Merced, Golden Valley, Atwater win groups at Pitman Cup
It was a good start to the season for the Merced, Golden Valley and Atwater boys soccer teams, as each won its group at the Pitman Cup this weekend in Turlock.
All three teams went 3-0-1 during the two-day tournament.
Golden Valley defeated Mountain House 2-0 in its first game on Saturday with Victor Govea and Hann Osborne scoring goals. The Cougars finished the tournament with a 3-2 win over Sierra.
Sergio Valencia scored a goal and recorded two assists in the win over the Timberwolves. Sergio Soltero and Cruz Melgarejo scored the other two goals. Melgarejo scored the go-ahead goal with 12 minutes left in the match.
“We have a roster of 25 guys, and I wanted to make sure to rotate so most of our guys got to play,” Golden Valley coach Lance Eber said. “We’ve still got to figure out who will be starting when we get to (Central California Conference) play, but I think we looked pretty good.”
Merced opened Saturday with a 2-2 tie against Beyer with Adrian Garcia scoring both goals for the Bears. Merced then clinched its group title with a 1-0 win over Lincoln. Alfred Flores scored for the Bears 90 seconds into the game and Merced held on for the win.
“We played really well,” Merced coach Bart McAfee said. “We’re very young and we’re not very big. We just have to keep getting better.”
Atwater went into its final game against Pacheco needing a win to take first in its group and defeated the Panthers 5-2 behind three goals from Eduardo Cebrero. Omar Duran and Gerardo Delgadillo also added goals.
We have a roster of 25 guys, and I wanted to make sure to rotate so most of our guys got to play.
Golden Valley coach Lance Eber
The Falcons opened Saturday with a 1-0 win over Arcata behind an early goal from Eduardo Delgadillo.
“We played pretty flat in our first three games of the tournament,” Falcons coach Jimmy Brewer said. “We were not particularly impressive. We did enough to win or at least get a tie. We played much better in the last game against Pacheco, who had won their first three games. We played with a lot more energy.”
College Men
Menlo 1, UC Merced 0 in Belmont – A first-half goal by Ryan Onizuka proved the difference as the Bobcats opened the season with a road loss. Heriberto Diaz made two saves in the loss for UCM.
Women
UC Merced 0, Menlo 0 (2 OT) in Belmont – The Bobcats peppered the Oaks’ net with 10 shots on goal, but couldn’t best Menlo’s Kaylin Swart in a scoreless draw. Maggie Morales made three saves for Merced (1-0-1) to earn her second straight shutout.
College Volleyball
UC Merced 3, Oregon Tech 2 in Merced – Rachael Schaefer’s 17 kills and Genna Garrett’s 32 assists and 14 digs helped the Bobcats finish off their UC Merced Holiday Inn Express Volleyball Invitational with a thrilling 25-23, 24-26, 21-25, 25-18, 18-16 victory over the Owls.
The win came on the heels of a three-game sweep of California Pacific Conference rival Menlo earlier in the day and gave the Bobcats a 3-1 record in the tournament. Senior Victoria Rouse and freshman Jade Fachin were named to the All-Tournament team.
This story was originally published August 30, 2015 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Merced, Golden Valley, Atwater win groups at Pitman Cup."