Yucca Valley High School varsity boys’ soccer played a home league game versus Twentynine Palms High School and lost a close one, 2 to 1.
Twentynine Palms Coach Nathan Niles said great team play and tight defense sparked the Wildcats offensively. Second-half goals by sophomore Manuel Rios and freshman Bryce Gussman led the ’Cats to victory. Freshman Marcus Delacruz also had an assist. Keeper Juan Duran had five saves. The victory gives the varsity team a record of 10 wins and 7 losses.
League play continues on Thursday at Banning against the Broncos. JV kicks off at 3:15 and varsity plays at 5 p.m.
Yucca Valley Coach Jorge Rodriguez said player of the match was sophomore striker Carlos Rodriguez-Santos. Rodriguez-Santos scored the lone goal with an assist by sophomore mid-fielder Tyler Sine.
Rodriguez said, “The boys played well. We kept possession most of the game with lots of chances to score, but we came up short tonight. The defense played well as usual, with standout senior defenders Daniel Goddard and Brody Arnhold leading our defense. We look forward to a rematch in a few weeks.”
The Trojan junior varsity boys’ soccer team beat the Wildcats with a score of 2-0.
Junior varsity head coach Adan Mendoza said freshman Logan Barth scored a penalty kick in the first half was and a goal was made by Joey Rapazzo the second half.
The game marks junior varsity’s first win against Twentynine Palms High School in three years. Head coach Adan Mendoza attributes the win to the team’s ability to stay focused and communicate. “I’m proud to see these guys build more and more confidence as a unit.”
Sophomore Joey Rapazzo was named player of the match for scoring the second goal, which caught everyone, including Rapazzo himself, by surprise. Rapazzo said, “The kick was intended to be a pass—but it slid through to the back of the goal.”
Adan said the junior varsity team has confidence from their recent win and looks forward to another solid win this Thursday as they travel away to Coachella Valley. JV will take the field at 3 p.m. with varsity at 5 p.m.
Twentynine Palms sophomore goalie Jonathen Simmons had 11 saves to keep the scoring down.
In girls’ varsity soccer, Yucca Valley High School beat Twentynine Palms 3-1. Goals were made by Macey Decicco, Nicole Powell (2 goals), and assists by Jade Arnhold.
In the junior varsity game, Twentynine Palms won 2-0, over Yucca Valley. Goals were made by Evelyn Villava, Leslie Rogel, and assists by Sarah Krenelka.
Yucca Valley soccer coach Jolene Pessa said, “Concluding our first round of league games, our team standings are 3-3-1 for varsity and 5-2 for JV. We appear to be fourth in league; however, we are still waiting for final updates from other games yesterday to confirm where we stand within league.”
She added, both varsity and junior varsity have been showing consistent growth and are determined to improve their standings going into the second round of league games. “The girls on varsity are determined to qualify for CIF. We will continue working hard to achieve this goal so we can continue playing at the next level of competition.”
