Knights drop 3-1 decision in championship game of Tyler Duncan Memorial Tournament
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UPPER LAKE >> Kelseyville High School boys soccer coach Kc White had no illusions that beating the Fortuna Huskies in the championship match of the Tyler Duncan Memorial Tournament would be an easy task for his Knights on Saturday afternoon in Upper Lake.
He was right.
After a scoreless first half, the undefeated Huskies (9-0) scored twice in a matter of 90 seconds to take a 2-0 lead, and they went on to beat the Knights 3-1.
“I know the scoreline is the same as our last game versus Fortuna (a 3-1 loss at Fortuna on Aug. 23), but I feel like we played much better this game than the last,” White said. “We did a much better job being ready for their defensive pressure. However, we made three critical mistakes with our defense marking and that cost us three goals today.”
Added White, “We created quite a few chances, especially in the first half, and eventually Sebastian Cacho scored the goal to get us back in the game. We had momentum for a decent amount of time after the goal but couldn’t get level, and then eventually gave up the third goal.”
Cacho scored with 16 minutes remaining in the game to cut Fortuna’s lead to 2-1.
“Playing teams like Fortuna exposes what you don’t do well,” White said. “We will continue working on improving, with our ultimate goal of winning league and making a run in the postseason still in front of us.”
Kelseyville hosts Laytonville on Monday in a non-league game at 4:30 p.m.
In other tournament action Saturday:
Lower Lake 4, Point Arena 0
At Lakeport, a last-minute switch left the Lower Lake Trojans playing Point Arena at Clear Lake High School, but the Trojans didn’t seem to mind as they shut out the Pirates.
Agustin Sanchez scored twice while Edwin Castellanos and Eduardo Fernandez had the other Lower Lake goals. Adrian Guzman assisted on two of the scores, and Emanuel Leon and Yael Vivieros had one assist apiece.
Lower Lake hosts Upper Lake in the North Central League I opener for both teams Thursday at 6:15 p.m.
McKinleyville 5, Upper Lake 0
At Upper Lake, the McKinleyville Panthers shut out tournament host Upper Lake in final-round action.
“McKinleyville is a great team, very strong, very tall,” Upper Lake head coach Thomas Santana said. “We played them last weekend at their own tournament, so we knew what we were going against, but that didn’t stop my boys from giving it their all.”
Alan Alvarado stopped 10 shots, including a penalty kick, in the loss. Slade Coltharp and Mario Olvera were other defensive standouts for the Cougars, according to Santana.
“My defense and keeper played great, but we were lacking an offensive attack,” Santana said. “Mario and Slade were great on the defense, stopping a lot of their attacks.”
Upper Lake hits the road Thursday to play Lower Lake in the league opener for both teams. Action begins at 6:15 p.m.
Middletown 1, South Fork 0
At Upper Lake, playing with the minimum 11 and no reserves, the Middletown Mustangs turned back South Fork in final-round tournament action.
“The boys played well and as a team, with great communication,” Middletown head coach Katie Robinson said.
Freshman wing Caleb Ahlmann scored in the second half to win it for the Mustangs (2-3).
“Senior goalie Tristan Chairez had many great saves,” Robinson said. “Our defense held strong, allowing very few shots on goal. I’m proud of the progress this team is making.”
During action earlier in the week, Middletown won by the same 1-0 score against Clear Lake. Luis Pamatz’s goal in the first half stood up the rest of the way.
Middletown opens its league schedule Thursday in Willits at 6:45 p.m.