Tied in knots

The Slammin’ Smurfs and The Who played to a 2-2 tie in Boys

under-14 action in AYSO Region 97 soccer Saturday at Mariners Park.

The Who got goals from Will Atwood, who assisted Tobin Olson for

the team’s first goal. Juan Trujillo and Nick Normandin both assisted

on Atwood’s goal. Trujillo made seven saves in goal.

Andrew Kaban scored the Smurfs’ first goal in the first half and

Ben Swift scored the Smurfs’ second goal in the second half. Kyle

Caldwell and Will Reichenstein moved the ball through the midfield

for the Smurfs and Who sweepers Jacob Silverman and Brandon Parole

provided strong support.

The Who’s defense was led by Normandin, Christian Harrison,

Michael Perkins and Vinnie Finn while Timothy Regan, Jamie Gayley and

Olson controlled the midfield.

Defenders Brandon Rowley and Edgar Torres stopped several Who

attacks with Tommy Olson, Chris Gutierrez and Phil Garrett sharing

goaltending duties.

Robert DiFrancesco, Kyle Fults, David Garrett and Rex Nelson

supported in offense and defense for the Smurfs.

In Girls under-13 APP Plus play:

* Newport Beach 5, Rancho Santa Margarita 1

Cassidy Gayner scored three goals and Brittany Sowers and Andrea

Aqueveque added one goal apiece as Newport held on for the win.

Monique Gallardo and Lyndsi Lewan assisted with sisters Sarah Cope

and Alice Cope controlling the midfield.

The trio of Stephanie Nealey, Tia Sheffellet and Maddie McMains

played solid in goal with Claire Josephson, Kristina Heimstaedt, Lily

Dierkes and Kelly De Young holding off Santa Margarita on defense.

In Girls under-12 play:

* Red Crush 3, Patriots 1

The Red Crush played solid defense in holding the Patriots to one

goal and scored three goals of their own to win.

Kayla Henrie scored two goals in the first quarter and Rebecca

Slater scored her first goal of the season in the third quarter for

the Crush. Kate Klippert scored the Patriots’ goal.

Strong defense was provided by Kelly Clark and Jordan Granath with

sweeper Hailey Willard and Zoie Verrall playing steady at midfield.

Kailey Grant and Jillian Fox stopped several Crush scoring chances

playing in goal for the Patriots and got help from Paige Purmort,

Jasmine Swain, Avery Amies and Megan Hosseini.

In Boys under-12 action:

* Rebels 3, Hurricanes 1

The Rebels won a hard-fought game by both teams on goals scored by

Corey Bell-Whelans, Eric Holland and William Munoz and solid

goaltending from Tim Barela.

Munoz broke through the Hurricane defense to score his goal.

Barela tackled the ball late in the game just as a Hurricane readied

to take a shot to preserve the win.

The Hurricanes never gave up, getting to within one goal, 2-1, in

the third quarter. Midfielder Jordan McLaren passed the ball to left

wing Easton Giedt, who then centered to Grady Kough to score.

The Hurricanes kept the pressure on with Robby Hampton, Morgan

Lintz and Derek Boler advancing the ball to Kough. Hurricane keeper

Simon Hedrick and defensive players J.P. Muller, Harrison Faigen and

Justin McLaren turned the Rebels away several times.

* Patriots 1, Rebels 1

Jackson Carmack scored the lone goal for the Patriots with an

assist from Peter Nguyen in the tie against the Rebels.

Jay Ordaz, Christopher Cowie and Preston Wheeler made solid passes

and Tommy Freeman, Joshua Bowman and Daron Arnold controlled the ball

in the midfield.

Defenders Wil Curiel, Irving Torres, Randall Hause and Spencer

Barato kept the ball in the offensive zone.

Wheeler and Bowman shared time in net.

In Girls under-10 action:

* Blue Angels 7, Tsunami 0

The Blue Angels remain undefeated at 6-0 after their shutout win.

Both Beth Barnard and Blakeley Ficenec scored three goals and

Josie Jogwe added another goal to round out the Blue Angels scoring.

The Angels constantly kept the attack on, receiving strong

midfield play from Amanda Rogers and Biz Buckingham with Buckingham

and Madison Wooters creating several key turnovers to start Angel

breakaways.

* Breakers 2, Galaxy Girls 2

The Galaxy’s Shannon Boler and the Breakers’ Tatum Norton went

back and forth, alternating scoring goals as the two teams battled to

a tie.

