Tiger booters strike gold at McKinleyville soccer tourney

Local soccer teams turned in a busy stretch on the pitch last
week, as both the Lions and Tigers opened the pre-season with a
flurry of games.
Tigers unbeaten in pre-season
It may be a new season but the results are largely the same for
the Tigers, who have a habit of winning each season under veteran
coach Peter Meechan.
Analy (4-0-1) opened the 2009 pre-league campaign with a 7-0
drubbing of Tomales, and followed up with a hard-fought, 1-1 tie
with Cardinal Newman.
The yearly battle with the Cardinals was waged on Sept. 1, as
senior captain Taylor Varnadore found the net to give his team a
1-0 advantage.
Goalie Paul Gresset made the lead stick with a great save on a
Newman penalty kick, but the Cardinals would eventually tie the
contest with just three minutes left to forge a 1-1 tie.
The Tigers hit the road for the annual McKinleyville Tournament
on Friday, winning all three games played to take home the top
prize.
Analy soundly defeated the host Panthers, 7-0, and then whipped
a strong Arcata squad, 3-0. The Tigers easily dispatched Eureka in
the title game, 7-1.
The highlight of the tournament was the clash with Arcata, as
Varnadore and Richy Amador each found the net for Analy. The
victory took on added significance for Meechan, who logged his
300th career win for the Tigers.
“We’ve played well as a team over the last week,” noted Meechan,
in the midst of his 19th campaign. “Everyone has played a part in
our wins and the team has good spirit.”
The Tigers open the SCL campaign on Sept. 9 (after press time)
against Petaluma, and hit the road for the annual Redding
tournament this Friday.
Lions split in McKinleyville tourney
El Molino (1-1-1) opened the fall season in impressive fashion
in McKinleyville last weekend, using a goal from Ryan Emory to
forge a 1-1 tie with Eureka.
The Lions got scores from Ricky Membrila and Chris Hennen to
slip past McKinleyville, 2-1, before falling to Arcata, 3-0 in the
tourney finale.
The Lions will host Sonoma in the SCL opener this Friday, Sept.
11 (4/5:30 p.m.), and travel to Petaluma next Wednesday, Sept. 16.
Game times at Durst Field starting with the JV are 5 and 7 p.m.