Youth soccer roundup: Los Azules take second in tournament

With back-to-back days of tough competition, Davis’ Los Azules — an under-16 boys soccer team, took second place in the Davis Legacy Tournament.

On Saturday, Los Azules beat the San Ramon Azuri 3-0 at Legacy Fields in Davis. Otto Nichols tapped the first goal in on a cross from Anirudh Ramakrishnan. Caleb McYates scored the second goal on an assist from Rohan Mohapatra, who had just won possession from the Azuri. McYates scored the third goal with an assist from Will Stukas.

Goalie Mac Meersheidt had two saves. Alec Farboud, Ruben Mendoza and McYates each made a shot save. Good defense by Ryan Tinsley, Ryan Quinn and good support and passing by Will Stukas, Juan Pablo Almanza, Caleb McYates, Alec Farboud, Bryant Murray, Anirudh Ramakrishnan, Winston Tran, Rudy Campos and Niko Pandeleos.

In the second game, Los Azules beat the Lodi Crushers 2-0. Nichols scored the first goal with an assist by McYates. Mendoza assisted the ball to Almanza, who scored. Meersheidt had three saves, and Thomas Oide had a key defensive save.

On Sunday, Los Azules tied Davis Legacy ’97 Sporting 1-1 at Nugget Fields. Nichols scored the goal on an outside shot. Meersheidt had a save. Tinsley had a shot save and Quinn made a shot saving tackle.

In the championship game, the Lodi Crushers reversed the previous days result by defeating Los Azules 2-0.

Heat

The Davis Heat, a U16 girls team, competed in the Placer United Cup last weekend.

Davis opened with a 3-2 loss to the Walnut Creek Dynamos. Davis started strong with shots on goal by Suleikha Sutter and Sophia Hernandez, but the Dynamos scored first to take the lead. Davis knotted the score off a shot from Olivia Haass that slipped through several defenders. The Dynamos scored in quick succession to go up 3-1.

The Heat turned the tide in the second half, getting a goal off a header by Sutter on a cross from Kristen Ward. Davis had strong defense from Renee Schuman, Hannah Thompson, Alexia Moore and Mikayla Vang, and keeper Christina Roeckl-Navazio made some great saves. The Heat had two more good chances with shots on goal by Melissa Teuber and Haass that were barely stopped by the Dynamos keeper.

Davis dropped its second match 3-0 to Central California Alliance.

In its final game, Davis tied American River FC Freedom Auernig 1-1. Trailing 1-0, Hernandez positioned herself between two defenders in front of the goal, trapped the ball and lifted it over both of them for the equalizer.

Sacramento United Extreme

Davis’ Tiffany Miras, who plays on the area competitive U14 girls team, led all scorers en route to winning the title at this past weekend’s Placer United Cup Tournament. Miras generated four goals, including the game-winner in the championship match.

Legacy Stampede

The Davis Legacy Stampede, a U11 girls team, took first in the U12 division of the annual Lily Nisen Memorial Tournament hosted by Davis Legacy Soccer Club this past weekend.

The locals opened with a 6-0 win against the Spanish Springs Lady Jaguars. In addition to two own goals by the opponent, Jordan Davis scored twice while McKenna Lutzker knocked in a close-range tally and Allie Belafsky buried a long-range shot from beyond the 18.

The Stampede continued strong with a 2-1 win over Barcelona NorCal in the second game, with a goal by Lily Byrne in the first few minutes and another in the second half by Davis with an assist by Anne Ayotte.

The Stampede topped the Vacaville Vipers 3-1. Ayotte scored first on an assist by Davis, who in turn scored on a rebound off of a long-range shot by Ayotte. Byrne scored the third goal on a breakaway off a through ball by Lutzker.

The championship contest matched the Stampede against U11 rival USA Stars. Knotted 0-0 after regulation, the game headed into overtime. With the ball on the right wing, striker Alex Hanna made a long run from midfield into the box from midfield and was able to one-touch a bounding ball from Byrne past the charging Stars keeper and into the back of the net, cementing the win and the first-place trophy for the Stampede.

Red Bulls

The Davis Red Bulls, a U10 boys team, went 0-1-2 at Sacramento Boo Fest premier division, tying a top-ranked team. The prior weekend, the Red Bulls were 1-0-1.

Over both weekends, Cameron DeMasi, Elan Kalman, Daniel Jauregui, Ledger Petracek and Tyler Venner scored pivotal goals, while Zevik Citron, Teagan Favorite, Jackson Isidore, Eliot Liederman, Kai Moore, Sepp Sanchirico and Ty Soderquist all exhibited skillful passing and stout defense.

Legacy Newcastle

The Davis Legacy Newcastle, a U9 boys team, swept all four games to win the Scary Clowns division and capture the coveted Golden Pumpkin at the Sacramento United Boo Fest Tournament.

The North Bay Elite Earthquakes were quelled 2-1 with goals by Aaron Eckey and Liam Swenson. The “Secret Agents” — the squad wore T-shirt tuxedos — next subdued the Central Marin Arsenal, 6-3, with a fusillade of goals by Nikita Stukanov (four) and Pato Guzman (two). Sam Leveau and Kellen Dulcich contributed to the fast-paced offense.

Newcastle roared out of the gate against FC Elk Grove Orange when Swenson sliced through to score within 20 seconds of the opening kickoff and then Jake Wilkinson pounded in a shot from the back. In the second half, Zach Anderson scored a header off Zane Alafranji’s perfect corner kick. J.P. Arendt anchored the center defense, while Thomas Peebles disrupted outside attackers. Anderson then converted a Stukanov pass to secure the 4-2 win.

In the championship game against the Folsom Marauders, Newcastle dominated early with penetrating drives, but failed to convert crosses across the goal mouth. The Marauders fought back strong to end the first half scoreless. Newcastle took the field with renewed attacks in the second half. Anderson deftly scored the winning goal with his signature header. Davis’ solid defense with Gabe Sanchez neutralized the increasingly frustrated Marauders in the final minutes to clinch the tournament victory, 1-0.