The Long Beach Middle School soccer championships were held last Saturday at Wilson, where Marshall and Lindsey won the boys’ titles.
Division 1 Championship: Marshall 3, Stephens 1
The Division I title tilt came down to a pair of hard knocking League champions who had emerged from two very competitive leagues. Marshall opened the scoring on an Edgar Martinez penalty kick in the 29th minute.
The Stephens front line forwards: Alex Huerta, Christian Islas, Heriberto Duarte and Isaiah Seymore kept the pressure on as Marshall settled for a narrow 1-0 halftime lead. In the second half, the game remained even until Marshall’s Rey Angulo knocked one into the net in the 42nd minute, for what proved to be the deciding score. Teammate George Sanchez followed with another Ram score 6 minutes later. Stephens did not throw in the towel as Isaiah Seymore timed a perfect head shot off a corner kick to get Stephens on the board.
Team members from Stephens include: Front (L-R): Victor Garcia, Alex Huerta, Isaiah Seymore, Carlos Languren, Lucky Ung, Hector Toledo, Brayan Villasenor; Back (L-R): Christian Islas, Jonathan Lopez, George Melgar, Julio Sotelo, Heriberto Duarte, Salvador Santillan, David Gomez, Head Coach Vince Apalategui.
Team members from Marshall include: Front (L-R): Salvador Fernandez, George Sanchez, Danny Hernandez, Jonathan Rosas, Jose Medina, Octavio Moreno, Kevin Leyba, Moises Vasquez, Hector Mendez; Top Row (L-R): Head Coach Ernie Hernandez, David Sanchez, Jose Fernandez, Abraham Gutierrez, Abram Molina, Erik Romero, Marcus Navarro, Danny Lopez, Edgar Gonzalez, Rey Angulo, Asst. Coach Hernandez
Division 2 Championship: Lindsey 3, Newcomb 0
The Division 2 game brought to undefeated teams together in an epic contest. Lindsey came out on fire as Willie Velasquez scored in the fifth minute. Falcon teammate, William Sanchez, made it 2-0 at halftime with a score ten minutes later. The match continued to be a see-saw battle until late in the game when Falcon forward David Abeyta knocked in a goal for Lindsey to put it away. Newcomb refused to give up as Michael Quinn and company kept firing late into the game but Lindsey was in command and closed out with the 3-0 victory.
Team members for Lindsey include: Front (L-R) Jacob Hernandez, Alejandro Ortiz, Kevin Damian, Alan Olivares, Mauricio Menjivar, David Abeyta, Juan Cantero, William Sanchez; Middle Row (L-R): Guillermo Ramirez, Erick Garcia, Christian Aguilar, Christian Gutierrez, Willie Velasquez, Brian Fernandez, Head Coach Federico MartinezChaz Sanders, Anibal Cerritos; Top Row (L-R): Joshua Calderon, William Luna, Leonardo Sanchez, Luis Tostado & Juan Hernandez.
Team members for Newcomb include: Front (L-R) Matt Okabayashi, Eric Wilcox, Brendan Werstine, Jose Alfaro, Kyle Buchanan, Jacob Vilchez, Greg Roberts; Back (L-R): Head Coach Mark Ennen, Michael Quinn, Daniel Ciletti, Armando De La Mora, Brandon Roa, Eddie Lee, Griffin Keller, Carlos Ruano, Mgr. Jessica Cignale.
Congrats to all the teams and players who participated!