The Ballistic Black under-19 boys Al Caffodio team captured first place in the 2008 BUSC Fall Harvest tournament over the weekend in Pleasanton, winning 3-0 over the South San Jose Clash in the championship. This was a great team effort throughout the whole tournament. Ballistic dominated every game allowing one goal while scoring 16. Goalie Niko Lecco turned in a fine performance. Lecco had several saves and prevented a penalty kick against the CV Storm to preserve the shutout. Strong defense was led by Stephen Ralowski, Eric Brunnett, Patrick Yee, Kevin Phillips and Brandon Lee. Solid mid-field plays by Aaron Lek, Mason Ridgway, Julio Gomez, Tyler Copeman and Brian Johnston. The front line was led by David Norton, Justin Dorsey, Nathan Roberts and Jonathan Ramirez.
Ballistic started the tournament Saturday with a 4-0 win over the SCC3 Aptos Strikers. Norton striked quickly with a fine kick from goalie Lecco to give Ballistic a 1-0 lead in the first half. Roberts had two goals in the second half with assists from Ridgway and Stephen LaCommare. Gomez scored from a fine pass by Norton to round out the scoring. In Saturday’s second game, Ballistic defeated the Newark International 6-1. Norton again scored quickly on a through ball early in the game. Norton scored again from a pass down the middle by Lek. Moments later, Norton returned the favor by feeding Lek. Robert joined the scoring by punching in a pass from Norton. Robert headed in another goal, and Phillips scored from Ridgway?s feed to finish the route. Ballistic went undefeated in pool play winning 3-0 on Sunday over the CV Storm. Dorsey scored from a Ridgway pass from the right goal line. Dorsey scored again off a Robert’s shot. Nick Navarini rounded out the scoring with a blast from 25 yards out. Ballistic dominated the Clash in the Championship. Norton scored from Copeman?s pass to give Ballistic a 1-0 half
time lead. Norton finished the game with a hat trick, with assists from Roberts and Phillips.
Jaguars pound Falcons 30-0 in PJFL play
The Jaguars rebounded from their lone loss of the season with a convincing 30-0 win over the Falcons in Pleasanton Junior Football League JV Division play last weekend.
The Jags were coming off a tough 14-12 loss to the Vikings, but came back with a fury, scoring early and often, while the defense posted its third shutout in four games. Leading the way on offense was the running back trio of Anthony Izizarry, Nick Reyes and Josh Miller. Izizarry scored a pair of touchdowns, with Reyes scoring on a pretty long run around the left end and Miller scoring on a 10-yard burst up the middle. Quarterback Jack Moroney added one conversion, with Connor Caspersen hauling in a pass from Moroney for another. The offensive line of JP Pasteur, Aaron Banks, Chase Barkdull, Jacob Blair, Jacob Wilson and Nick Pasteur did a great job blocking, as did receiver Chris Richter.
On defense, the highlight of the day came when Jon Poppe recorded a safety when he tackled the punter in the end zone. Broder Heggelund added another interception for the defense, which also got great plays from Ben Bandurraga, Logan McHone, Sean Thomas, Jordan Mast, Jack Ryan, Zac Lander, Jack Murphy, Michael Coyle and Nate Patocchi.
Steelers get first win, topping Saints 28-24
Week four in the Pleasanton Junior Football League saw the Steelers and the Saints’ first rematch with the Steelers receiving and mounting a 5 minute, 40 second, 12 play, 36-yard drive to the Saints’ 17.
The Steeler defense stepped up and forced a fumble recovered by LB Ryan Almedia. On the first play, RB Joshua Yu broke away for an 84-yard touchdown run giving the Steelers their first TD and PAT of the game. Not to be outdone, the Saints broke a 55-yard run picking up six with the PAT denied. The Steeler offense was forced to punt on fourth down but decided to run instead only to come up short. On the Steeler 48, the Saints broke a 52-yard run and their second TD of the game, the PAT was denied. But, the Steeler offense charged right back with Yu picking up the Steelers’ second touchdown on a 59-yard run. The Steeler defense held the Saints to 3 and a punt. The Steelers returned with their ground assault only to fumble the ball to the Saints on their 7 -yard line. The Saints quickly took advantage of the Steeler gift and picked up their third TD of the game with only 44 seconds left in the half, the PAT was denied.
