The dynasty is alive and well.
On Saturday afternoon, the Arcata boys shut out Eureka 4-0 to clinch the H-DNL championship outright.
It was the second straight championship for head coach John Davidson and his players and the program’s third in five years.
“(We) played a strong game,” said Davidson whose team scored twice in each half.
Senior Elijah Brooks scored twice in the win, while sophomores Isai Aguilar and Henry Shanahan each scored once.
Another sophomore, Micah Okin, had the only assist of the game.
With the win, the Tigers improved to 16-4-2 and the H-DNL title secures the league’s automatic bid for the upcoming North Coast Section playoffs and a probable home game in the opening round.
The Loggers came into the game with an outside shot at sharing the league title, but they were unable to match the hosts despite a good team performance,.
“Overall not a bad game for us, just couldn’t finish our chances,” Eureka head coach Tommy Learmouth said.
Goalkeeper Mason Beauchamp and his back line impressed against a dangerous Arcata attack despite the final score.
“Congratulations to Arcata on winning the league title,” Learmouth said. “They were the most consistent team this year in a very competitive league.
In other games on Saturday, the Fortuna boys played at Del Norte and won 2-1 to take over sole possession of second place in the league standings.
The McKinleyville boys also won on Saturday, beating South Fork 6-0 in Miranda, while the McKinleyville girls got their first win of the season, edging South Fork 2-1 and improving to 1-13-2.
Also in girls action on Saturday, Redwood League champion St. Bernard’s closed out league play with a 3-0 at Ferndale.
Up in Crescent City, meanwhile, Oliver Cortes scored both of the Huskies’ goals in their win, as they improved to 8-3-1 in league play.
“Del Norte are well coached and they are always tough in Crescent City,” Fortuna head coach Daniel Holmes said.
Brandon Cruz had a big day for the visitors and “kept our back line organized and disciplined,” Holmes said, while Anthony Gonzalez and Oscar Balderas each also impressed for the team.
The Crusaders, who had clinched the league title before Saturday’s game, stretched their winning streak to three straight as they continue to build momentum ahead of the upcoming NCS playoffs.
The playoff fields and seeds will be announced next weekend, before the postseason gets under way a few days later.
Sariah Vainuku had a memorable day for the Crusaders.
The senior standout had never scored in a high school game but found the back of the net twice in the win.
Vainuku’s big day helped the Crusaders overcome a slow start to the game.
“You know, I thought the first 10 minutes we played like we were going to lose,” St. Bernard’s head coach Brandon Amis said. “And after we made adjustments I thought we played a heck of a match.”
The loss was the third of the season for the Wildcats against the Crusaders, but they are building momentum ahead of the playoffs after losing just once in their previous five games.
Overcoming some key injuries late in the campaign has helped the Cats.
“Ferndale looked healthy, they played healthy,” Amis said. “They’re a heck of a team.”
St. Bernard’s senior CJ Figas, who has been setting the standard in league play all year, continued to impress and may have done enough to be named league MVP after the season ends.
The outstanding senior scored the opening goal and assisted on the first Vainuku goal.
Fellow senior Malia Masayos had two assists in the win.
But while the team offense did enough to help secure the maximum points, it was the team defense that helped set the tone.
“My defense was rock solid,” Amis said of the unit that includes Carli Baum, Paula Bullock, Emilyn Wilson and Paloma Granados. “We had tons and tons of high level stops on three incredible (Ferndale) strikers.”
Sophomore goalkeeper Kaitlyn Amis also continued to perform at a high level and made 17 saves on the way to recording the clean sheet.
With the win, the SB girls improved to 12-5-1 overall and closed out league play 5-1, while Ferndale dropped to 10-7-2 and 2-2-2.
