TOURNAMENTS

Front: Tanner Lewis, Rio Crossen, Jacob Defay, Jake Verhaegh, Canyon Robins, Dane Malkus, Kai Ishi

Coaches: Duncan Robins, Doug Simpson

Arcata, CA – Mad River’s 12 year-old boys bested all-comers in their season opening tournament. Despite tough competition from as far away as Sonoma and Redding, Mad River used their home field advantage to take home the gold in the 2009 Redwood Classic held in Arcata and McKinleyville this past weekend.

Mad River earned the top trophy after a tough fought, 1-0 win over Fortuna, which earned them the best record in the seven team, round-robin style tournament. Despite a slow start against a strong Sonoma squad, Mad River rallied to win its next three games in impressive form – scoring 15 and letting in only 2.

The team’s success was anchored in its superb goal tending (Tab Heinz, Addison Prentiss) and on the feet of its strikers and top scorers (Jake Verhaegh, Dane Malkus, Nick Black). However, it was its central engine room (Canyon Robins, Collin Townsend, Russ Taylor, Aiden Carter) that allowed the team to dictate play.

Starting out strong the girls won their first two games with the combined score of 5-0. During the semi-final game Mad River United faced a difficult AC United team and battled to a 0-0 tie at the end of regulation. After two overtime periods and the girls ended up falling 4-2 in a penalty shootout.

Immediately bouncing back Mad River United captured 3rd place by beating local rival Eel River Rapids (Fortuna) 1-0!

Congratulations to the entire team and the coaching staff for a great weekend of games!