With a full slate of matches last week, rivalry contests between Williams and Maxwell and Colusa and Pierce headlined the action.
Boys:
Maxwell 2 – Williams 2 (1/23)
Maxwell 0 – Hamilton City 3 (1/26)
Maxwell 1 – Hamilton City 5 (1/28)
Down 2–0 right out of the gate, the Panthers rallied to tie the defending Northern Section Division III champion Yellowjackets after goals by Walter Avery and Rudi Gonzalez in a Mid-Valley League match last Monday.
Unfortunately for Maxwell, it didn’t fare as well against Hamilton City as they dropped consecutive matches to the Braves, although statistics were not provided.
This week, the fourth place Panthers (2-3-1, 2-3-1) had two home games as they hosted Durham on Monday and Redding Christian today.
Williams 2 – Maxwell 2 (1/23)
Williams 9 – Paradise 0 (1/24)
Williams 1 – Orland 2 (1/26)
Williams 7 – Paradise 1 (1/27)
Last week was a busy one for the Yellowjackets as they kept pace with Hamilton City in the drive for the MVL crown.
On the road against Maxwell, Williams got off to a fast start as Ernie Lemus and Kaled Rosales each found the back of the net, but the Yellowjackets ultimately conceded two goals to the upstart Panthers, and as a result the match ended in a draw.
However, the ‘Jackets bounced back the following day with a drubbing of Paradise.
Leo Hernandez led the offense with a goal and three assists, while Lemus scored and assisted on two others.
Rosales, Axel Velazquez, Daniel Preciado, Juan Velazquez, and Rigo Ramirez also scored for the Yellowjackets.
Statistics were not provided in a tight, non-conference loss to Orland, which was marred by flaring tempers.
In its final match, the ‘Jackets got their second big win over the Bobcats in three days, although statistics were not available before the Pioneer Review print deadline.
Williams (7-1-5, 4-0-2) was back at it this week starting with a non-league contest against Las Plumas on Monday, then hit the road to face Redding Christian in Palo Cedro on Wednesday. They play Hamilton City on Friday.
Pierce 2 – Willows 0 (1/24)
Pierce 1 – Colusa 2 (1/26)
Freshman Francisco Ruiz recorded the brace and the Bear defense did the rest, as Pierce went on to record a shutout win on the road over the Honkers.
Yet, the Bears couldn’t carry the momentum forward when they returned home to face the RedHawks.
After a scoreless first half, Colusa jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but Pierce upped the intensity and rallied to cut the deficit in half after an unassisted goal by Emilio Velasquez.
But despite a furious attempt to net the equalizer in the final minutes, time slipped away.
This week the Bears’ (4-11-2, 2-3-1) only scheduled match was on Tuesday in Winters.
Colusa 3 – Los Molinos 1 (1/24)
Colusa 0 – Live Oak 2 (1/25)
Colusa 2 – Pierce 1 (1/26)
The RedHawks (5-6-4, 2-2-2) got first half goals from Cesar Cruz and Marco Marquez, before Karim Cruz added one for good measure in the second half to secure the victory over the visiting Bulldogs.
In its second game of the week, Colusa held unbeaten Live Oak scoreless in the first half, but yielded two goals after intermission as they fell to the Lions.
Playing Pierce for the second time in two weeks, the RedHawks got open net goals from Cesar Cruz in the 43rd minute and the game winner from Charlie Santana in the 54th minute off an assist from Cruz.
Yet, the RedHawks needed a timely save from goalkeeper Andy Lopez on an indirect kick by the Bears in stoppage time to preserve the win.
Colusa returned to action on Tuesday in Live Oak and heads to Winters today.
Girls:
Colusa 5 – Los Molinos 1 (1/24)
Colusa 0 – Live Oak 16 (1/25)
Colusa 5 – Pierce 1 (1/26)
Colusa broke into the win column for the first time this season when it triumphed over visiting Los Molinos.
Gabby Saavedra recorded the brace to lead the way, while Josslyn Garcia, Julietta Alcala, and Allie Reading each added a goal to the total.
Similarly to other Sacramento Valley League teams, the RedHawks were shut out in a rout by Live Oak, but bounced back to play perhaps their best game of the year against Pierce the following day.
Alcala and Garcia both accounted for a pair of goals, while Adamariz Solorio added one in the victory over the Bears.
This week Colusa (2-11-2, 2-2-2) faced the SVLs top teams when it was in Live Oak on Tuesday and Winters today.
Williams 7 – Maxwell 1 (1/23)
Williams 3 – Paradise 1 (1/24)
Williams 3 – Paradise 0 (1/27)
The Yellowjackets remained unbeaten in Mid-Valley League play after posting three wins last week.
Williams cruised to a win in Maxwell over an inexperienced Panther squad that is fielding a team for the first time in years, although no statistics were provided.
In consecutive matches against Paradise, the Yellowjackets topped the Bobcats in relatively easy fashion behind the duo of Brisa Garcia and Jocelyn Santillan.
On Jan. 24 in Paradise, Garcia registered the brace, while Santillan struck for one, then after returning home, reversed the numbers on Jan. 27, when Santillan scored a pair of goals and Garcia pitched in with one.
Williams (5-1-1, 3-0-1) faced a challenge on Monday when it took on a tough Las Plumas squad at home in a non-conference match ahead of Friday’s showdown with Hamilton City, the only other team with an unblemished record in the MVL.
Pierce 0 – Willows 0 (1/24)
Pierce 1 – Colusa 5 (1/26)
Pierce struggled to put the ball in the net last week in matches against SVL rivals Willows and Colusa.
The Bears (2-8-2, 1-3-2) hoped to rectify that situation this week having been in Winters on Tuesday and by playing Los Molinos on Friday. ■
