CyberRays, Arsenal and Earthquakes all take first at Morgan Hill
tournament; Spirit finishes in third place
HOLLISTER
It’s not everyday a handful of Hollister teams find their way to the same field for the same tournament. But four teams from the San Benito Youth Soccer League invaded the Morgan Hill Sports Complex last weekend for the Central Valley Magic Cup III tournament, and not one managed to disappoint.
“We just happened to all end up at the same tournament,” said Kitina Martin, coach of U14 Arsenal. “And Hollister dominated. It was crazy.”
The U15 CyberRays, U14 Arsenal and U13 Earthquakes all finished in first place, while the U11 Spirit notched a third-place standing at the Magic Cup. The four teams combined to finish with a 14-1-1 record, having outscored its opponents by a 54-9 margin.
“We have a very talented bunch of girls in Hollister right now,” said Ben Alvarez, coach of the U15 CyberRays. “It was awesome that three teams took first place in that tournament.”
The CyberRays posted a perfect 4-0 record, and emerged from their pool after scoring a 3-0 victory against the Mount Hamilton Extreme, a 4-1 win against the Santa Clara Tsunamis, and a narrow 1-0 win over the Elk Grove Blaze.
“That was a tight game to advance to the championship,” Alvarez said of the Elk Grove contest.
“But we took a lot of shots, about 10 or 11 shots on goal. They only crossed our defensive line a couple times, but our defense was very strong.”
Indeed. Allowing just one goal through four games, the CyberRays’ defense held opponents in check, and even silenced the Central Valley Revolution in the championship game.
Behind a pair of goals from Kelly Gottron, the CyberRays downed the Revolution 3-0.
“These girls are communicating well and they trust each other,” Alvarez said.
Gottron finished with four goals scored in the tournament, while Karly Leon supplied three scores.
The CyberRays weren’t necessarily alone at the top, though. The U14 Arsenal squad made quick work of its first thee opponents, as it defeated the Sierra Gold Crossfire 8-1, the Sonoma County Riot 8-0 and the Livermore Chaos 5-1.
Not until the championship final was Arsenal ever threatened. Playing the Chaos for a second straight time, Arsenal fell behind 1-0 at halftime and was forced to mount a comeback.
But Hildelisa Lopez knotted the game at 1-all with a goal 15 minutes into the second half, then scored the game-winner with just seven minutes remaining in regulation en route to a 2-1 Arsenal victory.
The U13 Earthquakes had a similar scare during one of their games. After topping the Rincon Valley Pumas 6-1, and then the Los Gatos United Pumas 4-0, the Earthquakes fell behind 1-0 halftime during their semifinal match to the San Ramon Rush.
But the threat was soon thwarted in the second half, as the Earthquakes scored four unanswered goals en route to a three-goal victory over the Rush.
The win advanced the U13 team to the championship against the Fair Oaks Storm, and the Earthquakes scored the game’s lone goal when Chanel Enz pocketed the game-winner.
“The girls really worked all summer long,” Earthquakes coach Ted Vandenberg said. “We really wanted to do well in these August tournaments. Physically and mentally they were more prepared than other teams and they came out real strong.”
Kayla Champion added a pair of goals for the Earthquakes in the tournament, while Chase Miguel had three and Anjelica Collins lived up to her “Awesome” nickname when she deposited five scores.
The U11 Spirit, meanwhile, a team playing in its first year of 11-on-11 tournaments, took third place at the Magic Cup III with a 2-1-1 record. After shutting out the Rocklin Roadrunners 3-0, the Spirit battled to a scoreless tie with the Stockton Storm, then lost 3-0 to the Ukiah Pumas.
It rebounded, however, when it posted a 2-0 victory over the Central Valley Jaguars in its final game.
“They were the young ones of the bunch,” Spirit coach A.J. Tamez said. “But they’re making their way up to the top.”
And right now, the top isn’t exactly a lonely place for Hollister soccer teams.
