The U-14 Cobras became the first team ever to represent the Healdsburg Youth Soccer Association at the State Founders Cup Competition in Sacramento on Nov. 21 and 22. After the regular season came to an end, Coach Brian Saini wanted to get his players out on the field to prepare for the tournament which would feature some of the top recreation level teams in Northern California. But he faced two problems: getting enough players and closed practice fields.
Injuries and player availability meant the Cobras could not field a full team. Luckily the local Healdsburg, Cloverdale and Windsor U-14 girls teams came to the rescue with each team from the league sending one player to the squad on a guest pass to complete the roster. As for practice, with wet fields limiting their options, Healdsburg High School coach Mark Hayes let the Cobras scrimmage his junior varsity team. Father/daughter Healdsburg High alums Anamaria and Tomas Morales also started helping out coaching the squad when Saini needed their expertise.
“The community really came together to make the tournament happen for these girls,” Saini commented.
The Cobras were placed in a tough bracket with their first match against the Capital Valley 14G Wild Angels who were coming off an undefeated season in Division 6. But with strong play from striker Adelaide Saunders, defender Lily Grace Brauninger, and fill-in goalie Stevie Mitchell the Cobras were leading the match 2-1 with minutes to play. Unfortunately, the Wild Angles scored on a counter-attack on one of the last possessions to level the score and escape with a draw.
In their second match, the Cobras faced the Prospector Soccer Club U14G Goal Miners who were coming off a 7-0 victory over a West Sacramento team. Trailing 0-1 at the half, it was the Cobras who rallied finding the back of the net late in the second half and leveling the score 1-1. The Cobras were victorious in their final game 9-0 but failed to advance after the Wild Angels were victorious 1-0 in their last match.
“It’s tough when you score more goals than any other team, don’t lose a game, and still don’t advance,” Saini admitted after the tournament. “But I can’t stress enough how much heart this team showed. They should be proud of how they represented Healdsburg and our league as a whole.”
