Cougars edge Mustangs 1-0 in opening round of sectional playoffs
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MIDDLETOWN >> Portia Klier’s 20th goal of the season was by far her most important one as the Upper Lake Cougars held off the Middletown Mustangs 1-0 in the opening round of the North Coast Section Division 1 girls soccer playoffs at Bill Foltmer Field in Middletown.
It was the third meeting between the two teams this season but Upper Lake’s first win. All three games were decided by a single goal.
Upper Lake (9-7-2), the No. 9 seed in the Division 1 field, travels to Eureka on Friday at 2:30 p.m. to play No. 1 seed Eureka High School (10-2-1) in the quarterfinals. If the Cougars can pull off a second straight upset, they will advance to the semifinal round next Wednesday against the winner of a quarterfinal-round match between No. 4 Arcata and No. 5 Willits.
Middletown closes out the season at 7-9-1. In two North Central League I meetings with Upper Lake this year, the Mustangs won 2-1 at Upper Lake on Oct. 3 and 3-2 at Middletown on Oct. 22.
In their third meeting, Middletown and Upper Lake played to a scoreless tie in the first half. It was still 0-0 midway through the second half when Klier, a sophomore center-forward, beat the Middletown keeper one on one, punching the ball into the net.
Middletown nearly tied it later in the half when Serenity Suite Thomsen had a one-on-one opportunity against Upper Lake keeper Lelya Marcks, who caught just enough of Thomsen’s hard shot to deflect it away from the net and out of bounds.
Both teams had a couple of golden scoring opportunities in the first half but could not convert. Marcks fought off a number of Middletown attacks down the stretch, including a free kick that curled over the top of the frame, to keep Upper Lake in front.
