Defense prevails in Back Bay contest

The boys under-16 teams from Newport Beach and Corona del Mar faced

off in a defensive battle Nov. 1 in AYSO Region 97 soccer action.

Newport was one better, claiming a 1-0 victory.

Newport goalkeeper Tommy Olson had double-digit saves to hold CdM

scoreless. Tremendous defensive play and teamwork came from Daniel

Gonzalez, Jeremy Lewis, Gary Guerro, and Sean Marshall. They warded

off additional attacks from the CdM offense.

P.J. Baca led in the midfield with effective ball control and

passing, while Sergio Rodriguez and Isai Viveros demonstrated speed

and maneuverability.

Chris Lewis, Justin Whisler, Edgar Torres and Junior Rubio also

took turns in the midfield, sending the ball back to forwards David

Garrett, Patrick Vhalakis and Nick Normandin, who scored the lone

goal in the game.

In girls under-12 action:

* Beach Babes 1, Usman’s Team 0:

The Beach Babes earned their first win this season.

Goalkeeper Kelly Rordan stopped a shot from nine feet away while

Madeline Storch scored the game-winning goal.

Whitley Peter kept the ball clear from the middle and Lindsay

Ricker moved the ball toward the goal. Stephanie Storch’s excellent

defensive saves, Kiley Johnson’s strong offensive ball handling,

which has been consistent all season, Patty Moddelmog’s excellent

kicks, and Jasmine Swain’s key defensive stops led the victory.

Isabella Holmes’s great ball handling, defeating two defensive

players in a row, and Sheyna Holmes’s key assists in driving the ball

down the field also led to the win. Lindsey Larson added strong

defense.

In girls under-10 action:

* Fireballs 6; Golden Flames 2

Rachel Vensand scored a hat trick to lead the Fireballs to their

ninth win in as many games. Ailani Hause added one goal with Molly

Anderson providing two more to cap the Fireballs’ scoring.

Morgan Long, Kirsten Rohan and Elyssa Barnett played strong at the

midfield with effective passing and ball control skills.

The strong Fireball defense was led by Gianna Light, Kate

Batstone, and Christina Dupont. Sofia Muscatello and Christine

Jacques shared goaltending duties.

* Fighting Pickles 1, Purple Panthers 1:

Madison Grant scored the lone goal for the Fighting Pickles in a

hard fought match. Delaney Bell assisted on the goal and was solid at

defense. Hunter Jennings was exceptional at forward and goalkeeper

while Paisley Muller, Madison Kohlenberger and Hannah Nance also

stood out for the Pickles.

* Blue Crush vs. Hilighters: Savanna Gastineau scored the lone

goal for either team as the Blue Crush got the win. Courtney Buck

tallied the assist with goalkeepers Sara Cluck, Shannon Barth, and

Kyla Kerr all providing the stops to keep the Blue Crush in the lead.

Midfielders Kendall Walker, Gretchen Monke and Ana Figueroa used long

passes to keep the game moving. Defenders Devin Donahue, Morgan

Donahue and Brinley Siemonsma made the backfield practically

impenetrable.

* Pink Jaguars 1, Red Hot Chili Peppers 1:

The strong forwards for the day were Dana Jessen, Manon Barre and

Kresel Cercado. Outstanding goalkeeper skills came from Nicole

Dinatale with strong defense provided by Ivy Griggs, Lindsey Sorge,

Cindy Mejia, and Nicole Teale. Halfbacks Sara Hamilton and Shannon

Henderson drove the ball upfield with help from Natalie Duthoy.

In boys under-10 play:

* Silver Wolves 0, Orange Fireballs 0:

The Silver Wolves ended the season undefeated with the tie.

The Silver Wolves started the game with Clay Smyth, Robert Boullon

and Jason Wooding at forward while midfield duties were handled by

Wyatt Muller and Eli Gomez.

Casey Shearer played at sweeper with Nathan Mayhugh and Cody

Lippman at fullback.

Jacob Swain played in goal for the first half while Cameron

Candelaria rotated in on defense.

Robert Boullon and Jason Wooding alternated at goalkeeper in the

second half and had great saves for the Silver Wolves (7-0-2).

* A.C. Milan 1, Green 0:

A.C. Milan (9-0-1) finished the regular season in first place as

Landon Gyulay scored on a point-blank shot off a throw-in by Ian

Baugh.

Baugh and Ryan Cerrato each played one half in goal and made two

saves each.

True Tamplin, Nick McCann, Charlie Pena and Willie Pyle provided

strong defense with the midfield led by Max Johnson and Sam Sykes.

* Atomic Fireballs 3, Green Vipers 2:

Fireball scoring came exclusively from forward Alex Atenco, who

used his footwork to receive passes from midfielders Corey Kroeger

and Jimmy Kinney.

Defenders Jack Hanle, Dylan Goodman and Sean Duggan fed Kroeger

and Kinney. Duggan stopped several breaks.

The Fireballs, ravaged by illness this week, played with the same

nine players for the duration of the game. Midfielder Trent

Zimmermann chose to stay in the field despite an early injury.

Goalkeeper Adam Josephson, who routinely pounced on opponent’s

shots, and Blake Smith made several sliding kicks to keep the ball

away from the Vipers.

