Stingrays finish third in Juventus TOC
Stingrays Finish 3rd in Juventus TOC
REDWOOD CITY – The Orchard Valley U14 Boys’ Class I soccer club traveled to Redwood City to participate in California’s longest running soccer tournament – the 33rd Annual Juventus Tournament of Champions.
The Stingrays made the consolation match, and defeated the FC Royals of Fremont in a penalty kick shootout.
Stingrays 5, San Carlos Lightning 3
The Stingrays took an early 2-0 first-half lead, as they dominated play, and goalkeeper Ricardo Plata made several key saves. Ten minutes into the game, Casey Mott found the net, after right winger Matt Altamirano made an accurate cross to striker Murilo Almeida. With two defenders on him, Almeida made a nice drop pass to Mott for the goal. Almeida scored the second goal midway through the half on an assist from co-striker Brendant Palomo.
Altamirano had another assist early in the second half, as his crossing pass was knocked into the net by Noel Vera. The Lightning continued to battle, however, and eventually found a crease in the defense to make the score 3-1. The Stingrays extended their lead, as Palomo scored his first goal of the season, with the assist going to Almeida. The Lightning scored a beautiful header goal off a corner kick later in the half, making the score 4-2. Kevin Grove found the back of the net, as he found himself unmarked, and blasted one in from 35 yards out into the upper right corner of the net. Very late in the half, the Lightning again scored, off a long shot from their center-midfielder.
Stingrays 0, Union City Lobos 3
Playing the powerful team from Union City for the second time in two years, the Stingrays fell behind mid-way through the first half, as the Lobos’ striker blasted a shot from close range. The Lobos controlled both sides of the ball for the entire game, and the Stingrays had very few scoring opportunities. Forwards Danny Nelson and Blake Presar each had shots on goal but the keeper knocked both away. The Lobos were able to put 34 shots on goal for the game, but the outstanding play of goalkeeper Plata held the score to 3-0, with the final goal coming on a header. The Stingrays also had fine defensive work from fullbacks Bryan Faulk, Eric Miller, Nick Rodriquez, and Myles Downing.
Stingrays 2, Marin United 1
Needing a win to advance to the afternoon consolation game, the Stingrays held off the scrappy team from the North Bay, scoring the winning goal in the final minutes of action. After the first 10 minutes of play went scoreless, Palomo scored his second goal of the tournament, knocking in a shot off an assist from Mott. Although the Stingrays held Marin to only eight shots on goal for the game, the United tied the game early in the second half, as a long shot found the net past Plata.
Two times the Stingrays were robbed as shots by Mott and midfielder Gerardo Murillo each hit the crossbar. With the score tied at 1-1, striker Danny Nelson dribbled his way past the defense toward the goal with less than five minutes to play. With only the keeper to stop him, Nelson resisted taking the shot, and juked the goalie to the ground, easily dribbling the ball into the net for the winner.
Stingrays 4, FC Royals 3
The Stingrays played the very strong FC Royals in the Juventus TOC Consolation Match, and needed overtime and then penalty kicks to decide the winner.
The Stingrays dominated play in the first half, as Nelson found Almeida on the left wing for the first goal five minutes into the game. Late in the half, Mott scored the second goal, as he weaved his way through the defense, and scored an unassisted goal.
The Royals played much better in the second half, and cut the lead to 2-1 with 10 minutes to play, on a beautiful header goal. It appeared as if the Stingrays would win 2-1, but the Royals scored the tying goal late in the half. Now each team was set for two 10-minute overtime periods.
The Stingrays scored the go-ahead goal early in the first overtime, as Kevin Grove hooked a corner kick above the goalie and into the net. Late in the second overtime, the Royals’ right winger appeared to fall, but was awarded a penalty kick, and made the shot, sending the game into a shootout.
The Royals were up first, and made their first shot. Danny Nelson shot first for the Stingrays and his shot found the upper right corner of the net. Goalie Plata easily stopped the Royals’ second shot, and when Kevin Grove looked off the goalie and put one in the lower left corner, the Stingrays had the advantage at 2-1. Plata made the save of the tournament on the Royals’ best player, diving to stop his shot, just inside the left post. Noel Vera made his shot to give the Stingrays a commanding 3-1 advantage. However, the Royals made their final two shots to tie the score, and the final shooter for the Stingrays was Casey Mott. Mott confidently blasted his shot past the keeper to give the Stingrays a well-earned victory.
