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Badgers netting wins, sights set on league title

Badgers vie for league title

Mike Hackworth

(Updated: Thursday, February 11, 2010, 2:23 PM)

The Yosemite High School boys soccer team earned some respect in the North Sequoia League last week after going 3-0-0, including a two-game sweep of Mountain Area rival Sierra High School last Thursday and Saturday at Sierra.

The Badgers, who have not lost in 2010, started the week by hosting Kerman on Wednesday. The Lions and Badgers fought to a scoreless first half with neither neither team gaining the advantage. Midway in the second half, the Badgers lost their leading scorer, Roman Morales, to an injury in a diving attempt to head a ball into the goal.

With 15 minutes remaining in the match, Mitchell Friesen beat a Lions' defender and directed the ball past the goalie, giving Yosemite a 1-0 lead. The Badgers held on for the win and a sweep over Kerman on the season.

On Thursday, the Badgers traveled to Sierra to take on the Chieftains (1-3-0 NSL). Yosemite's Cade Shae took a shot, which ricocheted off a Chieftains defender and rolled back into the goal, giving the Badgers the early lead.

Friesen then added a second goal after he re-directed a pass from Gian Grillo past the Chieftain goalie. Yosemite's next goal was the result of Sierra penalty in the box. Grillo played a loose ball past the Chieftains' goalkeeper who tackled the Badgers forward, giving Yosemite the penalty kick by Friesen. His second goal of the match gave the Badgers a 3-0 lead at the break.

Yosemite took a 4-0 lead early in the second half when John Di'tomaso passed the ball forward to Friesen who again found the Sierra net for the hat trick. Sierra got a late goal, but the match ended with a 4-1 Badgers victory.

Saturday, the Badgers took on Sierra once again in a make-up match for a previously postponed game. This game was also in danger of being postponed, until the Badgers agreed to give up their home field advantage and play at Sierra for the second time in three days. In a match played under poor field conditions and a driving rain, the Badgers took an early lead when Friesen beat the Chieftain goaltender to a loose ball for a score and gave the Badgers a one-goal lead going into the intermission

Halfway into the second half, Yosemite opened up the lead when Grillo and the Sierra goalie collided as they both went after a loose ball. The collision took both out of the play. Shae took advantage of the opportunity and drilled the lose ball into the empty Chieftain goal giving the Badgers a 2-0 lead.

The Badgers held on to that lead for the win and a season sweep of the Chieftains.

Yosemite still has three more matches, including two against Liberty in Madera on Feb. 8 and 9. They finish the regular season with a home game against Washington Union on Thursday, Feb. 11.