The Saints receive the second half kick only to be held by the Steeler defense on downs. The Steelers gave up their second fumble of the game. The Steeler defense came out tough, forcing the Saints out on downs. The Saints defense held the Steeler O to 1 first down forcing the Steelers to give up the ball. The Steeler D returned the favor not allowing a first down. Once again on their first play the Steeler O line stepped up big allowing Yu to go 63 yards for a third touchdown and the lead, 20-18. The Saints O came right back on their third play, picking up six and scoring seven points on a 55-yard run, giving them the lead, 24-20. With 6:19 left in the game, the Steelers executed a 12 play, 54-yard drive with RB Mike Echavia picking up a touchdown. The two-point PAT was good, giving the Steelers the lead, 28-24. With only 55 left on the clock, the Saints went to the air only to be picked off by LB Trent Morgan. The Steeler O took a knee, picking up their first win of the season.
Colts keep Raiders scoreless
The PJFL Colts managed to keep the Raiders scoreless last weekend with a 20-0 win.
The Colts come out strong on their first possession of the game, picking up 6 points and the PAT. The Raiders were held to one–a first down by the Colt defense. The Raider defense stepped up and stopped the Colts, forcing a punt. The Raider O put together a drive to the Colt 44-yard line, but stalled out returning the ball to the Colts on downs. With a minute and a half left in the half the Raider D shut down the Colts, ending it with a 8-0 score.
In the second half, the Colts broke through the Raider secondary for an 84-yard touchdown run. The PAT was denied by Raider RB Andrew Imhoff. The Raider offense tried to get things started but were no match for the Colts and were force to give the ball back on downs. Starting at the 50-yard line, the Colts broke through again for another 6 with the PAT denied again, bringing the score to 20-0, where it would remain unchanged the rest of the game.
U14 D-3 Orange continues to be undefeated
Rage’s U14 Division 3 Orange team girls rode a wave of victories straight to the championship title at the Santa Cruz Classic last weekend. Allowing only one goal through three preliminary games, the undefeated Pleasanton team drowned Mid-County Strikers hopes for a hometown win in the final game of the two day tournament with a decisive 2-0 shutout. Coach Dan Copenhagen credits his team’s cohesive play for the strong tournament showing.
“It was an outstanding team effort from start to finish–the girls kept the pressure on and the energy up throughout all four games,” he said.
Goalies Kasey Jensen and Katie Bindert protected the goal in near flawless style, while Kennedy Poplawski and Rachel Kapp showed exceptional offensive play, with Kapp scoring both goals of the championship game. The Scott’s Valley tournament win continues the D3 Orange team’s winning streak–undefeated since the season’s start earlier this month.
Stanford Typhoons hand Rage U13AC stunning loss
The Rage U13AC competed in the On Your Toes tournament Saturday in Sunnyvale, making it through to the semifinal round and placing fourth in gold bracket. The first game against the MVLA Hurricanes was 1-1, with Rage scoring off a corner kick from Hannah Jackson, with an assist from Mathea Turkalj, Sami Williams and Rebecca Dumanski. Rage won second game against CV Explosion 2-1, Mathea Turkalj scored in the first half and Keli Wheatley came through with a late goal to win the game. In the third game against Livermore Fury, it was a hard fought 0-0 tie with defenders Lauren Fan, Marisa Riordan and Evan Murphy and goal keeper Olivia Brown leading the way. The semifinal game against Stanford Typhoons was a nail biter with the offense of Wheatley, Molly Grozier, Melissa Muller and Hannah Stapp working their way down field. It was a battle of defense, but Stanford scored in the final minutes of the game for a loss to Rage.
Ballistic U12 come up short in Battle of the Bay
The Ballistic United U12 played in the Battle of the Bay soccer tournament in Union City last weekend, coming away with win, a tie and one loss. In the first game, Ballistic fought a battle against Mustang but lost 1-0. In the second game, Ballistic fell behind 2-0 against Diablo. In the second half Ballistic scored twice. Gabe Thurner employed a fancy move and scored the first goal. Salvador Morales placed a great ball to Stephen Dougherty who scored the second goal for Ballistic. The defense of Cameron Casby, Collin Alexander, Blaze Perko, Daniel Payne, Collin Blaney and Daniel Rodriguez shut down Diablo in the second half. The final score was 2-2. In the final game on Sunday, Ballistic played Livermore Clash and won 9-1. Scoring came from Sahit Menon, Salvadore Morales, Alex Krause, Daniel Payne, Cameron Casby and Daniel Rodriguez. Collin Richardson, Dylan Tuell and Justin Taylor, did a great job distributing the ball to open players. It was a total team effort by all the players the entire tournament.
