Girls Under-19 win Rancho Cucamonga Grape Stomp Tournament

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Nemesis, one of two AYSO Region 88 Under 19 Girls tournament teams, finished first in the Rancho Cucamonga Grape Stomp Tournament held on Saturday and Sunday, March 15 and 16. Despite injuries and high school track commitments of several players, the team battled through three difficult pool play games to qualify for the Championship match on Sunday afternoon, with only 11 players available to play.

A stingy defense led by sweeper “J.J.” Chavez and goal keeper Bridget Hahnlein with outside defenders Becky Soken and Ebony Lopez and center defender Celia Flores yielded only one goal in each of the four games that were played. Midfielders Amy Rosales, Dana Murphy, Tatiana Jimenez, Bianca Ghermezian, and Amanda Rincon teamed with forwards Taylor Luskin, Natalie Diaz, , and Kirsti Jackson to score 7 goals during the tournament.
Against a veteran Walnut team, forward Luskin took a pass from Ghermezian for a breakaway goal that gave the team an early lead. After Walnut tied the score early in the second half, midfielder Rincon chipped in a goal on a pass back from forward Jackson and subsequently sealed the victory with a line drive shot past the Walnut goalkeeper on a crossing pass from Luskin.

The afternoon match against a physical Chino team proved too much for the depleted Glendale squad of 11 players and despite being outshot by the Glendale team that found the crossbar and goal posts, but not the back of the net, Chino won the match, scoring its winning goal on a header off a corner kick late in the second half.
With qualification for the final match on the line, Glendale needed a victory over an experienced Upland team on Sunday morning and forwards, midfielders and defenders all rose to the occasion. A through ball from center defender Flores set up a breakaway by forward Diaz who outran the defense and beat a diving Upland goalkeeper to take an early lead in the match. After Upland tied the score, forward Jackson with an assist from Luskin scored to recapture the lead. Diaz added a final goal off a pass from Jackson for a 3-1 victory and the opportunity to play for the championship against a Claremont team that went undefeated in its three pool play games.

With only 11 players for the afternoon match, Glendale gave up a goal in the first minute of the match during confusion over a referee call that caught the defense flat-footed. Battling back, Glendale increased the pressure throughout the remainder of the game, outshooting and out possessing Claremont to finally score on a driving pass across the face of the goal from forward Jackson to midfielder Murphy at the corner of the goal that ricocheted off the Claremont defender for a tying goal. With the score still tied after two overtime periods during which Glendale played with only 10 players due to injuries, the championship came down to shots from the penalty mark. Goalkeeper Hahnlein proved up to the challenge stopping the deciding kick by Claremont’s striker as Glendale made 4 goals to Claremont’s 3 to win the match and the tournament.

The team, comprised of players who played in AYSO Region 88 during the fall season, is coached by Pat Chavez, Doug Wallis and Vartan Ghermezian and includes students from Glendale, Hoover, Crescenta Valley, Flintridge Sacred Heart, Village Christian and San Dimas High Schools.

Congratulations, we are proud of you all !