really happy with how the back line is playing.”

Senior Gwyn Stratton anchors the unit and had another strong display on Wednesday, alongside seniors Bella Garrett and Sarah Jensen and sophomore Zoe Leonard.

The Crusaders dropped to 2-2-1 in league play.