The Analy boys are making noise on the winter soccer pitch, notching three wins in their first four Sonoma County League matches to settle into second place.
At press time the Tigers (7-3, 3-1) were just a game back of first place Sonoma Valley in the loss column, with scheduled home and away dates against Piner (Jan. 16) and Sonoma Valley (Jan 20, 7 p.m.). The Tigers will visit El Molino next Tuesday, Jan. 23 in a 7 p.m. varsity contest in Forestville.
The Lions (0-6, 0-3) have taken some lumps on the league circuit so far, with their latest matches resulting in losses at Petaluma (2-1) and Piner (7-0). El Molino will resume league action this week with a Jan. 18 date with visiting Healdsburg (7 p.m.).
“We’re a young team with just three seniors,” El Mo coach Dave Rosales said. “Our kids are playing hard but it’s tough to compete against bigger schools having just a couple of kids that play club ball.”
Tigers notch wins
Analy kicked off the SCL campaign on Jan. 4 against El Molino, as Oliver Ziemer broke through for a goal in the first half for a 1-0 lead at the break. The Tigers got second half scores from Sam Housman and Lucas Martin in cruising to a 3-0 win.
The Tigers gained a split in their next two outings, bouncing back from a 1-0 loss to visiting Petaluma on Jan. 9 with a well-played 2-1 victory at Elsie Allen.
On Saturday, Analy played host to a solid Healdsburg squad, playing the Greyhounds to a scoreless tie at the half. Analy drew blood early in the second half when Armando Parra took a cross pass from Ziemer and drove it past the Healdsburg goalie. The Tigers went up by two goals 10 minutes later when Parra scored off a free kick from Migueal Escamilla to make it 2-0. The Hounds converted a penalty kick with 10 minutes left but the Tigers hung on for a 2-1 win.
“The Healdsburg goalkeeper made some incredible saves and kept the game close,” Analy coach Peter Meechan reported.
