Injuries mount up for Orchard Valley soccer squad that wins two
of three in Turlock
TURLOCK – Despite a strong showing in Turlock last weekend, an injury-beleagured Orchard Valley OMI Eagles team failed to advance to the next round in the prestigious State Cup.
In cold and foggy 50-degree weather, the Eagles began their State Cup bid with a 4-0 win over Palo Alto White for their first game in the three-game State Cup format.
Beau Staal opened the scoring with a strong individual effort for an unassisted goal. Orlando Villa, who was relentless in his attack on goal, sunk the second shot. Nick Salvemini, who posted his best game of the season, called for the ball from midfielder Crhis Dasgputa to tally the third goal. The fourth and final goal came off a hard shot by Roupen Arzoumani with an assist from Staal. Adam Johnson, who was credited with the shutout, started in goal, giving Matt Morgan, who was recuperating from pneumonia, a much-needed rest. Morgan was able to return to goal later in the series and both had outstanding games.
The Eagles faced the Danville Mustangs in their second game, but this time injuries caught up to them as they fell, 2-0.
J.P. Sanchez, who was injured in the morning game with a pulled muscle, had to sit out the game and then early in the first half, Villa went out with a mild concussion. Scrappy Sean Little went in for Sanchez and did a great job tyring to thwart the Mustangs. But despite a very strong first half, the Eagles were unable to find the back of the net.
Sunday’s game found the Eagles pitted against the hometown Turlock Tornadoes without the services of Jordan Bredehoeft, who played outstanding soccer on Saturday. Fortunately, the Eagles possess versatility and Dasgupta stepped ably into the stopper position to direct the defense and once again defenders Dylan Frechette, Jorge Enriquez, Sanchez and Garrett Wheeler held their opponent at bay.
Staal once again started things off with a goal, this time with an assist from Pablo Figueroa – who then scored the second goal on a strong follow-up shot. A persistent Johnson kept scrambling at the mouth of the goal until he was able to sink the third and final goal.
Unfortunately, the one-loss elimination process prevented the Eagles from advancing. However, Coach Jack Salvemini praised the entire team for their great effort.
“This has been a rebuilding year for us, but the team is finally coming together and we’ve been playing good ball for the past few months,” the coach said. “We have a lot of talent and versatility, and I was able to move players around to compensate for injuries. But the one-game elimination format doesn’t give us much breathing room. However, we’re looking forward to next year when the team should be at full strength.”
