Two of the best teams on the North Coast faced off in a rivalry showdown at Washington Field on Saturday, on what was a busy day for the H-DNL schools.
The St. Bernard’s girls made the short trip to play crosstown rival Eureka, as the Loggers handed them their first loss of the season, 2-0.
Also in action on Saturday, Fortuna defeated Ferndale 3-0, Del Norte beat McKinleyville 3-0 and Arcata got the better of South Fork 9-0.
Maya Mitchell and Elliot Banducci each scored for Eureka, the latter from the penalty spot, as the Loggers improved to 4-0 on the season.
“They played hard against a tough opponent that gave us all we could handle,” Eureka assistant coach Tommy Learmouth said of his players. “Our defense was spectacular tonight.”
Both goal scorers did a good job against a young St. Bernard’s team that has been on fire for much of the season, as did teammate Kyla Benzinger, who impressed the coaches with her play in the middle of the field.
Mariah Wyllie and Natalie Wyllie each also impressed on the wings for Eureka and had big performances that “helped to keep the SB back line on their toes and helped us create constant chances,” according to Learmouth.
The Crusaders, who came into the game 6-0-1, had not played a game in 10 days and it showed.
“I think we had a lot of good individual players, but it was sloppy team play today,” St. Bernard’s head coach Brandon Amis said. “We had a long layoff between games and everybody’s getting over being sick, and Eureka’s a good team.”
One bright spot for the visitors was the play of Sariah Vainuku, who is settling into her midfield role after missing some games earlier in the campaign.
“She’s been really coming on and has been super focused at practice,” Amis said of the influential midfielder. “And today she had her first breakout game.”
Banducci’s penalty kick was the first scored against St. Bernard’s goalkeeper Kaitlyn Amis in her two years playing high school soccer.
CJ Figas and Malia Masayos continued to work well up front for the Crusaders, as did freshman Kinley Johnson.
Arcata 9, South Fork 0
The Tigers are beginning to find their groove at an opportune time.
On Saturday, things began coming together for the team with a big performance against the Cubs.
Valentina Midence scored three goals in the win, while teammate Taylor Bowen had a strong game on the wing and found the back of the net twice.
“We have been working hard the last few weeks and the little pieces are starting to fit together,” Arcata head coach Matthew Ingram said.
Left back Vivian Adams also scored in the win, getting her first goal of the season, with teammates Ada Kinziger, Amable Miranda and Alia Collins each also finding the back of the net to round out the scoring.
“It was really great to see the girls work for each other,” Ingram added.
Fortuna 3, Ferndale 0
The Huskies got the better of their biggest rivals, shutting out the Wildcats on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Fortuna girls improved 5-2-1.
“Fortuna was the better team and took care of the opportunities they had on goal,” said Ferndale head coach Sam Licona, who added “All we can do is build off of this and work to improve.”
No stats or scoring details were immediately available for the Huskies.
Del Norte 3, McKinleyville 0
The Warriors broke open a tight game with thee second-half goals.
Elisabeth Lopez opened the scoring off a corner kick, before Liberty Chilcott doubled the home team’s tally to make it 2-0.
Lillie Franklin added the third goal.
“We really managed the midfield and kept it on their side of the field for most of the game,” Del Norte head coach Shawn Eckart said. “It was good. They were passing, they were talking, it was a solid performance by the team.”
Goalkeeper Avery Ritter also had a good game, posting the clean sheet between the posts with the help of her defense and doing a good job directing her teammates.
“She was rally on top of making sure no one got near the box,” Eckart said.
Midfielder Jaden Bennett also impressed in the middle of the field and “distributed the ball well,” according to her coach.
