Last weekend, the Orchard Valley Top Dawgs (U14 Class I soccer
team) under the watchful eye of Head Coach Brian Hall
– the highly experienced and respected coach and World Cup
Soccer referee – completed their preparation for this year’s
prestigious State Cup tournament.
GILROY – Last weekend, the Orchard Valley Top Dawgs (U14 Class I soccer team) under the watchful eye of Head Coach Brian Hall – the highly experienced and respected coach and World Cup Soccer referee – completed their preparation for this year’s prestigious State Cup tournament.
Visiting Oakland to take part in the Bay Oaks Spring Classic they were pitched against some difficult opponents including teams from Marin, San Ramon, Piedmont, Santa Rosa, Sacramento, Mount Diablo and Rohnert Park. Coach Hall used this tournament to put the finishing touches to his plans for the upcoming State Cup tournament and his young, talented side performed brilliantly to take second place overall.
In what was a tricky first game, the Dawgs showed great character by coming from a goal behind to earn a well-deserved draw against their San Ramon opponents. The 4-4-2 formation, combined well to stifle all but an occasional attack by the Avengers and determined offensive play almost gave the team a victory.
The afternoon match against Marin was hard fought with the Top Dawgs taking a 1-0 lead into the second half. Marin upped its game after the interval and made use of the strong wind to force an equalizer within five minutes of the restart. The Orchard Valley team responded with relentless attacking and eventually emerged comfortable 3-1 winners.
Their final group game on Sunday morning was a close affair with the Top Dawgs securing a 1-0 victory over the unbeaten Mount Diablo team to take them through to the championship game. Again the Top Dawgs allowed few chances and controlled the game in virtually every department.
The final turned out to be a bruising, physical affair against the home team Bay Oaks and the guys showed tremendous determination in this close and exciting game. Both teams had chances to win the game but, despite the fine performance, the Top Dawgs had to settle for second place after losing 1-0.
In many respects this was the perfect opportunity for Hall to make his final assessments before the State Cup tournament. The players responded well to his demands to focus on team play and put into effect tactics and plans practiced at training. It was a good tournament for the team to display their collective talents with each individual knowing it was their last chance to impress the coach. The level of commitment and courage was outstanding and he now has the luxury of knowing he has a strong, capable squad that will give him many options at next weekend’s tournament.
The team travels down to Hanford, near Fresno on Friday night to prepare for their opener against Clovis on Saturday morning. Later in the day they play Santa Cruz and their final game against Stockton will take place on Sunday. Should they win their group, and the camp are very optimistic, they will return to Morgan Hill Soccer Complex for the last sixteen round on Saturday, April 5.
The squad’s roster is made up of locals Isiah Castro, Kyle Harrigan, Nathan Goldsmith, Adam Hoffman, Neil Martin, Vidal Lucero, Emmy Nava, Christian Flores, Timmy Kotyuk, Tony Bredehoeft, Alex Jacobs, Jamie Binowski, Ben Alcantar, Jose Hecht, Silvano Botta, Colin Kay, Tony Huizar, and Garrett Frechette.
