The Ballistic United U-13 boys soccer team came from behind to tie the Mustang Hotspurs 1-1 on Sunday to cement their position atop the GSSL soccer league gold bracket.
Ballistic went into the game two points ahead of Mustang needing either a win or a tie to win the league championship. Ballistic came out with a purpose and dominated play during the first half taking an advantage in time of possession and having more scoring opportunities, but they were unable to get on the board. Mustang did have a few counter attacks that Ballistic goalie Daniel Slominski negated to keep the score tied at zero.
In the second half, Mustang stepped up their play and it was a hard fought battle. With 10 minutes left, Mustang took advantage of a corner kick opportunity and scored on a ball lofted to the back post that was headed into the open net. Ballistic pushed hard trying to tie the score. In stoppage time, Salvator Morales came down the left side line and lofted a ball over the Hotspurs goalie to Joey Devivo who directed the ball into the open net. This was Devivos 7th goal in the last four games league games since moving to forward from defensive back.
The Ballistic team is made of players up of players primarily from Pleasanton, San Ramon and Livermore. They will not have long to enjoy their success as they will have Nor Cal Premier tournament games between now and Christmas and then will come back after the holiday for state cup play.
49ers lifted by Kravitz, Knaggs
The PJFL Senior 49ers got big plays from Trent Kravitz and Kevan Knaggs and played shut down defense after the first drive to beat the Senior Eagles 16-6.
After the Eagles scored on their first drive and the Niners went four and out. However, it was Knaggs’ turn to make a big play. The defensive lineman, made a leaping interception of a screen pass and went down the left sideline for the score. Alec Hillman hit Adam Alviso in the right flat for the conversion and, suddenly, the 49ers were up 8-6.
The score remained 8-6 well into the second half when the Niners finally got their offense rolling. On first down Aaron Silva went over the right side for an eight-yard gain and a first down. On the next play Kravitz ran for 13 around right end and Kevin Murphy followed with a 2-yard run for a first down. On first and goal Kravitz went around left end this time, cut up and then to the outside, going 19 yards for the score. Kravitz hit Knaggs for the conversion to complete the scoring.
The defense was led by some great plays by Spencer Umidon and Zach Sigl to keep the Eagles off the scoreboard after their first drive.
Rage U15 battle Diablo FC for second place
Pleasanton Rage U15 Premier faced Diablo FC at Concord Sunday in a battle for second place in GSSL Gold, and made an early goal hold up for a 1-0 victory. In the fourth minute of the game,
Courtney Stonesifer tapped in a short shot in front of the goal on a cross from Bria Outland that the DFC keeper could not control. Rage controlled play from the onset with a very balanced passing attack that effectively used their speed advantage to stretch out the DFC defense. Distributing the ball well from the midfield were Megan Tabler, Erika Emmanuel, Elisa Verita, Darlene Dang, and Kiki Simmons. Persistent offensive pressure was applied by Gabe Stange, Alexa Espinosa, and Florife Nichols that forced several DFC defensive turnovers. Rage had multiple chances to put the game out of reach in the second half, but saw shots by Tabler and Nichols clang off the crossbar and post, and had a PK denied by an outstanding save by the Diablo GK. Ani Nahapetian went the distance in goal for Rage to notch the shutout.
Heat is on in Shadow Cliffs meet
The Pleasant Heat, a distance running club that trains for track and field in spring and cross country in fall, hosted a cross country meet at Shadow Cliffs Oct. 26. More than 120 participants competed from all over Northern California including Santa Rosa, San Francisco, Roseville and the Sacramento area. Young athletes, ranging from third grade through high school, ran well and many of them placed in the top 10.
