File photo – Addy Lucas and the Fortuna Huskies defense shut out the Arcata Tigers on Wednesday.
The Fortuna Huskies matched the Eureka Loggers with a victory in Big 4 girls soccer on Wednesday to set up a mouthwatering showdown on Saturday that could go a long way towards deciding this year’s conference championship.
Just a couple of hours after the Loggers defeated McKinleyville 4-1 with a big second half performance, the Huskies kept pace in conference play with a big second half of their own on the way to a 3-0 win over Arcata in Fortuna.
With their wins, the Huskies and Loggers remain tied atop the conference standings with four games left each, including Saturday’s big clash and another meeting in Fortuna later in the month.
Fortuna won the first meeting between the two conference frontrunners by a single goal three weeks ago, handing the Loggers their only loss of the campaign so far.
On Wednesday, they broke open a tight game with a big second half, with three different players netting in the win.
Raigan Brooks scored the opening goal on a penalty kick, before Isabel Sanchez added a second goal and the in-form Jozlyn Dahl added a third to end the game as a contest.
Brooks also assisted on one of the goals.
But it wasn’t all one way traffic and the first half was evenly matched.
“For the first 20 minutes we played well, and then all of a sudden our level dropped and Arcata was on top,” Fortuna head coach Arnulfo Aguirre said. “Arcata had chances.”
The Tigers had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the opening 40 minutes but missed on a penalty kick.
After the break, the Fortuna girls would not be denied.
“In the second half, (the players) turned it up and got to the level we know we can can play,” Aguirre said.
The Fortuna defense continued to impress in the win, as the unit of center backs Myra Hayes and Jorlynn Villalvazo and outside backs Olivia Hayes and Addy Lucas kept the Tigers attack at bay with another composed performance.
The Fortuna D has shown a lot of improvement.
“They had some mistakes but they rectified it and stepped up,” the head coach said. “They’re learning from their mistakes.”
File photo – Fortuna head coach Arnulfo Aguirre talks to his players during halftime of a recent game at McKinleyville.
The Fortuna midfield also was influential in the win and the experienced players showcased their leadership by keeping their teammates focused and on their toes.
“My midfield played good today,” Aguirre said. “They were moving around and making sure the effort was there.
“I’m proud of the girls and the performance. They stepped it up when they needed to.”
The Tigers, meanwhile, battled hard to the end and head coach Mathew Ingram felt the final score did not reflect their efforts.
“It was a great battle tonight,” the first-year head coach said. “I’m proud of our girls fighting till the end.
“The score in no way reflects how well we played. It was a really tough loss.”
The Tigers, who are now 2-3 in conference play, will try to bounce back when they host rival McKinleyville on Saturday.
The Huskies, meanwhile, will now turn their attention to what arguably will be their biggest game of the season so far.
“That’s a big one on Saturday,” Aguirre said.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
