The Lady Tiger soccer squad got off to one of their best starts
in years last week, winning four of five games played.
The Tigers (4-1) opened the 2009 campaign with a dominating,
10-1 win over visiting St. Helena on Aug. 26. Analy flashed its
offensive firepower, getting goals from: Emily Olvera, Angela
Briones, Natalie Wiley-Contreras, Caina Field, Jenna Nagle, Deanna
Molkenbuhr, and a hat-trick (3) from freshman Riley Ping
Medvigy.
“It was a lopsided game in which I asked the girls not to score
in the last 20 minutes,” noted coach Joseph Heil. “We were a little
sloppy and they scored in the last couple of minutes of the
game.”
The ladies hit the road for the Eye of the Tiger Tournament
hosted by Arcata on Friday. Analy posted a 3-0 shut-out win over
Fortuna in the opener, on a pair of goals from Molkenbuhr and
another on a header by Skye Hamik off a corner kick from Kasey
Groth. The Tigers emptied their bench, with the reserves playing
most of the second half.
It was an early wake-up call for Analy on Saturday, as the
ladies dropped a tough, 1-0 decision to a big and physical Eureka
squad in the 8 a.m. game. Despite coming out on the short end, the
Tigers played arguably their best soccer of the tourney.
Analy was back in the win column in game two, slipping past
Clear Lake, 2-0. Leading the charge for the Tigers were
goal-scorers Nina Henelsmith and Molly Schuster.
“Our finishing woes continued here,” said Heil, citing a fine
performance from Natalie Wiley-Contreras, who filled in at central
mid for an ailing Jamie Lerum.
“We thoroughly dominated and had 15 shots on frame in the second
half alone. Clear Lake’s goalie was fantastic and made multiple
spectacular saves in a game that easily could have been
lopsided.”
The Lady Tigers finished off a great showing in the tournament
consolation title game on Saturday afternoon, recording a 3-1 win
over Rancho Cotate. Finding the net for Analy were: Olvera, Ping
Medvigy, and Schuster.
“Little by little we took the game by the scruff of the neck,”
noted Heil. “Our dominance in the second half really started with
the midfield and their stepping up their defensive pressure on
Rancho’s midfielders. Jamie Lerum, Jenna Nagle, Riley Ping
Medvigy and Nina Henelsmith did an outstanding job.”
The standout showing by an emerging Analy squad could be a great
harbinger of things to come, sending a strong message to Sonoma
County League teams.
“This is a fantastic group of girls,” noted Heil. “We still have
much work to do and much improvement to make. However, I think
we’re ahead of where we were at this time last year. We have a
deeper squad and our success in the tournament really came down to
the fact that we have a strong TEAM,” he added.