Results: Sub Bantam Boys (Born 2000 or later) (2K) 5th place Rohit Menon 14:59
* Bantam Girls (Born 1998 or 1999) (3K) 4th place Michelle Green 12:17
* Bantam Boys (Born 1998 or 1999) (3K) 3rd Tim Falls 10:47, 5th Alex Sokol 11:23 and 6th Sam Reynolds 11:26
* Midget Girls (Born 1996 or 1997) (3K) 1st place Sophie Hartley 10:40, 5th Katie Moro 12:34 and 6th Shona McCarthy 12:35
* Midget Boys (Born 1996 or 1997) (3K) 2nd place Ryan Colaco 10:25, 3rd Daniel Tang 10:27, and 10th Nick Coumou 11:11
* Youth Girls (Born 1994 or 1995) (4K) 2nd Nicolette Sorensen 15:44
* Youth Boys (Born 1994 or 1995) (4K) 2nd Nolan Peterson 13:25, 5th Sean Aylward 13:34, 6th Aidan Goltra 13:48 and 10th Jacob Schlachte 15:05
Seahawks come out strong at Orinda meet
The Pleasanton Seahawks had a strong showing in the Orinda meet Oct. 25 and 26. With more than 900 swimmers attending the event, many Seahawks had new best times. Nick Silverthorne holds the New Pacific Swimming Record in the 200 free and 400 IM, Regis LaChance and Rachel Knowles both received three new AAA times. Brian lee, Alex Wand and Peter Huang all got New Far Western Cuts. With Junior Olympics right around the corner, Analese Chinn, Kayla Lindsay, Eva Chung, Hannah Folmar, Cate MacGregor, Nick Johnston and Kevin McLaughlin all made cuts.
LADY HUSTLE 16’s
Lady Hustle 16s competed in the Grapettes Survivor Series in Stockton on Nov. 1 and 2nd. The 16’s were able to get in two games before the tournament was rained out.
Hustle won both of their games and out scored their opponents 26-5. In the first game blew out the San Jose Renegades with a score of 18-0 in just 4 innings. Sami Schiller led Hustle by pitching a shut out and hitting a triple and a double. The overall batting average for the Hustle team was a whopping .542. In the second game, Hustle beat the Tracy Titans Blue 11-5. Combined pitching efforts by Brianna Visentin and Sami Schiller helped keep the Titans offense at bay. Caylee Heller opened up the Hustle offense with a triple. Big hitters for the weekend were Kristy Ormsby batting .857 with two triples and one double. Katie Keller hit .750, Kaitlyn Winsor hit .667 and Nicole Borchard hit .600 with one double. Hustle 16s will return to Stockton to compete in the second round of the Grapettes Survivor Series next weekend. Hustle 16s total record for the season is an impressive 16 wins, 4 losses and 1 tie.
LADY HUSTLE 14’s
Lady Hustle 14U competed at the Survivor Series Tournament hosted by the Grapettes on November 1st at Louis Park. Lady Hustle seeded #1 going 3-0 during Pool play but was cut short due to a rain out.
In the first game Lady Hustle beat the CA Crush 8-1. Lady Hustle offense came out swinging against the Crush defense. Alyssa Lanza 4-4 who crushed a ball over left bringing in a run off a double. Nicole Evans went 3-4 with solid hits through the infield and the 1st inning brought in 4 runs as everyone connected. Hustle then played the East County Hotshots and beat them 6-1. Alyssa Beights pitched an excellent game allowing only 1 hit. Evans went 2-4 and scored on an RBI from Karen Chaw who smacked a single. Bianca Devoto went 2-3 being quick to the base and beating out the throws and laying down a nice slap bunt. Ashley Lotoszynski went 3-3. In the final game of the day, Hustle beat Foothill Gold 3-0. Ashley L pitched a great game shutting out Foothill Gold. Nine hits from the hot bats of Lady Hustle offense.
Hustle 14’s will be competing in the USSSA State Qualifier in Manteca next weekend. The 14’s overall record is 18 wins, 5 losses, 2 ties. They will be competing for the State Championship over Thanksgiving weekend.
