Golden Valley, Merced girls soccer teams win pools at Pitman tourney
Saturday’s foul weather didn’t seem to bother the Golden Valley High School girls soccer team.
The Cougars followed two shutout victories at the Pitman Tournament on Friday with a 4-0 win over Oakdale and a 2-0 victory over Enochs to win their pool. Amenah Munoz had a big day, striking for three of Golden Valley’s six goals, and Jaylin Meza scored two in the Oakdale win.
Christiane Grijalva made nine total saves in the two games to post her fifth consecutive shutout. The Cougars (6-1-1) have outscored opponents 25-0 during that span.
“It was a great team effort in every game,” Golden Valley coach Ashley Faraone said. “A true test with the weather conditions, sunny on Friday and then rainy and muddy on Saturday. Team communication was the key to our success.”
Golden Valley wasn’t the only local team to prove itself adept at playing in the muck.
Merced also went undefeated at the tournament with four shutouts. Wins over Modesto (1-0) and Hilmar (2-0) locked up the Bears’ title Saturday. Anisa Saechao paced Merced with two goals and an assist on the afternoon.
“The team played well overall, possessing the ball well and creating a lot of chances offensively,” Merced coach Bladimir Murillo said. “The team has a lot of depth. I’m very excited to see what the season will be like.”
Men’s basketball
Cal Maritime 86, UC Merced 83 in Vallejo – Aaron Laflin (game-high 11 rebounds) and Andrew Williams each scored a team-high 18 points, but the Bobcats (1-9, 0-1 Cal Pac) came up just short in their conference opener.
Ryan Haywood and Sean Rodriguez each scored 16 points for Kevin Pham’s young but improving squad.
Women’s basketball
Merced College 64, Yuba 61 in Fresno – Salihah Bey is starting to find her place at the college level. The Merced College freshman followed a 25-point showing Saturday with a career-high 30 points Sunday to help the Lady Devils (8-7) capture the consolation title at the Fresno City Tournament.
Christina Lotulelei scored nine points in Merced’s final game before the holidays.
UC Merced 65, Bethesda 59 in Anaheim – Christina Castro matched a season high with 20 points, and Brittany Martinez (16 points, 12 rebounds) had a double-double as the Bobcats (3-6) won consecutive games for the first time this season.
Freshman guard Mia Belvin scored 12 points for UCM.
High school wrestling
Golden Valley second at Riddle – Golden Valley placed second at the James Riddle Classic in Oakdale.
The Cougars had four individual medalists, including champions Caydin Wickard, Brady Mello, Coutland Morse and Mateo Samuelson (second).
This story was originally published December 11, 2016 at 4:47 PM with the headline "Golden Valley, Merced girls soccer teams win pools at Pitman tourney."