Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Saturday’s game at Arcata High.

The Arcata Tigers struck late to edge the South Fork Cubs 2-1 in non-conference girls soccer action at Arcata High on Saturday.

The Tigers enjoyed the majority of possession and carried a one-goal lead into halftime, but a disciplined South Fork defense kept them at bay for much of the afternoon and made them work for everything.

Aleta Stubbfield scored the opening goal early in the game, but South Fork’s Hannah Savio netted on a breakaway midway through the second half to tie things up.

However, the home team would have the final say when Gabby Cavinta scored what would be the game winner late in the second half to secure the one-goal victory.

“We played great, keeping possession nearly the entire first half,” Arcata head coach Mathew Ingram said. 

The Cubs, to their credit, have matched up against the Big 4 schools much more effectively this season than they have over the past decade.

They may have lost all four games against them this fall, but they have been in every game and have frustrated the larger schools with their disciplined defensive game plan.

“I was just really impressed with how we did today,” longtime South Fork head coach Ann Constantino said. “To come away from Arcata with almost a tie, that’s pretty good.

“It’s been a while (more than a decade) since we held every Big 5 school to fewer than five goals, but these girls have bought into it and have been working hard.”

That good form against the Big 4 schools has carried over into the Little 4 for the South Fork girls, who also tied conference leaders Del Norte 1-1 on Friday and sit second in the conference standings almost halfway through the L4 schedule.

Savio’s presence up front has been key and she could have had a second goal against the run of play on Saturday, before finding the back of the net with her ninth goal of the season.

At the back, goalkeeper Aurora Galaz was kept busy and finished with 11 saves, while in front of her the defensive pairing of junior Molly Perkins and freshman Kamea Hawkins have built a strong partnership in the heart of the South Fork back line.

“You just can’t say enough about those two,” Constantino said of Perkins and Hawkins. “They have great instinct and cover for each other.”

Sophomore Genesis Medrano also continued to shine in midfield for the visitors and has established herself as a reliable and key player on the team.

Cubs tie the Warriors in homecoming showdown

On Friday, the South Fork girls got a key result in their pursuit of a conference title, sharing the points with Del Norte in a 1-1 showdown.

The Cubs defense held the Warriors without a goal from play with another solid performance.

Aurora Mitchell scored from the penalty spot to open the scoring for the Warriors, before the ever-dangerous Savio netted the equalizer on a “beautiful goal,” according to her coach, from almost 25 yards out.

“We really dominated in the first half,” Constantino said. “And in the second half (Del Norte) really got going.”

Galaz made three key saves to keep her team in the game.

“It was just back and forth and a good soccer match,” said Del Norte head coach Shawn Eckart, whose team had beaten the Cubs 5-2 in an earlier conference showdown. “It felt like (South Fork’s) backline was more organized this time.”

Kalynn Schaad and Hollyn Wakefield did a good job in the heart of the Del Norte defense and “had it locked down,” according to their coach, while the ever-consistent Mitchell and Alexis Aguirre both continued to excel in midfield.

Lilly Franklin also had a good game in attack for the Warriors, who are now 3-0-1 in the Little 4.

The Cubs are now 2-1-1 in conference play.

“To tie the first-place team was pretty good for us,” Constantino said.

Medrano had another good game in midfield for the home team and “has really developed into a good midfielder,” according to the coach.

Elizabeth Chivington and Kendall Kercher each also impressed for the Cubs.

Del Norte’s scheduled game against Eureka on Saturday had to be called off because of a lack of available officials.