Submitted photo – The Ferndale players and coaches celebrate their Upper Lake tournament championship earlier in the year. On Saturday, they officially captured their first conference title in 16 years.
The Ferndale Wildcats made it official on Saturday afternoon, clinching a Little 4 championship that everyone has known was going to be theirs for some time.
A 5-0 win at South Fork, coupled with a tie for St. Bernard’s and Del Norte in Crescent City, secured the title outright for the smallest school in the H-DNL.
The championship is just the second ever for the Cats and their first since 2009.
And they achieved it with a strong team performance, something we’ve come to expect from this year’s squad.
“It was just an all-around great game from the Wildcats,” head coach Bailey Davy said. “We were moving the ball, from the very back line starting with (goalkeeper) Tinnley (Pidgeon), to our forwards in one fluid attack. It was really fun to watch them play today.”
With the win, which was the team’s eighth straight, Ferndale improved to 14-1-1 on the season and 6-0 in conference play.
They now have 12 points with three games remaining, which is seven more than Del Norte and St. Bernard’s, who are tied for second with five points each.
It truly has been a remarkable season for the Wildcats, and they’re not done yet.
They are now unbeaten in 15 straight games dating back to their season opener, a run that has included 14 wins and 11 shutouts.
In addition to the reliable hands of Pidgeon between the posts, the Cats’ defense has been a catalyst on the path to success, and that continued to be the case on Saturday with Claire Renner, Michaela Ellsmore, Melina Pineda and Taren Titus all turning in strong performances.
“Our defense has been so solid all year,” Davy added. “(They) have worked so well together this season making a solid back line.”
Another key part of the team’s success has been the sensational goalscoring of freshman Madison Hagemann, who has been on fire in front of the posts all season long.
The young standout netted the opening two goals on Saturday to give her team a 2-0 lead going into halftime, and Arlene Glines would make it 3-0 after the break.
One of the highlights of the day for the team was the return of influential junior Gianna Regli, who was back on the field after missing several weeks through injury.
And she had an immediate impact on her return, netting the final two goals of the game.
“It was great to have Gianna back on the field after four weeks out with an ankle injury,” Davy added. “And she scores two goals in her first game back.”
Hagemann, Glines, Madison Gossi and Teresa Catana each had an assist, with Glines particularly effective in attack off the bench.
“Arlene had a standout game,” Davy said of the talented freshman. “She played forward for us today and was fantastic, making runs, assists and goals. Great performance.”
Davy also praised the performances of Ellsmore and Pidgeon, who have been outstanding all season long and limited opportunities for the Cubs.
The head coach and assistant coach Brenden McDonald have done an outstanding job in charge of the program, leading Ferndale to a first-ever North Coast Section championship two years ago and a conference championship this fall.
And as the top-ranked fall soccer team in the entire NCS right now, there’s every reason to expect the Wildcats to compete for another section crown in the coming weeks.
