Corner Kicks

Kudos to SSU’s Catton

PD — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:41:39 +0000

A little standing ovation please for Rancho Cotate High product Lindsay Catton.

The senior defender at Sonoma State was named this week to the Daktronics NCAA Division II West Region Women’s Soccer first team for the second consecutive year.

Catton scored five goals, including two successful penalty kicks this season while anchoring the defense.

From the SSU men’s team, senior goalie Brook Johnson was named to the West Region first team for the second straight year. Senior Stuart Gallant and junior Ryan Hall joined Johnson on the first team.

She was named to the All-California Collegiate Athletic Association first team in 2009 for the second time in as many years.

Last season, Catton became the first SSU player to be selected to the first team All-Region squad since 2002.

The Seawolves finished the season 8-9-3 overall and 6-7-3 in conference play.

Midfielder Cory Taufer earned a sport on the second team.

Marroquin on victorious Sac State team

pinella — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:11:15 +0000

Junior Diego Marroquin (Petaluma High and SRJC) played 96 minutes on Thurday as a defender in Sacramento State’s first-ever NCAA tournament win, a 2-1 triumph in overtime at Loyola Marymount.

The victory sets up a Sunday match for the Hornets (12-5-3) at UCLA.

NBL boys top honors

pinella — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:57:02 +0000

Santa Rosa's John McFarlin tries to keep the ball from Marin Catholic's Chase Raskowsky during the NCS final game held at Marin Catholic, Nov. 14, 2009.

Following are the top boys All-League honors for the 2009 season from the North Bay League:

NORTH BAY LEAGUE
All-League Boys Soccer

MVP:
John McFarlin, Santa Rosa, Jr., midfielder

Coach of the Year:
Jon Schwan, Santa Rosa

NBL boys First Team

pinella — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:47:15 +0000

Following are the First Team boys All-League players for the 2009 season from the North Bay League:

Jose Galindo, Santa Rosa, sr., forward;
Diego Leon, Santa Rosa, jr., midfielder;
Will Parente, Santa Rosa, jr., defender;
Brad Taylor, Santa Rosa, jr., goalie;
Alex Lemus, Elsie Allen, sr., forward;
Jesus Garcia, Elsie Allen, sr., midfielder;
Jorge Alvarez, Elsie Allen, soph., midfielder;
James Asena, Maria Carrillo, sr., defender;
Noah Orgish, Maria Carrillo, sr., defender;
James Moberg, Maria Carrillo, soph., midfielder;
Kameron Rose, Piner, sr., defender;
Austin Black, Piner, fr., goalie;
Keenan White, Montgomery, soph.,midfielder;
Zack Taylor, Montgomery, sr., defender;
Andrew Owenson, Cardinal Newman, sr., midfielder;
Kevin McGowan, Cardinal Newman, soph., defender;
Eduardo Alvarado, Ukiah, Jr., midfielder;
Kevin Castillo, Rancho Cotate, soph., defender.

NBL boys Second Team

pinella — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:44:40 +0000

Following are the Second Team boys All-League players for the 2009 season from the North Bay League:

Danny Chaparro, Santa Rosa, sr., midfielder;
David Leceouche, Santa Rosa, sr., defender;
Charlie Kirk, Santa Rosa, sr., midfielder;
Wendell Scott, Santa Rosa, sr., midfielder;
Jonathon Garcia, Elsie Allen, jr., forward;
Jesus Galvin, Elsie Allen, jr., defender;
Jesus Hernandez, Elsie Allen, fr., forward;
Austin Meyer, Maria Carrillo, sr., midfielder;
Marco Perez, Maria Carrillo, jr., forward;
Robbie Sheppard, Maria Carrillo, jr., midfielder;
Miguel Galvan, Piner, Soph., defender;
Alexis Brito, Piner, jr., midfielder;
Vicente Sosa, Montgomery, sr., midfielder;
Graham Miller, Montgomery, jr., defender;
Keller Lawson, Cardinal Newman, soph., midfielder;
Oscar Orozco, Cardinal Newman, sr., midfielder;
Rahul Patel, Ukiah, sr., defender;
Martin Yepez, Rancho Cotate, Jr., forward.

NOTE: The North Bay League does not select a boys Honorable Mention team.

