Honkers, Indians scoreless

Both the Marysville and Yuba City high girls soccer teams were a bit unlucky Tuesday, as the two battled to a scoreless tie at Len Marks Field on the Marysville campus.

The host Indians (0-1-1) were unlucky in that they had two shots on goal that bounced off the crossbar and flipped up and over the goal.

The Honkers (0-0-1) were unlucky in that they were missing several key players. Stopper Angelica Mercado injured a leg last weekend during the Pioneer tournament, while the team's leading striker, Brittany Pena, and several other players were counselors at Woodleaf.

Yuba City suited up just 11 at the start of the game.

"A tie is like a loss to me," Indians' center midfielder Wendy Arechiga said. "We had some opportunities. We just need to work on finishing our shots."

Arechiga had a shot clang off the crossbar in the second half, and she figured in the second near-miss, as well. In the first half, Arechiga passed ahead to Jennifer Valencia, who got behind the defense, but had her shot bounce off the crossbar.

"I counted 10 good shots, two on the frame," said first-year coach Marysville coach Chris Osborne.

Perhaps the Indians' best shot at a goal came late in the second half, when Arechiga launched a free kick from the right side 15 yards out. The ball came down in the middle of a big water puddle just in front of the left post.

The water stalled the ball, and Valencia ended up going for a brief "swim" as she dove into the water and got a foot on the ball. Valencia's shot was blocked out of play by Honkers keeper Jasmin Mercado.

That set up a corner kick by Arechiga, who placed it perfectly in front of the cage. Ashley Shepherd got a foot on the ball, but her shot ended up sailing over the top. "It was great to hold them to a scoreless tie," said Yuba City coach Joey Contreras, who has spent just one practice with his team after guiding the Wheatland girls squad to a Northern Section Div. II championship on Saturday.

Osborne was particularly proud of his defense, which allowed just four shots on goal.

"Our defense was pretty rock solid," Osborne said. "If I can keep them together all year we should be pretty good."

That defense includes Marlaina Tiff in the middle and Kirstin Hodges and Diana Zyszkiewicz flanking the sides. Danielle Arnold played in goal the first half, while Alex Soltero was in goal the second half.

Contact sports reporter Richard Myers at 749-4714 or rmyers@appealdemocrat.com.