Under-12 boys soccer team finishes 11-0-1, wins Konocti Kup
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LAKE COUNTY >> The Monkeys, a Konocti Youth Soccer League under-12 boys team, recently completed an undefeated and nearly perfect season, going 11-0-1.
The Monkeys went 7-0-1 in league play against teams from Kelseyville, Lakeport and Upper Lake. They also won the Konocti Kup in early October, going 4-0 in the tournament.
Of the team’s 14-man roster, 11 players ended up scoring goals, nine of them on multiple occasions. Angel Jimenez-Ochoa and Christopher Rodriguez scored 16 goals apiece to lead the team. Chandler Johnson was next with 12 goals, Iker Vargas Cruz added 10 and Jayden Lopez had eight.
The Monkeys used a variety of goalkeepers – as many as four different players in a single game – with Johnson and Galdino “Jesus” Cruz playing most of the minutes there, and later Lopez although he had never played keeper before.
Jose Jimenez’s play on defense at center back took a lot of the pressure off the team’s keeper, according to head coach Eric Johnson.
“The kids all got the opportunity to play every position during the season,” Johnson said. “Most games they played both as a defender and a forward. It was fun to watch the kids learn what position they liked as well as where they performed best at.”
Despite a final record of 11-0-1, the Monkeys trailed in many of their games by multiple goals, according to Johnson.
“They definitely learned how to persevere and keep playing hard all the way to the end,” Johnson said. “I have been lucky to have coached a handful of these players over the last few years, but it is always great to get to meet and work with new players and develop their game.”
