The Eureka girls returned to the summit of North Coast Section soccer on Wednesday night, while the Arcata boys moved one step closer to making some school history.
The final week of the local high school soccer season has been a busy and very successful one for the H-DNL schools, with two NCS championships already secured and two more up for grabs this weekend.
The Eureka girls traveled to Lake County to play Kelseyville in the section Division-1 final and came away with a 1-0 win, claiming a fifth championship in six years and a sixth all-time.
That matches St. Bernard’s for the most-ever NCS championships by a local soccer team, boys or girls.
The victory was secured just hours after the Ferndale girls won a third section championship in four years with a 2-0 win over Del Norte in the Division-2 decider in Crescent City.
Two of the league’s boys teams, meanwhile, will play for an NCS championship this weekend.
Eureka will host the D-2 final against Redwood Christian after edging Del Norte 2-1 in double overtime in their semifinal on Wednesday night, while Arcata will travel to Santa Rosa to play Sonoma Academy in the Division-1 final after the Tigers won a penalty shootout in their semifinal at The Bay School in San Francisco after both teams were still deadlocked 0-0 after overtime.
“We looked good,” Arcata head coach John Davidson said. “I felt like we dominated the second half in terms of creating chances and that continued in the first overtime period.”
The Tigers, however, were unable to get a breakthrough or decisive goal and they went to PKs to decide a winner for the second time in six days after also featuring in a shootout against Fortuna in Friday’s quarterfinal.
And for the second time in six days they prevailed, edging the top seeds in the bracket by a score of 3-2 to advance to an NCS decider for the second straight year.
Isai Aguilar, Quinn McSorley and Isaac Ingram all scored from the spot in the shootout, while sophomore goalkeeper Owen Ingram made two critical saves.
The shutout was the second for the Tigers in two playoffs games and the team’s fourth in the last five games, with the team defense stepping up its game late in the season.
And, according to the coach, it’s complete team effort when it comes to the Tigers defense.
“When we don’t have the ball, everybody’s on defense,” Davidson said. “We’re a team. We’re very much together. Everybody’s in it together.”
The Tigers qualified for a first-ever NCS championship game last year, but lost 4-0 to Head-Royce.
And just 12 months later they’re back competing in the final game of the NCS season and eager to finish out victorious this year.
Asked whether that experience will help his players this time around, Davidson replied emphatically.
“Tremendously,” he said. “And that’s really going to encourage us to do better than last year. We understand if we show up and put in a great performance we can hold our heads high.”
The H-DNL champs appear to be playing some of their best soccer of the season at an opportune time.
“The chemistry is looking good, the fitness is showing and all of us are feeling confident,” Davidson said.
Saturday’s game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
At Kesleyville, meanwhile, the Eureka girls continued their recent dominance in NCS play, adding to the titles they won in 2018 and from 2021 to 2024.
“Girls played their best game of the season,” Eureka head coach Melaina Valdez said. “They came out and maintained intensity that we’ve been seeking and working for all season.”
Lola Distefano scored the only goal of the game on a free kick from about 35 yards, and that would prove to the difference in a tight game.
“They battled the entire 80 minutes and I am so proud of their performance,” Valdez added.
Goalkeeper Peyton Graney posted the clean sheet between the posts, with plenty of support from an impressive back line that included center backs Distefano and Olivianna Millender and fullbacks Maddie Van Vleck and Kilby Hammer.
“Our possession game, intensity and composure was what allowed us to out play Kelseyville,” Valdez said. “The wings were tested and worked but didn’t waiver. Every girl helped in our possession play.”
Kyla Benzinger and Maley Matteoli both impressed on the wings.
The championship was a nice response for a team that lost to Del Norte in last year’s NCS playoffs, the program’s only section loss since 2019.
“The growth, experience and lessons learned from last season created a very solid foundation for us this year,” Valdez said. “The girls earning the title of Division-1 NCS champions wasn’t done just through the final game. It was earned through their past seasons, every practice, every team talk, every win, loss and reflection.”
And the Loggers have a program that is about so much more than just championships, even if they continue to accumulate.
“I think a championship win isn’t what our program is about,” the coach added. “We want our girls to be their best selves as a student athlete in every capacity.”
And in that regard, the Loggers are succeeding every bit as much off the field as they are in the NCS playoffs.
“These girls are so much more than just talented soccer players,” Valdez said. “They are a group of young women who genuinely believe in one another, show up for each other and are willing to put the work in for something bigger than themselves.
“They’ve built something special and I couldn’t be prouder of the team they’ve become.”
