Montgomery and Maria Carrillo boys play to paint

On Thursday night, the Montgomery and Maria Carrillo youth soccer teams played a even match in the mid-season Battle of the North Bay League Oaks, ending in a 1-1 draw.

As a result, the Vikings remain tied for first place with NBL-Oak leader Piner.

Montgomery (7-3-2, 2-1-1) won as the hosts Pumas (4-1-6, 1-0-3) had two prime chances in the final two minutes of the game. We were relatively lucky to end in a draw. One Pumas shot hit the crossbar, and on the final play of the game, Carrillo’s shot on goal was saved by Montgomery goalkeeper Myles Bergum.

“Miles played a phenomenal game. He did a lot to keep us in the game,” said Montgomery coach John Schwann. “That moment[his last two minutes]didn’t run at all. It’s very frustrating.

Maria Carrillo led 1–0 in the 35th minute after slotting a ball deflected in traffic by Bergham, who scored from four yards out by Adrian Gonzalez.

“There was a little misunderstanding on defense on that play,” Schwann said. “This was an opportunistic goal from Maria Carrillo and a mistake on our part. We have to defend better for that.”

In the 60th minute, Montgomery scored even 1-1 into the contest. Ryan Paradise got an assist on a pass to Chabius Ranford from 25 yards out. Xavius ​​Rumford tied the goal with his shot from 15 yards low, which landed close to his post on the ground.

“Xavius ​​has caused a lot of problems on defense. He’s a very talented player,” said Pumas manager Trevor Brady. “He’s very fast and goes all over the field.”

Shots on goal were evenly matched and both teams had chances to win the game. Notably, with his two minutes remaining, Maria Carrillo’s Mica his Rivas shot hit the crossbar.

“We had a lot of attacking, Maria had a lot of attacking. Their centre-backs were enough to choke us out,” Schwann said. Hats off to Trevor and Maria. they had a plan. They played with a collective spirit you could feel. ”

Both Schwan and Brady said this year’s NBL-Oak will be very competitive.

“There’s a lot of equality in the league. It’s exciting,” said Brady. “There are a lot of very talented teams in the league. Every game will be close at NBL-Oak.”

Schwann added: All games are dogfights. I just want to defend my NBL title.”

Piner 2, Windsor 0

The Prospectors (5-3-2, 2-1-1) remain tied for first with Montgomery in the NBL-Oak after beating the away Jaguars (3-4-4, 1-2-1) on Thursday. remains.

The game was scoreless until the 60th minute when Piner Alexis Alcanter blasted a wide-open 25-yard rocket past Windsor goalkeeper Fabian Nava.

Ten minutes later, the Prospector added an insurance goal from Anthony Zaragoza. Both goals were comebacks from Windsor turnovers.

Windsor coach Andres Flores said, “We didn’t control both of their goals very well.” “The Piner were the stronger team. They had more shots on goal. They had more chances and he scored two of them.”

Piner’s coach, Sean Sutherland, said his team followed the game plan by turning the ball to the sides.

“We’ve been working hard in the corners, which gave us a lot of space to work in the middle of the field,” said Sutherland. “We put a lot of pressure on Windsor towards the end of the first half.”

Sutherland gave kudos to Nava for keeping Windsor in the game late.

“The Windsor goalkeeper played a great game,” said Sutherland. “He made four or five important saves.”

Windsor had three main chances to score in the game, but were unable to convert any of them. The first chance came in the 10th minute with a shot hitting the elbow on the crossbar/post. The second chance was a breakaway that ended with Farr shooting just outside his post, and the third chance was a shot stopped by Pinner’s goalkeeper.

“We didn’t change our chances,” Flores said. “It’s going to be a tough game to win. Certainly, the Piners are a strong team.”

Sutherland said his bench played a key role in the win and kept Piner at the top of the standings.

“I am very happy with this result,” Sutherland said. “At NBL Oaks, you have to win at home. The league is so competitive that a draw at home is unacceptable.”

Rancho Cotate 1, Cardinal Newman 0

The hosts Cougars (3-7-2, 1-2-1) played heartily on Thursday. One of his top players went missing due to a medical emergency that required him to be hospitalized an hour before game time.

Cougars coach Nick Rogers didn’t want to reveal the player’s name due to privacy concerns, but it shows he’s one of his team leaders and one of the league’s top players. I got

Both teams knelt for a moment of silence before the game in honor of the Cougars’ missing player.

Of the Cardinals’ participation in the Rancho tribute, Rodgers said, “I want to commend the coaching staff at Cardinal Newman. “There was a lot of respect between the two teams.”

As for the game, the only goal came in the 65th minute when Cougar freshman Luis Angel Lopez kicked the ball in heavy traffic from the top of the box six yards from a corner kick. It was Lopez’s first high school goal.

“Lopez was in the right place at the right time,” Rodgers said. “He had the courage to hit the shot.”

Cardinal Newman (5-3-3, 1-2-1) scored 0-0 in the 60th minute with a breakaway pair stopped by Rancho Cotate goalkeeper Jose Abel Calvillo. 1 shot attempt.

“Rancho Cotate’s goaltender made a great save. He got really big and could block shots,” said Cardinals coach Ryan Koribou. “There is a possibility that we could not finish the race.”

Still, Cardinal Newman was hanging to the end in the losing cause.

“Admit it, our boys fought back. We made some score changes,” says Corriveau. “It was a fair game. It was a pretty even game back and forth.”

Kolibo said Jude Stone and Nacio Gutierrez had a great game in the Cardinals’ midfield.

“Cardinal Newman gave us a tough game,” Rogers said. “We were playing for a higher purpose. Our work rate and our heart won us that game.”