Willow Glen Resident

Sports

Soccer stars strut their stuff in 'Showcase'

By Brad Wall

The best and brightest of the Blossom Valley Athletic League took center stage Friday night as the BVAL Senior Showcase gave soccer stars from 20 schools one last chance to take the field with and against one another.

Both the boys and the girls overcame slow starts to provide two exciting games as the White Team defeated the Black Team 1-0 in girls action and the Gold Team cruised past the Black Team 3-1 in boys play.

With the stands of Piedmont Hills football stadium packed with friends and family, players who spent the better part of the past four seasons playing against each other had a chance to play together in a friendly atmosphere.

"It's nice because it brings a lot of players who've battled all year a chance to play on the same team," said the White Team's coach, Santa Teresa's Steve Sellers.

As the name implies, the event was a showcase for the BVAL's seniors. However, even though it was supposed to be an exhibition, it was clear that all the players involved wanted to end their career with a win.

The girl's varsity stars took the field first. With only about 10 hours of practice, both teams started off sluggishly. As the players got used to one another and each others' styles, the level of play increased.

After a 0-0 first half, the White Team started to control the game.

"I thought there would be more scoring," said the Black Team's head coach, Pioneer's Randy Worthington.

With 27:17 left in the game, Evergreen Valley's Leah Larot launched a shot that bounced off the crossbar, and just seven minutes later she finished off a great run with a shot that skipped past the goalkeeper for the game's only score.

At the 10-minute mark, the Black Team started to make its push. Branham's Jenna Saenz just missed a header with 9:28 left in the match, and a header by Pioneer's Stephanie Righetti went wide right three minutes later.

Emily Salciccia from Prospect and Kathryn Cremer from Willow Glen were named the Most Outstanding Players for their respective teams.

For Cremer, simply playing in the game was an honor as it provided a nice way to end the season.

"It's a great ending to the season whether you made it to CCS or not," she said. "I think it was a great atmosphere and it was great to play here."

The boys game also started off slowly as both the Black Team and the Gold Team were feeling each other out.

After a back-and-forth first half, the Gold Team started to control the ball and take shots on goal.

After several good chances, the Gold Team finally broke through as Kevin Stanton of Leigh scored the only goal of the first half on a powerful blast with under 2:00 left.

Just two minutes into the second half, Ricky Dorrego from Lincoln gave the Gold Team a 2-0 lead with a powerful strike.

Down two goals, the Black Team would start to push back.

With 34:07 left in the game, the Black Team got its first score as Hiram Alvarez from Independence launched a penalty kick just over Sheldon Steenhuis' outstretched arm to cut the lead to 2-1.

However, much like the first half, the Gold Team controlled the ball for much of the second half.

Goalkeeper Tim Akerson of Leland kept the Black Team in the game as he made several outstanding saves to keep his team down by only one goal.

With 7:40 left, the Gold Team finally got one through again as Dorrego struck again. He lined a rebounded missed shot past Akerson for his second--and the game-clinching--goal.

For his efforts, Dorrego was named Most Outstanding Player for the Gold Team, while James Lick's Jerry Alvarez was recognized from the Black Team.

Girls selected to play in the game included: Andrew Hill--Jessica Gonzalez, Veronica Sandoval; Branham--Audrea Lopez, Jenna Saenz; Del Mar--Lauren Idemoto; Evergreen Valley--Caitlin Ambrosia, Leah Larot; Independence--Bryanne DeLa Paz, Sonam Desai; James Lick--Rosario Cruz, Gabriela Dominguez; Leigh--Caitlin Janoff, Kim Johnston; Leland--A.J. Huffman, Morgan Wampler; Lincoln--Gina DeMartini, Lina Vezzani-Katano; Live Oak--Shawna McKown, Ashley Thomas; Mt. Pleasant--Brittney Gustus, Megan Weston; Oak Grove--Melinda Bower; Overfelt--Yesenia Garcia, Maria Zepeda; Piedmont Hills--Brianna Yarber, Rachelle Yarber; Pioneer--Stephanie Righetti, Caitlynn Steinberg; Prospect--Megan Heykants, Emily Salciccia; San Jose--Anahi Arenas, Sheyla Maldonado; Santa Teresa--Brittany Espinoza, Lauren Ng-Pinkerton; Silver Creek--Alexandra Cardenas, Samantha Tavares; Sobrato--Katie Alton, Cecily Nishimatsu; Westmont--Molly Lopez, Trinity Rojas; Willow Glen--Kathryn Cremer, Rebekah Cremer; Yerba Buena--Erica Garcia, Marlen Ramos.

Boys selected to play in the game included: Andrew Hill--Juan Favela, Carlos Murillo; Branham--David Bromley, Craig Hertler; Del Mar--Rafael Mendoza, David Rojas; Evergreen Valley--Juan Ramirez, Sergio Romero; Independence--Hiram Alvarez, Ernesto Garcia; James Lick--Jerry Alvarez, Heriberto Moroyoqui; Leigh--Kevin Stanton, Pedro Suaro; Leland--Babak Madani, Tim Akerson; Lincoln--Ricky Dorrego, Francisco Heredia; Live Oak--Sheldon Steenhuis; Mt. Pleasant--Freddie Cortez, Luis Salazar; Oak Grove--Carlos Alfaro, Ryan Castaneda; Overfelt--Eric Aldama, Chris Duarte; Piedmont Hills--Carl Monroe, Raman Nissan; Pioneer--William Caceres, Ken Earl; Prospect--Pablo Ruano, Dale Ward; San Jose--Jose Jimenez, Steven Quintero; Santa Teresa--Cory Suess; Silver Creek--Yefri Banegas, Gurpal Bhoot; Sobrato--Murilo Almeida, Sam Stoner; Westmont--Alec Gurayden, Jacob Publicover; Willow Glen--Jose Cervantes, Kyle Lundquist; Yerba Buena--Jorge Avalos, Leo Baltazar.