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The Eureka Loggers kicked off the North Coast Section Division-1 girls soccer playoffs with a comfortable 10-0 win over Del Norte at Albee Stadium on Friday night.
With the win, the No. 1 seeds move on to Wednesday’s semifinals, where they host either McKinleyville or Middletown.
Grace Nelson finished with a hat trick in the win, while teammate Lorena Hernandes added two goals and an assist.
“I’ve got to give a shoutout to the whole team,” head coach Tommy Learmouth said. “They bought into what we needed to do and were super supportive of each other.”
Lila Ekholdt added a goal and an assist, while Angelina Conant had a goal and defender Paige Rodgers scored her first goal of the season.
Ella Tollefson also had three assists, Saedra Joseph and Sidney Madsen each had two, and Fiona Smart had one.
“I feel that the last couple of games there was just a lot going on and I thought we were a little complacent, and I thought tonight we got back to what we do well,” Learmouth said. “Pressing high and playing aggressive soccer. We kept the intensity going and that was nice to see.”
The loss ends a memorable season for the Warriors, who a first-ever playoff game for the program.
“It was a good learning experience and we are happy to have had the opportunity to make it this far,” Del Norte head coach Cyndi Hansen said. “(The Loggers) have the experience we strive for. They are a very good team and wish them the luck for the championship.”
Del Norte is a H-DNL L-4 team…✅.
Division 3 was 2 other L-4 playoff teams ✅✅
Why DN is now Division 1 losing 10-0… in playoffs…🤔🤷♂️😬
As great a story DN season has been, its a travesty how Fall soccer playoffs is discombobulated and lacking better structure, more teams.
Winter soccer is the appropriate move IF, like good grades, quality competition is desired. The H-DNL post-league playoffs does allow the greatest ever advantage for winning section, as all the other better soccer programs switched-back to winter, partly to avoid traveling to H-DNL field sites.
Games like the aforementioned only serve as a family gathering for picnicking support, but not much recreational value for most other fans of the sport.
Educationally, the signal sent is ya do not have to be that good to be declared winners of sections… the sad part is that former EHS fem. teams previous to the winter switchover would better the current EHS squad hands down… and the like for the rest of the league teams.
Preservation of better things in life (better competition, structure for personal/team growth, etc…) does not seem to be a staple tenet of northcoast public school educators with regard to soccer, sports in general… rather, everyone must be a winner as frequent as possible (and as cheap as possible), and the way to achieve winning is to reduce the better competition (like eliminating honors students, honors programs)…(like lowering a benchmark, make an “A test score” equivalent to 80% or less, curving grades, etc.)…
Lopsided games get more ridicule than praise, and when the petty nature of educators in sports caused issues because of their nefarious agenda and means, disguised under the veil of education… the interest level goes sour, the quality goes sour…and all that really occurs is more people get “big heads” believing they accomplished greatness in a sea of competetive deportation.
DN should have been with St. B’s and Ferndale in D-3…not D-1, but public educators caused this debacle…