U9 girls kickers dominate De Anza and Almaden clubs
GILROY – The Orchard Valley Storm U9 competitive girls kickers returned to league play this weekend with a pair of shutout wins over DeAnza and Almaden.
The Storm opened their winning weekend with a 4-0 victory over the DeAnza Force. The Storm scored quickly when Amber Thomas intercepted a DeAnza breakout attempt at midfield. She dribbled up the right side and crossed the ball to teammate Rebekah Inouye – who blasted a shot just under the crossbar for a 1-0 lead.
Later in the half, the Storm struck again when Jada Williams booted a perfect corner kick to Colby Carson at the far post. Carson settled it quickly and poked it in for a 2-0 lead. Carson went on to score two more goals in the second half – one on a perfect through-ball from Janessa Carson and the other on a cross from Megan Nebesnick.
“Colby’s level of play has grown amazingly in the past two months,” Coach Kelvin Thomas said. “She’s almost unstoppable.”
The Storm could have scored more, but Hailey Hamilton was denied twice on nice saves by the DeAnza keeper and Kaylana Mau’s shot missed just to the left of the post.
Sunday’s 2-0 home win over the Almaden Valley Girls was a tough defensive struggle. The Storm defense was led by fullback Tula Urban, who was spectacular all weekend, and by goalie Megan Nebesnick – who had to make a pair of difficult saves in the first half.
The Storm controlled play throughout most of the first half, with Taylor Slattery, Kalyana Mau, and Colby Carson applying strong pressure, but unable to score.
Midfielder Janessa Garcia started the second half on the bench while nursing an minor injury she suffered in the first half. Immediately upon her return to the game, the Storm took control. Garcia scored a pair of goals in a 10-minute span – which provided the margin of victory.
“Every goal Janessa scores is a big one,” Coach Vic Riolo said.
With the lead in hand, Tula Urban, with help from Jada Williams and Sydney Barker, created a defensive wall in front of the Storm goal that did not allow Almaden to get a single quality shot the rest of the game.
