The Lady Jaguars couldn’t have asked for a better start to the 2016 schedule this month, opening the fall campaign with three wins in four matches at the annual Eye of the Tiger Tournament in Arcata.
Windsor (3-1) notched tourney wins over McKinleyville (7-0), Arcata (2-0), and Eureka (4-0) before falling to perennial power Analy (1-0) in the championship game.
The hot start and outstanding overall play had the Windsor brain trust fired up and anticipating great things ahead.
“We’re a young team (eight returning varsity players, 12 players new to the varsity level; eight of them sophomores and one freshman), but we’re playing in mid-season form,” WHS coach Mark Archambault said. “The girls are poised, communicating and passing well and playing with a lot of heart. The coaching staff is very pleased with the team’s progress to this point.”
Windsor defense steps up
The overriding theme from all four matches at the Arcata tourney was defense, as the Jaguar’s back line set the tone with three straight shutouts.
The Windsor offense was equally strong in Friday’s opener against McKinleyville, stunning the Panthers with a relentless attack that led to a 7-0 romp.
Leading the assault were Katie Bianchi and Madi Baer, with two goals apiece. Also finding the net were Gillian Day, Mackenzie Hernandez and Bethany Amador.
Assists went to Maddie Call, Emily Gassaway and Samantha Moberly.
The Lady Jags carried the momentum into Saturday’s games with wins against Arcata (2-0) and Eureka (4-0).
Bianchi scored both goals in the Arcata Game with assists coming from Emily Williman and Madi Baer. Bianchi added 2 more goals in the Eureka game with Madi Baer and Daniela Chavez each scoring a goal. Bianchi stayed hot in game two of the tourney against host Arcata, scoring another pair of goals on assists from Williman and Baer en route to a 2-0 win.
Windsor kept its foot on the gas in the tournament semifinal against Eureka, gaining separation on goals from Bianchi (2), Baer (1) and Daniela Chavez (1).
Credit goalie Briana Davis with her third straight shutout for the Jags.
The victory set up a title clash with Analy on Saturday afternoon, with the teams playing on even terms most of the way.
The Tigers broke through with a goal late in the first half, and hung after intermission to emerge with a 1-0 win.
“The Championship game could have gone either way,” Archambault said. “The teams were very evenly matched and the game was very physical. We had several scoring opportunities, especially in the second half, but could not find the back of the net.”
Windsor will get a short break from competition this week before resuming pre-league action on Sept. 9-10 at the Lady Cat Classic Tournament hosted by Ukiah.
The Jags will take on Petaluma on Friday, Sept. 9 and square off with Arcata and Sonoma Valley on Saturday (game times TBD).