Boler scored first in the first quarter and Norton then answered

on a breakaway to tie it, 1-1. Boler scored a second goal in the

third quarter and late in the game Norton scored again on a pass from

left wing Kellie Conant to tie the game, 2-2.

Breakers’ fullbacks Gretchen Tingler and Mindy Wheeler kept the

ball out-of-bounds to preserve the tie.

Breakers’ goalkeeper Amber Eary stopped the Galaxy Girls on

several occasions.

* Blue Blasters 2, Parrot Heads 0

The Blue Blasters and Parrot Heads played two scoreless quarters

before Natalie Swift and Holly Kelly both scored to spark the

Blasters to the win.

Goalkeepers Reanne Nathan and Jamie Fredrickson stopped many

Parrot Head shots on goal and were helped by Kate Batstone, Stephanie

Verhayen and Swift, who all played steady defense.

Veronica Seidner, Joanne Cornejo and Amanda Peterson played solid

at midfield and forwards Cindy Mejia and Kelly had many shots on

goal.

In Girls under-10 play:

* Bratz 5, Green Hornets 0

Courtney McIntosh had her first hat trick, scoring three goals to

lead the Bratz to their third straight victory.

Zoe Sanglerat notched her first goal of the season and Madelaine

Gallardo also scored off a cross from Milena Buonanoce for a goal.

Sophia Leveque, Brenna Landstrom and Alexandra Kehoe kept the

shutout intact in goal and Maria Swift and Claire Castillo dominated

the midfield. Katie Escher and Kelly Kindgren also played solidly.

In Boys under-10 play:

* Blue Bombers 4, Stars-N-Stripes 1

The Blue Bombers were led on offense by Nolan Mena’s three goals

and Marco Urquiza’s one goal to lead them to the win.

Ethan Murray, David Vorona and Kyle Regan played strong on offense

with Mena, Slayter Stanley, Gus Moore and Jack Murrell playing steady

at midfield.

Marco Piazza and Urquiza shared goaltending duties and were helped

by solid defense from Brodi Beal and Vorona.

* Galaxy 2, Fighting Ninjas 1

Fighting Ninja goalkeepers Grant Frazier, Taylor Wildman and

Stevie Michaelson held the Galaxy to two goals and Dustin Ayers

scored a goal with support from Jake Turner and Matthew Buchanan.

Zach Buie and Cody Caldwell showed strong midfield support.

* Blue Blasters 3, Volcanoes 1

The Blasters constantly kept the ball on the Volcanoes’ side and

it eventually paid off in three goals for the win.

Misha Pakvasa scored two goals and Craig McKennon added one goal

for an offense that set up shots and creating breakaway chances.

The Blasters were led on offense by Pakvasa, McKennon, Caleb

Candelaria, Trey Franklin and Paul Tadross and the Blaster defense

kept the Volcanoes at-bay led by Brecht Van’t Hof, C.J. Tona, Cory

Fults and Paul Weisinger.

Jake Likich and Ryan Shannon shared goaltending duties.

In Girls under-8 action:

* The Tigers came alive with goals by Ricki Archie, Emma Howard

and Sarah Zomaya after the Dolphins scored the first goal.

Alison Palaferri and Gianna Light played strong defense.

* The Bluewater Dolphins played the Dolphins Saturday and

Bluewater was led offensively by Nicolette Powell, Kristine Sauders,

Carly Christian, Samantha Small and Page Keys.

Kari Hancock, Konner Speth and Vanessa Seznol played well on

defense.

In Boys under-8 action:

* The Panthers and Green Fireballs played in an evenly-matched

contest.

Riley Peterson scored the Panther goal with an assist from Gordon

Lewis and Tyler Schwartz.

Michael Reo, Clay Smith, R.J. Roberts and Braden Delannoy showed

strong offensive skills and Kyle Banter made several diving stops in

goal in the third quarter.

The Fireballs had 10 shots on goal, two of which hit the post, and

the Panther goalies stopped several shots.

Gray Berman and Charlie Geis made numerous saves in goal for the

Fireballs and Antonio Pineda and Efe Atli controlled the center of

the field.

Chase Whiting and Nathan Fulmizi touched the ball several times

and Aldrin Mendez stole a few balls. Stephen Golden and Riley Hunt

held their positions well.

Carter Yonkers, Tyler Farrell and Scott Sexton turned back many

Fireball attacks.

* Defense shined for the Spitfires as they battled Orange Crush.