Joe Belluzzo – Well Done

pinella — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:49:36 +0000

I wish I had been related to Joe Belluzzo. Then maybe I would have been a little more like him.
By now you know that Joe died on Nov. 11.
You know he was Sonoma County’s “Godfather of Soccer.”
You know he came here a few decades ago from Italy by way of San Francisco.
You know he came with a soccer ball in hand and a passion for the game that is assuredly with him somewhere today.
You know he refused to let his soccer dream die in Sonoma County.
It didn’t.
It won’t.
Maybe you knew of his Shoe Bank. Countless kids stayed on the field and off the streets because of Joe’s generosity. His garage was Soccer & Sports way before that store was launched. Big difference, his shoes were free to anyone who needed a pair. Just leave your old ones.
Maybe you know he founded the club Juventus way back when.
Maybe you know that club was a way to keep the soccer dream alive for older players.
Maybe you know he was a machinist in that building off Todd Road next to the field that was named for him.
Maybe you know that he worked a deal with the owner of the company in that building off Todd Road to rent that field to Santa Rosa United for $1 a year. You didn’t often say no to Joe when it came to soccer and kids.
And here’s what you probably don’t know about Joe.
He was a prisoner of war – he was in the Italian army and he was a prisoner of the U.S.
He was a garbage man in the City. Toted cans up lots of flights of steps.
He became an excellent machinist simply by watching other workers do it.
He met his wife – Doris – at the Italian-American club in Oakland.
Here, I’ll let her tell you how that happened:
“A friend of mine said we have to go to the library to do some homework. But I said. ‘You go to the library I’m going in here.’ So, then I went into the Italian-American Social Club. I knew several of the fellas and I started talking to them and then the music started. Well, I was over here and he (Joe) was way over there. There were all these girls in between us.
“In the meantime my girlfriend had come back over and I said to her: ‘He is going to ask me to dance.’ And she said, ‘Sure’…
“But sure enough he came all the way around from the opposite side of the hall and asked me to dance.
The song was ‘You Belong To My Heart.’”

I was sitting at the Belluzzo’s kitchen table, working on a book I have yet to finish on his life, when Doris told me that story. Afterward, Joe, with his always wry sense of humor, added:
“I told her: ‘You belong to my heart.’ It was smooth.”

And then he said (it was 2006 at the time):
“We have been married 59 years and we’ve only had one fight …and it lasted 59 years!”

I don’t know if the tradition in Italy following a soccer game is to say, “Well done” or not.
But to Joe Belluzzo I say, “Well done.”
I do know in Italy, as they do everywhere, when players come off the field they applaud the fans.
Joe Belluzzo. I applaud you.
I’ll miss you.

Willits left out in the cold … you agree?

pinella — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:40:30 +0000

Corner Kicks doesn’t confess to being a seeding saviour or anything close.

Nor will he dispute the integrity of the North Coast Section.

But now that the tournament has run its course, it has been brought to our attention that there might have been a slight (in the NCS mind) or large (in the offended school’s mind) oversight on seeding Sunday.

You could look this up, but I’ll save you the trouble. Boys Div. III, the No. 6 seed was SF University. Record: 9-11-4. Left off the seeding chart (16 teams made it) were the Willits Wolverines. Record: 13-2-2.

As it was aforementioned, Corner Kicks is no off-the-chart intellect when it comes to seeding, but…….OMG!

And don’t play the “strength of schedule” card on me here. I don’t care if SF Uni played FC Barcelona and AC Milan …. 9-11-4 is what it is. Just like 13-2-2 has a different sort of ring to it regardless of the talent level of the competitors.

The three-person committee sitting alone in the room that day must have had a very good reason to leave the Wolverines home. Maybe they should go explain it to them on Willits awards night…

Times set for SRJC games on Saturday

pinella — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:05:21 +0000

The times, dates, opponents and sites have finally been set for the Santa Rosa Junior College men’s and women’s team as they enter the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) postseason tournament.

The Bear Cub men and women will both play at home on their sparkling new field on Saturday in opening round games.

The No. 5 seeded SRJC men (11-2-5) will entertain No. 12 seed De Anza at 2 p.m.

The No. 4 seeded SRJC women (13-5-2) go against No. 13 Cabrillo in first round action at 11 a.m.

The second round will be played Nov. 24; third round, Nov. 28; and the State Final Four will be held Dec. 4 & 6.

Saturday will be a perfect day to watch a double-header featuring a lot of Empire kids playing at the “next level.”

Time for Bear Cubs to tee it up

pinella — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:05:55 +0000

The dates and the opponents and the sites have been set. Only thing lacking so far for the Santa Rosa Junior College men’s and women’s team as they enter the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) postseason tournament are the times.

The Bear Cub men and women will both play at home on their sparkling new field on Saturday in opening round games.

The No. 5 seeded SRJC men (11-2-5) will entertain No. 12 seed De Anza.

The No. 4 seeded SRJC women (13-5-2) go against No. 13 Cabrillo in first round action.

The second round will be played Nov. 24; third round, Nov. 28; and the State Final Four will be held Dec. 4 & 6.

Soon as we get the game times we’ll post them here.

High school season is over, now it’s time to watch a lot of Empire kids play at the “next level.”

Tognetti honored by WCC

pinella — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:09:48 +0000

Keeping up with another former Empire player – Christini Tognetti, the 2008 North Bay League MVP and Empire Player of the Year just finished her first season at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga.
At the conclusion of Tognetti’s initial D-Icollegiate season she was named to the West Coast Conference all-freshman team.
The Gaels finished the season 9-11-0 after losing their finals to Loyola Marymount, 4-1.

Following is from the from the Gaels’ website:

Tognetti Steps Up For Gaels
Freshman striker Christina Tognetti has scored four goals this season, and three have resulted in a win for the Gaels.
Tognetti’s first career goal came in the 83rd minute in a 2-1 win over Texas on Sept. 4 in the California Invitational.
One week later, her late game heroics took center stage again, when she scored the game-winning goal in the 82nd minute against SMU. Her third game-winner came in the 75th minute of a 2-1 win over No. 25 San Diego.
She has been selected to two All-Tournament teams.