· Carondelet girls
play to a scoreless tie; San Ramon Valley loses to No. 1 team in country
Article Launched: 12/21/2007 03:09:30 AM PST
By Bill Kruissink
STAFF WRITER
Ashley
Aczon had a goal and an assist in the first half and
a stout defense did the rest as the Campolindo
High School girls soccer team blanked Berkeley
2-0 in the opening day of the Gold Late Division of the Tri-Valley Classic
at Campolindo on Thursday.
The
Cougars (7-1) -- the defending North Coast Section 2A champions -- were outshot
in the first half 8-5, but didn't yield a goal.
"Our
team sometimes starts slow," Cougars defender Caroline O'Neill said.
"It takes us a while to get into our rhythm. But we have good faith in
L.B. She was amazing."
"L.B."
would be goalkeeper Laura Banister, who made five saves in the first half and
one in the second. With the Yellow Jackets (5-3-1) storming the Cougars' end of
the field for much in the first half, Banister was busy.
But so
were Cougars defensive players Callie Bruzzone, Sara Sutyak and O'Neill, who combined to shut out the Yellow
Jackets.
"We
outplayed them in the first half," Berkeley coach Suzanne Sillett said. "We had good chances. But we'll be ready
to go tomorrow."
Both
teams were missing strikers. Campolindo's Erin
Bricker was out with a strained hamstring and Berkeley's Esther Leon was
nursing a pulled groin muscle. Since Berkeley failed to score, Leon's injury
may have had a bigger impact.
With
eight minutes to go in the half, Jennifer Whitehouse served a well-placed
corner kick to Aczon, who headed it into the net for
a 1-0 lead. Five minutes
later, Aczon
passed off to Kaelyn Caspillo,
who finished off the scoring with a hard shot into the left side of the net.
Carondelet
0, San Clemente 0: In the first game of the
Invitational Division of the Tri-Valley, the Cougars (4-1-2) and the Tritons
(4-2-2) played to a standstill, with both teams taking 10 shots on goal.
But
the Cougars came closest to scoring. With five minutes left at the Mustang
Soccer Complex in Danville, Kory Lamet drove the ball
to the upper reaches of the Tritons' net. The ball sailed over goalkeeper
Hannah Turpen and caught the bottom of the top bar.
It bounced straight down and was cleared by Turpen.
"It's frustrating," Lamet
said. "We struggled in the beginning, but you know the team is going to
get better."
Cougars goalies Colleen Garrehy and Alicia
Montgomery combined for 10 saves.
-- Bill Kruissink
Torrey Pines 1, San Ramon Valley 0: The Wolves lost in the first round of the Tri-Valley Classic to
the Falcons, the top-ranked team in the nation according to StudentSports.com.
It wasn't as if San Ramon Valley (5-2-4) had a lack of chances.
They mustered 12 shots compared with Torrey Pines' 15, but it was all about
finishing the chances when they were presented.
-- Dennis Miller