Spitfire goalkeeper Eric Mejia made a solid save in the first half

and Nick Vieira made a stellar save from the backfield in the second

half with Ellery Sever holding the line in goal.

Kevin Rakestraw and Theo Boistel had several shots on goal with

midfielders James Newman, Landon Gyulay, Ishmael Alkayali, Kurt Walde

and Parker Martinez showing strong attacking and defensive skills as

forwards and defenders.

In Girls under-7 action:

* The Pink Flamingos and Tigers battled with the Flamingos

scoring first on a goal by Samantha Singer assisted by forwards Kitt

Durgan, Samantha Ihle and Carly Liddicote.

Kailen Locke, Birdie Crane and Madison Jackson made stellar passes

and steals.

Ashley Ima and Dana Krekemyer played well in goal, holding off the

Tigers’ attacks.

* The Firecrackers got goals from Alana Courier, Rosalie Deliz

and Analysa Vivanco in their game against the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Cortlynn Clement, Katie Donald, Savannah Gardner and Hailey Oberst

assisted in goals.

Emily Conant, Diana Fujii and Andie Strode played solid defense.

In Boys under-7 action:

* The Fireballs and Blue Dragons battled Saturday at Newport

Heights Elementary.

Cameron Hall and Mario Nark scored goals for the Fireballs and

attackers Marc Gehlke and Daniel O’Toole along with midfielder Kody

Wensley kept the pressure on.

Nick Roman and Marcell DeBarros played steady defense and

goalkeepers Brooks O’Hea and Brandt Bucher stopped several shots by

the Dragons.

* Cole Chapin scored a goal from long distance to lead the Laser

Dragons against the Hammerheads.

Chapin was joined on the attack by Garrett Byers, Sean Vetrovec,

Peter Kwock, Ian MacInnis and Grant Moore.

J.J. Von Ahlefeld and Jack Williamson played aggressive defense

and Brandon Beck, Joey Gregory and Rian Atherton split time in goal.

* The Cheetahs displayed a strong offense and kept the pressure

on the defensive end as well when they played the Black Hawks.

Cheetah goals came from Conner Tamblyn (two) with single goals

from Emmanuel Jogwe and Montgomery Faigan.

Robert Lyons and Cade Scharnell played solid on the offensive end

with help on defense from Kolby Pearson and Andy Nichols. Tamblyn

made a save in goal.

Jake Baxter played well at halfback.

In Girls under-6 action:

* Libby Knight notched her 16th and 17th goals of the season and

Haley Heesch netted three goals, her first of the season, for the

Green Girlillas against the Driving Opponents Bananas.

Peyton Espley Jones began the scoring for the Girlillas with a

goal in the first minute of play followed by Jaynie Hexberg’s boot to

the back of the net for the Girlillas’ second goal.

Lila McElroy and Emily High stopped several scoring opportunities

and kept the Bananas off balance.

Ashley Ammerman and Anna Hancock were out with injuries but are

expected to return.

* Mackenzie Gaddis scored the game’s only two goals with

offensive assists given by Rachel Whitelegge, Abbey Pickett, Rowan

Fredericksen and Carlee Kapana for the Silver Dolphins against the

Purple Princesses.

Solid defensive effort was given by Kelly McFetters, Amanda

Sheppard, Gabby Mangano and Kate Pipkin.

The Dolphins hope to get Alyssa Quintero back for the next game.

In Boys under-6 action:

* The Green Hornets scored often against the Lightning Bolts with

Ben Bockrath leading all scorers while making solid passes.

Blake Jesson scored a goal and played solid defense and Luke Shea

scored his first goal of the season.

The Lightning Bolts got close, but Brian Shaw and Sean Wilson made

some strong stops.

* Both the Stingers and the Shooters played tough defense and

offense against each other.

The Stingers were led by Chris Vensand, Will Eary, Cash Swank and

Jack Lynch.

Ryan Young, Keith Marshall and Christopher Cordes made strong

kicks up-field to defend the goal.

* The Thunderbolts battled the Stingers with Ted Zoerner of the

Thunderbirds scoring a first-half goal and making several strong

defensive plays in the second half.

Nicholas Belida further strengthened the Thunderbolt defense.

* The Raptors and Dragons battled at Newport Harbor High

Saturday.

Logan Crider hustled on offense helping move the Raptors downfield

and Daniel Ross stopped Dragons shots on goal.

Christian Urquiza, Nicholas Perales, Peter Bush, Mathew Clarkson,

Corey Kennedy, Connor Newcombe and Reed Pfeiffer kept up the

momentum.