Photo by Jenipher Willis – St. Bernard’s Sahara Tupua, left, has been named outfield MVP of the Little 4 in girls soccer.

By Ray Hamill — A pair of multi-sport standouts have been named the 2024 MVPs in Little 4 girls soccer, the league has announced.

After outstanding seasons for both players, St. Bernard’s Sahara Tupua and Ferndale’s Tinnley Pidgeon have been honored by the league’s coaches as Outfield MVP and Goalkeeper MVP, respectively.

And both are well deserving of the honor, according to their respective coaches.

“I think it was her ability to control a game,” St. Bernard’s head coach Jeff Sellars said of Tupua when asked what made her a league MVP. “And her athletic ability is a part of that.”

Tupua was a three-sport athlete this fall, starring for the Crusaders in soccer, volleyball and JV football.

And she enjoyed tremendous success in all three sports, winning league titles in both volleyball and football and leading the school’s soccer team to a North Coast Section championship.

She was also named all-league in volleyball.

But it was on the soccer field where she had her biggest impact, anchoring the SB defense.

“For her to be able to close down (opposing forwards) and to able to get in lanes, it made it difficult to get anything past her,” Sellars added. 

And that wasn’t all she brought to the table.

“She was definitely a team leader out there,” her coach said. “She organized the defense and she was always a positive leader for her teammates, always encouraging them.”

In her three years competing in high school sports, Tupua has earned the reputation as one of the most tenacious and hard-working athletes in the Little 4.

But she also highly respected among her teammates for who she is.

“She’s very kind,” Sellars said. “And she’s very competitive, and it’s very rare to see that combination in a person.”

Submitted photo – Sahara Tupua, far right front row, and her teammates celebrate their NCS championship.

Photo by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Tinnley Pidgeon

Pidgeon was equally influential for the Wildcats.

It was a difficult season for the Ferndale girls, who were hit harder than anyone with injuries early in the campaign and played most of their games with just nine players.

But those players embraced the challenge and even thrived in spite of it, no one more than Pidgeon.

The multi-sport Ferndale star, who also plays key roles for her teams in basketball and softball, took on a goalkeeper/sweeper position and played a bigger role than anyone in keeping the Cats competitive.

Even against the larger Big 4 schools, Pidgeon and her teammates pushed them all the way and gave them everything they could handle.

“Tinnley is one of the most dedicated, relentless players I have ever seen,” said Ferndale assistant coach Brenden McDonald, who has worked closely with Pidgeon. “She is very dedicated at her craft and always wants to get better at her position. She also wants the team to win and is such a great leader by talking to the whole team and helping out everyone at every position.”

And that’s not all that impressed her coaches.

“As a person she does it all,” McDonald added. “She’s an exceptional student, very involved in FFA and student government, as well as being a three-sport athlete.

“She is kind and works her tail off to be the best … She will only get better and that is what’s very exciting.”

Pidgeon’s head coach Bailey Davy echoed the sentiment.

“There’s no one harder on Tinnley than herself,” she said. “‘What did I do wrong?’ will be the first words out of her mouth as soon as a ball is in her net.

“Whether it’s at practice, just some extra shots before or after practice, or in a game, it doesn’t matter to her. A ball went in her net, that’s unacceptable and she is gonna fix it.”

That hard work has played a key role in her development between the posts.

“She has a work ethic that can’t be taught,” Davy added. “On and off the field she gives 110 percent.”

This is the second straight year Pidgeon has been named the league’s MVP Goalkeeper.

“I love that this recognition is from other teams and coaches,” Davy said. “And I think that in itself speaks volumes of who she is as a keeper.

“Female goalkeepers are hard to come by. She has taken this position head on since last year and it’s incredible what her and Brendan have accomplished.

“I tip my hat to both of them. They have put in so many hours and hard work.”

Submitted photo – The Del Norte girls won a first-ever conference championship in soccer this fall.

Little 4 champions Del Norte also had multiple all-league selections.

In total, 12 Warriors received all-league recognition, including five named to the all-league team and seven honorable mentions.

Team leaders Aurora Mitchell, Deja Payne, Alexis Aguirre, Lilly Schaad and Lillie Franklin all were named to the all-league first team after playing key roles in the Warriors first-ever conference championship in the sport.

Kalynn Schaad, Teexeeshe Scott, Hollyn Wakefield, Avery Ritter, Marianna Garcia, Lillianna Ramirez and Jaden Bennett each also received an honorable mention for the Warriors.

The St. Bernard’s girls, who placed second in the conference standings, had two other players named all-league in addition to Tupa.

The ever-consistent Eliana Sellars and Alyssa Boham each also received the honor.

Claire Renner also was named all-league for Ferndale, as was South Fork’s Aurora Galaz and Hannah Savio.

HONORABLE MENTIONS 

Del Norte — Kalynn Schaad, Teexeeshe Scott, Hollyn Wakefield, Avery Ritter, Marianna Garcia, Lillianna Ramirez, Jaden Bennett

St. Bernard’s — Amber Smith, Cadence Figas, Sarah Luna

South Fork — Molly Perkins, Kamea Hawkins

Ferndale — Michaela Ellsmore, Madison Gossi