In girls under-8 play:

* Blue Jets vs. Surfer Girls:

The Jets had goals from Megan Daly and Emily Nall with defensive

efforts coming from Alice Miller and Isabelle Leveque.

* The Firing Flames continued their strong goalkeeping with. Emily

Cook, Sammy Singer and Jessica Arnold leading the way.

Hailey Oberst and Kailen Locke helped them out with strong

defensive play.

Rosalie Deliz got an assist with a great pass to McKenna Johnson,

who scored from long range in the second period.

In boys under-8 play:

* The Green Goblins and the Tidal Waves played a well-contested

game.

After an exciting but scoreless first quarter, Chas Beek and Eli

Botros combined on an awesome breakaway play for the Goblins, passing

the ball between them until Beek drilled the ball into the goal for

the game’s first score.

Later in the second quarter, Botros took the ball the length of

the field, racing ahead of the Tidal Wave defenders, and squibbed the

ball past the goalie.

After the halftime break, as a result of Joey Gregory and Andrew

Dimas supplied the offensive pressure that led to Beek scoring again

for the on a kick from outside the penalty box early in the second

half.

Marc Gehlke closed out the scoring for the Goblins with a kick to

the top of the Waves’ goal, just over the outstretched arms of the

goalkeeper. The Green Goblins’ defense was led by Will Crook, Jake

Farwell, Buddy Mitchell and T.J. Tarazevits.

Flame Throwers vs. Soccer Scorers

* The Flame Throwers and Soccer Scorers battled hard.

Kolby Pearson scored an exciting goal for the game’s only score on

a breakaway pass from Marco Bruscia.

Strong defense was provided by Jack Williamson, Mossimo Navarette

and Adam Bennani. Peter Doyle led in goal.

In girls under-7 play:

* Firecrackers 0, Rockets 0:

Both teams had numerous opportunities to score, but solid defense

and goalkeeping ruled the day.

Sierra Page continued her string of scoreless quarters in goal for

the Firecrackers. She extended her streak to 12 quarters without

being scored on.

Kira Wandrocke stepped in at goal for the first time this season

and held the hard charging Rockets in check for the entire second

half.

Miranda Hart and Reagan Rutter continued their strong defensive

effort while Libby Knight, Amanda Brown, Ryan Moncrief and Bryn

Alexander kept the pressure on the Rockets through out the game.

Knight had a chance to capture the lone goal of the game after

breaking free with only seconds to go, but a fine stop by the Rockets

ensured the tie. Bryn Alexander also had several good shots at goal.

Flaming Flowers vs. Red Dragons

* The Flaming Flowers and the Red Dragons had a defensive battle

and both teams went scoreless in the second half.

Nikki Leal and Sammie Yeager scored goals for the Flowers in the

first quarter whiile the defense turned away many scoring chances

with Emma Erickson, Daniella Caresse and Camille Christensen leading

the way. Jaynie Hexberg and Alana Aguire denied many scoring chances

in goal and Leah Castillo booted several balls on goal.

* Emily Wolfe, Annie LaGrandeur and Alex Vasquez led the

Fireflies on defense with Delanie Gastineau, Baylee Kneip and Nicole

Carlin showing tenacity.

The Fireflies scored their lone goal in the first half.

* The opposing team didn’t show, so the Hula Girls had to

improvise.

.A few siblings were added and the game was on.

Mallory Gyulay, Brittany Welsh, Kierstyn Yardley and Kate Yasko

each scored a goal while Kappy Fuller, MacKenzie Gaddis and Gabby

Shelley played strong on offense. Caroline Gels stopped a few shots

in goal.

* The Groovy Girls and Blue Flames battled with Olivia Sever and

Dani De Santis scoring one goal each.

Sabrina Sanchez, Katie Duhoux and Ali Willson aggressively moved

the ball down field.

Sweeper Kristin Kiehnle covered much of the field while goalkeeper

Amanda Dupont made several saves.

In boys under-7 play:

* Solid defense and several breakaway attempts highlighted a hard

fought battle between the Orange and Black Tigers and Blue Tsunami.

After a scoreless first half, Jack Binford broke through the

Tsunami windstorm with a goal early in the third quarter.

Landon Knight added a second goal in the fourth off a brilliant

pass by Ryan Braun. Braun took a throw-in off his body, beat one

defender and passed up field to Knight, who scored into the high

left-hand corner of the net.

Baron Davis had another strong outing, nearly scoring off two

center passes.

Other offensive standouts included David Hartman and Thomas Quinn.

Davis had several stops in goal for the Tigers.

In girls under-6 action:

Candace Callahan, Charlotte Monke and Quincy Morgan played strong

on defense for the Fireflies with Emily Goltz and Erika Ellis moving

the ball forward and adding goals.

Heather Roberts added an assist with Laura Mackenzie dribbling

upfield.

In boys under-6 play:

The Blue Sharkstook on the Red Hot Chili Peppers in a defensive

battle.

Spike Stoneman, R. J. Reid and Cade Clement successfully defended

the Blue Sharks’ goal while Mason Lindh made several stops.

Jack McClintock narrowly missed the net with three shots on goal,

receiving passes from Jake Van Herwaarden.