Gilroy’s White Lightening extended their winning streak as they
prevailed over Morgan Hill’s Blue Angels on Saturday.
U8 Girls
White Lightening 4, Blue Angels 1
–Gilroy’s White Lightening extended their winning streak as they prevailed over Morgan Hill’s Blue Angels on Saturday. The game opened with a quick score by Lightening’s Emma Leach. Lightening’s front-line kept the pressure on, resulting in two more goals by Leach before the end of the half. The Lightening’s defense held tough, including a big save from goaltender Kimberley Davis. The Lightening led 3-0 at the half. The Blue Angels opened the second half with a strong attack, and scored quickly. After that, Lightening’s defensive players Kiara Santamaria, Rachel Thompson and Cristyn Simpson got organized to hold off further Angel attacks. Meanwhile, forwards Tenley Holland, Kyle Robinson and Emily Barham turned on the pressure with many attempts at goal, finally resulting in a score by Barham.
White Lightening 11, Tigers 1
–Emily Barham scored for White Lightening (WL) in the first 20 seconds after kickoff, and WL kept the pressure on and scored again in the second minute of the game. The Tigers clamped down on defense with great goalie play, and did score a goal in the beginning of the second half. However, the game was dominated by WL’s offense, with three goals scored by Emma Leach, three by Emily Barham, two by Kimberly Davis, two by Kiara Sanatmaria, and one by Chrissy Simpson.
U9 Girls Competitive
OV Storm 4, De Anza Force 2
–The Orchard Valley Storm and De Anza Force renewed their rivalry with another tense game on Saturday. The first half featured superior goal-tending by Rebekah Inouye and strong play from defenders Tula Urban and Sydney Barker as the Storm shut down De Anza’s offense. The Storm fed off the strong play of its defense to build a 2-0 lead on goals by Taylor Slattery and Jada Williams. De Anza responded early in the second half with a goal and continued to apply strong pressure during the first 10 minutes of the second half. Storm midfielder Janessa Garcia moved into a stopper role to help stem the De Anza tide. Amber Thomas then broke through for a goal to give the Storm a 3-1 advantage. De Anza tallied a second goal and continued to press until Jada Williams scored her second goal of the game to secure the win.
U10 Boys
Gators 6, Raging Dragons 1
–The Gilroy Gators and the Raging Dragons ran a fast-paced game on Saturday. The Gators had an early lead when Kevin Jones scored off an assist from Leo Melendez. Keeping pressure on, Greg Spellman recovered a goal-kick and took another shot to score. Nearing the end of the first half, halfback Spencer Smith helped Kevin Jones drive the ball past the Dragon defense and score his second of the game. In the second half, midfielders Troy Charvet and Dakota Cornelius moved the ball upfield to teammates Leo Melendez and Justin Elliott, resulting in a Melendez goal for the Gators. That same group was able to work their way through the Dragons again and this time Troy Charvet scored. The last goal of the game for the Gators came with Kevin Jones’ hat trick. Brook Oneto, Gary Dickson, Frank Subia, Conner Morales, Josh Kardos, and Diego Torres played solid defense to hold the Dragons to only one goal.
U10 Girls
Red Demons 1, White Lightening 1
–The Red Demons scored in the second half off a throw-in from Allison Unger as teammate Giordan Rojas broke away and took the ball down the field to score. Goalie Alex Rangel stopped several shots between the pipes during the second half and prevented the Lightening from scoring. Jennifer Velasquez, Brianna Velasquez and Lauren Block also played key roles in the Demons’ defense. Forwards Jessica Brager and Monique Kerstens had strong offensive games.
U12 Girls
Red Demons 3, Purple Lightning 0
–The Red Demons shut out the Purple Lightning 3 to 0 in Saturday’s game. Goalies Giordan Rojas (1st half) and Francesca Comin (2nd half) stopped many goal attempts and prevented the Lightnings from scoring. Michaela Swenson scored first with a nicely placed kick off a rebound from the goalie. She scored again with a straight shot through the goalie’s legs. Giordan Rojas scored the final goal in the second half off a pass from Lauren Block. Forwards Monique Kerstens, Kate Wheat and Jessica Brager assisted the offense in the victory while the defense of Allison Unger, Briana Velasquez, Alex Rangel and Jennifer Velasquez helped protect the goal in the shutout.
U 14 Girls
United 4, Rambunctious Red 2
–Red’s first goal was scored when pint-sized Connie Rodriguez intercepted the ball and passed to forward Jennifer Rose, who scored on her fourth shot on goal. Five minutes later, a spirited scrimmage developed in front of United’s penalty box. Forward Alexandria Comin popped the ball out of the melee and over the heads of the defenders into the net. Fullback Samantha Saenz had a spectacular first half with numerous stops, saves, and returns. Goalie Monica Mercado made three saves.
