The Ferndale and St. Bernard’s girls soccer teams prepared for a pivotal showdown next week with non-league victories on Saturday.
The Wildcats traveled to Arcata and won 3-0, while the Crusaders played at McKinleyville and came away with a 1-0 win.
With their win, the SB girls improved to 8-1-1 on the season, while Ferndale is now 7-3-1.
Both schools will face each other for the first time in league play at St. Bernard’s on Wednesday afternoon, with the Redwood League lead on the line.
And it should be a competitive showdown between two rivals that know each other well and often bring out the best in each other.
The Cats led Arcata 2-0 at halftime of Saturday’s game, before adding a third goal after the break.
“We played well,” head coach Sam Licona said. “In the first half we came out strong with our press and our movement.
“What I was most impressed with was the patterns we were having up top and how we were executing.”
Macie Wantt continued to impress for the Cats and scored two of her team’s three goals, while influential junior Macie Hagemann added two more assists after assisting on three of her team’s goals in a 6-0 win over McKinleyville earlier in the week.
Teresa Catana-Moreno also continued to impress for Ferndale, scoring the opening goal of the game and assisting on the final goal.
The Ferndale defense helped secure a second straight shutout and a seventh of the season.
“Our entire defensive line did well,” Licona said of the unit that includes Claire Renner, Taren Titus, Melina Pineda and Suri Johnson.
The Crusaders, meanwhile, scored the only goal of their game in the opening half and that would prove to be enough in a tight game.
“All in all, I thought we played really well,” St. Bernard’s head coach Brandon Amis said.
Senior CJ Figas continued to set the tone on a young team and scored the only goal of the game on a penalty kick.
Sophomore goalkeeper Kaitlyn Amis posted her fifth clean sheet of the season with the help of a back line that continues to impress and provides a solid foundation for the team.
The back line includes Carli Baum, Paula Bullock, Emilyn Wilson and Paloma Granados.
“Our defense played lights out,” Brandon Amis added.
Wednesday’s game will be the second between the teams this year and is set for 3 p.m.
The Crusaders won the earlier non-league matchup 3-1.
