Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Saturday’s game in Eureka.

By Ray Hamill — The Fortuna girls took a big step towards their first conference title since 2019 with a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Eureka Loggers at Washington Field on Saturday afternoon.

In a showdown between the two Big 4 leaders, who came into the game tied atop the conference standings, it was the Huskies who prevailed to take over sole possession of first place.

Also in the Big 4 on Saturday, McKinleyville and Arcata tied 1-1.

The Huskies, who improved to 5-1 in conference play, have three Big 4 games remaining including another showdown against the Loggers in Fortuna next Saturday.

The loss was just the second in the Big 4 for the Eureka girls, who dropped to 4-2 but remain well in the chase for the title.

Neither team was able to break the deadlock in the opening half and they were tied 0-0 at the break.

But the Huskies enjoyed the better of exchanges early in the second half and netted a pair of goals within a couple of minutes to take control.

The Loggers, however, refused to go down easily and their counterattack caused the visitors problems throughout the second half.

They would pull a goal back with 10 minutes to go on a wonderful solo effort by Lorena Hernandez to make for an interesting finish.

“I felt like in the second half we had more possession and they were trying to get us on the counter,” said Fortuna head coach Arnulfo Aguirre, who added, “I think my girls just wanted it a little more.”

The ever-dangerous Raigan Brooks gave the Huskies the lead on a well-placed penalty kick, and just moments later Isabel Sanchez doubled the advantage on a nice shot across the goal mouth after being set up on an Eryn Hunter pass.

The loss was just the second in conference play for the Eureka girls, with both of them coming against the Huskies.

Check out some second-half highlights from Fortuna’s big win below …

And both of those games were decided by the narrowest of margins and could have gone either way.

“I thought it was a very evenly-matched game,” Eureka head coach Melania Valdez said. “(The Huskies) are our competitors, that’s who we’re looking out for and practicing to beat.”

Paige Rodgers had a good game in defense for the host school and “really stepped up today,” according to her coach, while Hernandez looked dangerous every time she touched the ball.

“She scored a fantastic goal,” Valdez said of Hernnadez. “She saw her opportunity and went for it.”

Brooks also had a big game for the visitors and continues to set the tone for her teammates.

The Loggers will get another shot at Fortuna next weekend in a game that will likely decide this year’s championship.

“I think we definitely put everything out there,” Valdez added. “We’re just looking forward to hitting practice and coming back next week and having another opportunity to show who we are as a team.”

At Arcata, meanwhile, the Panthers carried a one-goal lead into halftime after Abi Pimentel broke the deadlock in the opening half.

Her sister Grace provided the assist on the go-ahead strike.

The Tigers, however, would respond when freshman Josey Kimber-Roach netted on a long-range effort about 15 minutes from time to earn a tie.

Arcata head coach Mathew Ingram described it as “a beautiful goal.”

With the tie, the Tigers are now 2-3-1 in the Big 4 and in third place.

“It was another great battle today,” Ingram added.

The point was the first in the Big 4 for the Panthers, who have been competitive in every game and turned in another solid team performance.

“I thought we played well,” McKinleyville head coach Brady Burtchett said. “I thought we left a couple of goal opportunities out there, but overall I was happy with how we played.”

There were several standouts for the Panthers, including Grace Pimentel, who combined well with teammate Mary Ann Som in midfield.

Ahty Allen also continued to impress in the heart of defense and the McKinleyville sweeper did a good job containing the Arcata attack.

Up front, Abi Pimentel and Gabby Watson kept the Arcata defenders on their toes and did a good job pressuring and creating opportunities.

Goalkeeper Sarah McCray also impressed between the posts and held the Tigers to just the lone goal with another strong performance.