In most tournaments, the championship game is played at the end, but at the recent tourney in Visalia, the opening game proved to be the tightest contest of the weekend.
The Carson Valley U14 Net Rippers headed to Central California knowing that they opened against the hometown favorite South Valley United and neither team disappointed. South Valley prevailed in a hard-fought 1-0 contest following a questionable goal in the first half.
The Net Rippers bounced back in the afternoon with a 3-0 win over Central Cal U14. Sunday morning's game would determine which team advanced to play for third place. Despite a sluggish start and a 0-0 halftime score, the Net Rippers took control in the second half and raced to a 4-0 win over East Fresno Elite that included goals from Kaelin Mejia and Katie Dry and penalty kicks by Kaitlyn Varble and Rochelle Seymour.
Carson Valley faced the Gryphons from South San Francisco in the consolation final and again started slowly as they went to halftime scoreless. Much like the morning's game, the Net Rippers came out with added enthusiasm the second half and began to create chances right away. The Gryphons keeper was ejected from the game following an incident in which Katie Dry was tripped up right in front of the Gryphons goal. Holly Downer broke the tie with a 25-yard bomb that sailed over the keeper's head and into the back corner of the net. Dry came back a few minutes later and dribbled around the Gryphons keeper and deposited the final goal into the empty net.
The Net Rippers defense was outstanding throughout the tournament. Keeper Brianna Randall played all four games in the net and allowed only a one goal while making some outstanding saves. In front of Randall, Cora Moody, Shannon Hubbard, Alison Chambon, Rochelle Seymour, Erica Macias, and guest player Morgan Allen did a phenomenal job of limiting opponent's chances. For her efforts, Cora Moody was named the team's outstanding player of the tournament.
The Net Rippers also received outstanding play from midfielders Tia Lyons, Jillian Olivera, Shannon Prinz, and forwards Kaelin Mejia, Lauren Pickering, and Kelsey Walsh. April Sorenson was unable to participate due to an injury.
In league play, the Net Rippers are currently 4-0 and have scored 22 goals to their opponent's four goals in wins over Carson, Truckee, and two Reno teams. Carson Valley will attend the Fall Friendship tournament in Reno over the coming weekend where they will face the best teams from Northern Nevada and a few Northern California entries.
