Soccer season officially got under way for Healdsburg soccer
teams last weekend, with a flurry of games in a pair of
tournaments.
The boy¹s squad (3-1) hosted seven other teams in the annual
Healdsburg Invitational Tournament, winning three of four games
before falling in the final on Saturday. The varsity girls, playing
in a tournament at Piner, dropped both of its games on
Saturday.
Ladies looking for offense
The Lady Hounds (1-2) opened the season on Saturday with a
strong overall effort in a 1-0 loss to Sonoma Academy. Despite
maintaining a defensive posture for most of the game, Sonoma
Academy took advantage of a second-half defensive breakdown from
Healdsburg to score the lone goal of the contest.
In game two of the tournament, the ladies gave up a pair of
first-half goals before dropping a 3-0 decision to Petaluma.
³We dominated the entire game against Sonoma Academy and had a
lot of scoring opportunities, but just couldn¹t put the ball in the
net,² said Healdsburg coach Herbert Lemus. ³Overall, even though
the results of the games weren¹t positive, it was a good
opportunity to look at some of our younger players.²
On Monday, the ladies won at Ukiah, 2-0. After dominating a
scoreless half, Healdsburg got goals from Natalie Cook and Courtney
Carlson. Goalie Elizabeth King recorded the shutout.
Injury/scheduling notes: The Lady Hounds suffered injuries to
forward Tianna Barbier (ankle) and defender Colby Payne (tailbone)
during the Piner tournament. Both are expected back within a couple
of weeks. Healdsburg entertains powerful Montgomery today (Aug. 31)
at HHS. The JV and varsity games are scheduled for 5 and 7 p.m.
Next Wednesday, the ladies travel to take on Maria Carrillo in a 4
p.m. contest.
Greyhounds take three of four
The boy¹s varsity squad got off to a strong start on Friday,
erasing a 1-0 halftime deficit to defeat Maria Carrillo, 2-1. Mario
Gonzalez and Kory Hirtzer each found the net for the Hounds.
³We started slow and were moving people around in the first
half, but we had a strong second half,² said Hounds coach Rob
Perman.
Healdsburg beat Arcata, 2-0 on Saturday morning in what proved
to be their best outing of the weekend. Efrain Aguado and Gonzalez
scored for Healdsburg, with assists going to Juan Martinez and
Aguado respectively.
The Hounds locked horns with Elsie Allen in game three, forging
a hard-fought 1-1 tie. Down 1-0 at the half, Gonzalez converted a
great free kick from 25 yards out after intermission to forge a
tie.
The tie gave Healdsburg a 7-5 edge in tournament points over
Elsie Allen, putting them into the title game against Santa Rosa.
Aguado got the Hounds on the board early in the title game before
the Panthers clawed back to knot the game at one apiece. Healdsburg
gave up a pair of second half goals to fall, 3-1.
³As a team, we were very happy with our performance,² said
Perman. ³Overall, we showed a lot of heart and I couldn¹t ask for
much more from the guys.²
Team notes: Senior Kory Hirtzer was left off the list of
all-league returnees last week, but he will figure prominently in
the team¹s fortunes this season. The Hounds sustained a few minor
injuries to players last weekend, most notably an ankle injury to
midfielder Alex Sarabi. He is expected to sit out a few games.
Healdsburg travels to Ukiah today (Aug. 31) followed by a home
litmus test against visiting Montgomery next Wednesday, Sept. 6.
Varsity and JV game times at HHS are 4 and 5:30 p.m.
