Photos by Cherie Fry Circe – Action from Saturday’s game.

The Fortuna Huskies move into a tie for second in Big 4 girls soccer with a shutout victory at McKinleyville on Saturday.

The Huskies scored twice in the first half and added a third after the break to win 3-0, improving to 2-3-1 in league play and trailing only unbeaten Eureka in the standings.

With three games remaining, the Huskies and Tigers are deadlocked in a battle for second place, after the Loggers clinched the league title with a 6-0 win over Arcata on Saturday.

Taylor Brooks scored twice for Fortuna, both in the first half, with teammate Malia Bolden adding the third from the penalty spot.

Brooks worked well up front with teammates Chloe Cox and Brylee Barsanti, causing the Mack defense problems.

Allie Cox also had a big game both offensively and defensively, helping to set a lot of her team’s attacks in motion.

“The whole team was solid,” head coach Samuel Licona said.

The Panthers also played well, according to head coach Adam Canepa, despite missing some key players through sickness and injury, including influential seniors Soffia Reyes and Thea Trout.

Mary Ann Som and Liz Mengel both stepped up in midfield in their absence, while Taya Gomes and Lacie Rink both had big games in defense, as did goalie Caitlyn Canepa.

With the loss, the McKinleyville girls are now 1-5-1

Next up, on Wednesday, the Panthers will host Eureka, while the Huskies will play Arcata.

The McKinleyville head coach is hoping to have both Reyes and Trout back for Wednesday’s big game.

The Panthers are the only team to have scored against Eureka in league play, netting twice in a 3-2 loss last weekend.

Photos by Cherie Fry Circe