Lady Hustle looking for 8th grade pitcher
Lady Hustle 14’s is seeking an 8th grade pitcher to fulfill its roster for the spring/summer 2009 tournament schedule. We will be participating in a competitive tournament schedule, including the Park City, Utah World Series in July, and the ASA Western Nationals (Georgia) or the ASA National Tournament (Washington) in August.
If interested, contact Gil Herrera 383-4708 or Teresa Borchard, 785-0846 to arrange for a private tryout. For more information, visit www.ladyhustlefastpitch.com.
Rage U11 AC suffer first loss of season
Despite a great team effort, the Rage U11 AC White Division 2 suffered their first loss in seven starts at the hands of Lamorinda United Saturday 2-0. The girls played the second half of the game in pouring rain. Goal keepers Juliet Allen and Bryanna Schreiber weren’t afraid to get down and dirty and made multiple saves. Shots on goal were taken by Julia Densmore, Makenna Elias and Sadie Moore.
Ballistic U12 continues winning streak
The BUSC U12 Black team continued its winning streak with a victory over Walnut Creek United Saturday by a score of 2-1, increasing their league record to 8-1.
With this win, the Black team is now tied for first place in the Al Caffodio league with Newark Arsenal. Saturday’s game against Walnut Creek started poorly for Pleasanton as the defense was caught flat footed allowing the United’s forward to break through for an uncontested shot against a lone goalie in the first five minutes of play. Credit goes to the Walnut Creek team for taking advantage of a sleepy defense. But that would be the end of any serious offensive attacks from the opposing team. The BUSC defense woke up and played shutout soccer from that point on, allowing only four more shots on goal for the balance of play. It was also the first time the Black team played a league game in rainy weather with poor field conditions. Heavy rain caused slippery footing, inaccurate passes and poor ball control. But the boys maintained their composure and began an offensive barrage on the Walnut Creek goalie. The first goal, tying the match was a perfectly executed left footed chip shot over the goalies head (in the rain) by Jared Siegel. Another attack included a flurry of six point blank shots in front of the Walnut Creek goal narrowly missing each attempt. Two minutes later, a perfectly crossed ball to Mason Picone who had positioned himself at the far post, was slammed into the back of the net for the go ahead score. The boys showed great determination and teamwork in the come-from-behind win.
U16 take stinger out of Scorpions
The visiting Ballistic United U16 White placed the Danville Mustang Scorpions in a 5-0 win on Saturday at the Danville Diablo Vista Field. The Ballistic scored early with a goal by Justin Medina in the third minute with an assist by Jake Lorentz setting the tone for the match. Powerful left footed Jake Lorentz fired in a rare right foot goal in the 23rd minute, and then scored again in the 30th minute with assists coming from Nick Bayley and Vik Aulakh ending the first half up 3-0. Jake Lorentz had a total five shots on goal in the match. Keeper Josh Cho had little activity in the first half as the Ballistic dominated ball possession. Anthony Hu scored a goal in the 55th minute with an assist from Nick Bayley and a beautiful cross ball. Vik Aulakh nearly scored in the 57th minute off a corner kick which was a brilliant hooking shot to the top corner of the goal barely saved by the keeper. Luis Castillo dribbled the ball around three defenders as he walked in a tap in goal in the 61st minute ending the match 5 to 0. Shots on goal in the match also came from Yashar Behnam, Jared Shohfi, Brandon Cohen, Tyler Mende, and Vik Aulakh. Keeper Lukas Moses had two saves in the second half.
Rage U16 tops Diablo 1-0
Pleasanton Rage Girls U-16 Division 1 beat Diablo FC in their last league game 1-0 with an assist from Simone Melvin and a goal by Jalissa Freeman. Alana D’Onofrio, Jenna Sparks and Natasha Springer, and Tracy Hong played well in the center and mid sections. Brooke Mayo, Annie Amos and Paige Diamond, and Ally White secured the shutout.
