Merida strikes!

Trailing 1-0 at halftime didn’t faze the girls under-14 Strikers,

especially Carina Merida, who had a stellar second half as the

Strikers prevailed in AYSO soccer play.

She scored five times to go along with Emily Swedelson’s one goal

as defenders Mayra Ruman, Kyra Multer and Julia Jaroslawski protected

goalkeeper Ashton Henderson all game.

*

In boys under-16 action:

* Costa Mesa United 2, Yorba Linda Frahm 0

After a scoreless first half, Costa Mesa United stormed to victory

behind Jon Secrest’s two goals as Kane Curran made some key passes in

contributing to Secrest’s second goal.

Steady defense by Chris Ray and Zack Shockley (goalkeeper) kept

Yorba Linda from scoring as Victor Segovia controlled the ball often

near the sidelines and Edgar Amador assisted on defense.

*

In girls under-14 play:

* Twisted Chaos 3, Fruitcakes 2

Goals in the third and fourth periods propelled Twisted Chaos to

the win over the host Fruitcakes.

Twisted Chaos was down, 2-1, late in the third quarter when Susan

Carmona tied it with a goal and went ahead for good in the fourth

when Annel Alvarez, who scored the first goal of the game in the

first period, broke down the left side dribbling past three defenders

to launch a shot into the net for the win.

Twisted Chaos held the Fruitcakes scoreless in the third period

with strong defensive performances by halfback Emily Bizzell,

fullback Sara Fassett and goalkeeper Jaye Hellmich.

Outstanding defense in the fourth quarter was provided by

fullbacks Jessica Reynolds, Samantha Strodel and Rachel Depersis.

The Fruitcakes tied it at 1 at the end of the first quarter on a

direct kick.

*

In boys under-14 action:

* The Costa Mesa Boys Under 14 APP team picked up right where it

left off in winning a cross-town showdown with Newport Beach last

weekend.

Mesa, coming off of a championship in the sixth annual McMillan

Tournament in Costa Mesa the previous weekend, scored five times

against Newport in pool-play.

Marco Soto led the way with two goals, one on a header and another

on a cross pass from Caleb Burgess, who scored Mesa’s final goal in

the third quarter. Mesa’s Rigo Miranda scored in the first minute on

a cross from Kenneth Zich, and Luis Cozza found the back of the net a

few minutes later.

Newport Beach held tough, denying threat after threat with stellar

goaltending.

Mesa goalkeeper Luis Zelaya anchored the defense that was

supported by Burgess, William Briseno, Zich, Ben Abbott, Adam

Seagondollar and Cozza.

Forwards Herman Higadera, Jose Perez and Austin Evett led the

offense as Blake Pinto, Alberto Nava, Soto, Trevor McDonald and

Miranda provided midfield support.

*

In girls under-12 play:

* Girls in Black 5, Orange Crush 1

Two goals from Mariah Bailey and one goal apiece from Stephanie

Fox and Alexa Aguilar keyed the Girls in Black to victory.

Center forward Abby Scheaffer had two assists while goalkeeper Amy

Ramirez played outstanding in net.

The Girls in Black defense was led by Teresa Fox, Diana Gutierrez

and Michelle Eastman while midfielders Alex Payzant, Kelsey Coleman,

Rebecca Alward and Nicole Apted controlled the field.

*

In boys under-8 action:

* The Blue Lightning and Blue Angels fought hard as both teams

played a scoreless first half.

But the Blue Lightning’s Daniel Cabrera scored back-to-back

third-quarter goals and finished with another goal in the fourth

quarter to capture the hat trick.

The Blue Angels fought back with a goal of their own in the fourth

quarter.

Fullbacks Nicholas Meldrum, Francisco Macedo, Nicholas Halloran

and Cabrera anchored the Lightning’s defense as Adam Ditt, Malcolm

Williams, Isaac Dela Mora and Erick Alvarez led the offense.

*

In 5-year-old girls action:

* Both the Blue Dolphins and Glitter Girls scored goals against

each other.

Citlaly Gomez, Madison Ongstad and Lisa Perlin all scored goals

for the Dolphins as Olivia LeValley, Emily Rose, Azucena Angulo and

Hope Fox all made great passes and saves and moved the ball upfield

for the Dolphins.