1-1-1 for U19 White in fall harvest classic
The U19 White went 1-1-1 in the BUSC Fall Harvest Classic last weekend. Game one was against Los Gatos. The White pushed hard from the get-go and their hard work paid off. Matt Vieira drove the right sideline and got a cross off into the box. The LG keeper couldn’t handle it, and Bryan Bui doggedly staying with it and powered it home for the lead. In the second half, Michael Ubaldi played a ball out of the back to Brett Smith, who led Nik Thompson perfectly into space. Thompson’s cross was cleaned up by Edris Bemanian for the goal just before the GK cleaned up Edris. Shane Schvaneveldt shut down their No. 23 target player, and the White came away with a 2-0 victory. Game two was a dogged battle with the SASC Stallions. Mike Tomin and Alex Martinez took turns playing Houdini, make the Stallion’s striker disappear. Ably supporting their defense was Spencer Miller, Kevin Shadd, and Ubaldi. The White had a few great chances on set plays, including one late where they hit the post, and the game finished 0-0.
Game three versus Yosemite was another battle. Needing to win to advance, the White pressed the action, including almost scoring seconds after the opening kickoff of the second half and tinkering with the attack to find matchups. GK Evan Zolfarelli made three big saves in the first half to keep the game scoreless. About 10 minutes into the second half however, Team Yosemite was the first to break through. After a White foul just inside the center half line, their No. 9 midfielder launched a shot which made it’s way in for the 1-0 lead. The White continued to press, leaving Nick Anderson, Martinex, Tomin and company continually exposed. They did incredible work to keep the score as it was, but the White could only get Team Yosemite to bend, not break, and they dropped a 1-0 game.
Ballistic U17 United traveled to Clovis last weekend to play in the Odyssey Soccer Club’s Academy Cup Tournament. After a hard-fought battle again familiar rivals, especially Merced, they came first in their bracket, and went on to beat local home opponents Walnut Creek in the final. Congratulation go to the team, Coach Victor Litivenko, Manager Rex Moar and parents. Game 1 (ACC Mavericks) 2 – 0 Alex Blidy (Nick Littleton) Alex Laughton (Nick Littleton) Game 2 (Almaden) 1 – 2 Alex Laughton Game 3 (Merced) 2 – 0 Alika Okamitsu (Adam Keaveney) Alika Okamitsu Final (Walnut Creek) 4 – 1 Alex Laughton (Adam Keaveney) Alika Okamitsu Alex Laughton ( Andrew Noble) Brandon Smith.
Rage U6–The Dominoes played a very tough game against the Daffodils, with very strong offensive plays by Makena Allen, Melissa Garcia, and Julia Smith, each scoring at least two goals. Olga Merkadeau, Celeste Sadler, Marina Garcia and Shay McIntyre were strong defensive players. Top Offensive Players: Makena Allen, Melissa Garcia, Julia Smith, Dominoes; Emily Sanchez, Olivia Martin, Dynamites; Nicole Brownen, Rachel Hogarty, Maggie Nostrand, Dashers; Naya Ubungen, Megan Rovira, Peyton Pozzi, Diamonds; Sophia Minnite, Kate Derham, Ella Camp, Doodlebugs; Top Defensive Players: Olga Merkadeau, Celeste Sadler, Marina Garcia, Dominoes; Bailey Pierce, Gabby Lehrmann, Dynamites; Alexis Barerra, Victoria Frentz, Emily Cassetti, Dashers; Sruthi Kalavacherla, Grace Jeffries, Meaghan Penrice, Diamonds; Eva Bull, Risa, Isabella, Doodlebugs;
U7–The Tornados played a fantastic game against the Toucans in what proved to be a very hot day. Dominique Darius played an aggressive game scoring four goals. Lili Manos and Zoe “I’m on fire” Morgenroth each scored one. Tough offensive plays were demonstrated by DeLaney Soble and Savana Sadler with many attempts at goals. Top Offensive Players: Dominique Darius, Zoe Morgenroth, Lili Manos, Tornados; Top Defensive Players: DeLaney Soble, Savana Sadler, Zoe Morgenroth, Tornados.
U8–The Mustangs and Mavericks played a scorching game on a scorching day. It was a very hard-fought game with lots of impressive interlinked play from defense to midfield through to the forwards. Great passing by Emily Esparza and Karin McCarty. Top Offensive Players: Cami Lane, Molly Griston, Emma Klopatek, Mustangs; Makena Densmore, Hannah Sevilla, Madison Hildebrand, M&M’s; Top Defensive Players: Emily Esparza, Karin McCarty, Kaitlyn Sweeney, Mustangs; Madelyn Rovira, Donna Kellar, Breanna Olberg, M&M’s.
