NHB looking to keep regular season form

The NHB Black boys Under-10 soccer team has survived a 30-game

regular season schedule and won a Silver South Division championship in

the process, but now the Black is out to put an exclamation point on the

1999 season.

Today at Mabel Paine Elementary School in Yorba Linda, NHB takes

its first step in its attempt to add a Coast Soccer League Cup Tournament

championship to its resume when the Black meets up with Long Beach United

Force.

Opening kick is set for 10 a.m.

NHB enters the match with a solid 27-3 record. The Black brings

the Silver South Division banner into today’s match after having cruised

to the division title with a 13-1 mark.

Their stiffest challenge in the tournament, according to Coach

Alberto Robiatti, will come from tournament favorite FC Barcelona.

Christian Ramirez scored all four of his team’s goals as NHB

captured first place in the Silver South Division with a 13-1 record.

‘There will be some great competition at this tournament, so we’ll

need to be at our best,’ Robiatti said. ‘I think we can challenge FC

Barcelona, who I feel is the team to beat. Winning the Nike Cup really

helped prepare our team for the League Cup. We’ve been very aggressive on

the attack and we’ve had some great teamwork, both of which helped us win

this (Nike) tournament.’

NHB tuned up for the upcoming League Cup by winning the Nike

Harvest Cup Tournament in Irvine over the Thanksgiving Day holiday.

Christian Ramirez, the team’s leading scorer, paved the way with 10 games

in five tournament games, while goalkeeper Randi Brito surrendered just

three goals in five victories.

NHB opened tournament play by defeating the Irvine Strikers

Bronze, 7-0 on two goals by both Ramirez and Avi Villon and single scores

by Jonathon Rivas, Esteban Orejel, and Favian Robiatti. Their second

victory was a 12-1 blowout of the Irvine Strikers-Churm, as Ramirez and

Rivas each scored three goals, Orejel and Bobby Tornel both scored twice,

and Villon and Chris Velez scored one goal apiece to round out the

attack.

Ramirez and Orejel each scored twice in a 4-1 victory over Arsenal

FC, a win that secured the Black a spot in the semifinal round. In their

semifinal date with FCI Impact, Ramirez and Orejel again provided the

offense with two goals each as NHB posted a 4-1 victory.

The Black took on another unbeaten team, the Irvine Strikers Gold,

in the championship match. A first half defensive struggle, which

featured several saves by Brito, saw the two teams fight to a scoreless

tie at the break. However, Avi Villon broke the deadlock by weaving his

way past four Striker defenders to score at the two-minute mark to give

NHB the winning goal.

Ten minutes later, Ramirez scored off an assist from Villon and

Rivas added an insurance score with his fifth goal of the tournament. The

game’s final score came at the 19-minute mark, and sent NHB on its way to

a 3-0 triumph.

Now, it’s on to the Coast Soccer League Cup Tournament.

At 27-3, NHB Black is well prepared to meet the challenges.

‘I feel that our team is ready,’ Robiatti added.