Pateadores take second in tournament

The Huntington Beach Pateadores girls’ 16-and-under team finished second in the Nomads Thanksgiving Multi-State Tournament in San Diego Nov. 27.

The Nomads Thanksgiving tournament has been played for the last 30 years and is a Class 1 Tournament.

The Pateadores reached the title game, where they lost to Ethos, 1-0, amid heavy rain at UC San Diego’s Muri Field. The title match was a defensive and offensive battle. The game could have gone either way and was looking like it was heading to penalty kicks when the Saints blasted one to the upper corner with less than three minutes left to play, leaving the Pateadores with the second-place trophy but moving their team up in rankings before National Cup play.

The Pateadores had a stellar showing in the tournament, winning their bracket and shutting down top-ranked teams from Palo Alto, Utah and Arizona.

The semifinal match was played at University of San Diego against a tough Utah team ranked third in its state. Pateadores defense stepped up as the Utah team could not get the ball past goalkeeper Jacqueline Ruggiero and defensive players Kathryn DeMars, Jill Gotz, Madaline Solorzano and Makayla Solorzano, earning the Pateadores a shutout victory and a spot in the finals with only four goals allowed in the tournament.

In the quarterfinals the Pateadores beat the Claremont Stars during harsh conditions from a Pacific storm that brought high winds and heavy rain to the rest of the tournament.

The Pateadores offense, made up of midfielders Ella Davison, Nicolette Marino and Samantha Valdez, along with forwards Abby Chavez, Jada Alford, Kate Davies, Amy Lucier and Wendy Paredes, totaled 11 goals, the most out of any other team.

“Youth soccer players who participate in our tournament know they are going to be playing against some of the best teams out there in their age group,” said Derek Armstrong, the Nomads Soccer Club’s director of coaching and the Nomads’ U.S. Development Academy. “We are known to keep the games playing on no matter what Mother Nature throws at us.”

Pateadores coaches Joe Cantu and Dave Solorzano guided a motivated team and dedicated the tournament to a special fallen U.S. serviceman in the Air Force.

— Reader submission

— Reader submission