NHB streak reaches lucky No. 7

With the possibility of their first defeat staring them in the

face, the NHB Black Under-10 boys soccer team found a way to stay

unbeaten, scoring three goals in the match’s final 12 minutes Saturday to

pull out a 4-3 victory over Galaxy United.

The match was played in 92-degree heat at Arlington Elementary

School in Torrance.

Bobby Tornel had perfect placement on a corner kick with 10

seconds left in the match, a kick he delivered directly in front of the

Galaxy goal. Teammate Esteban Orejel was there to put the ball into the

net for the game-winning goal.

In a frantic finish, NHB rebounded from a 3-1 deficit to tie the

match on goals by Tornel off an assist by Christian Ramirez, and Ramirez

scored with nine minutes left in regulation.

Galaxy had jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but NHB trimmed its deficit

to 2-1 on Ramirez’s first goal of the contest, which was set up by

Abraham Villon’s assist.

On Sunday, first-place NHB returned home and posted a 4-2 victory

over second-place So Cal United at Estancia High in Costa Mesa to extend

its winning streak to seven games.

Orejel opened the game’s scoring on a penalty kick, and Ryan

Lehane broke a 1-1 tie by driving a hard liner from 20 yards out into the

upper left corner of the net.

NHB extended its lead in the second half on the strength of two

more Orejel goals and an assist by Ramirez.

It was the second meeting of the season between the two teams as

NHB also defeated So Cal United earlier this year in the championship

game of the Long Beach Sun and Surf Tournament.

NHB won the two teams’ most recent match despite playing the first

half with two of its starters and most of the second half without four of

its starters, who missed the action due to prior commitments.

Strong play by Chris Velez, Matthew Wood, Patrick Sheffield, Tony

Bichai, and Kody Suryan also contributed to the two weekend victories.

‘The strong depth of this team really showed today,’ NHB Coach

Alberto Robiatti said. ‘So Cal is a tough team and wanted to get revenge

against us, but our young men came ready to play.’