Saratoga News Saratoga teams 1-2-3 in soccer tourney By Dick Sparrer The Sharks, Bumblebees and Tidal Waves finished one-two-three in the regular season of the AYSO girls under-12 soccer league. But it seemed almost impossible for the three Saratoga teams to match that effort when they took part in the area tournament in Cupertino early last month. The Saratoga squads were going up against teams from Cupertino, Monterey and San Jose in the two-day tournament at Kennedy Junior High School, so for any one of the three to finish among the leaders would have been quite an accomplishment. But Saratoga went that one better... or, rather, two better. The three clubs did the impossible--they clinched the top three positions in the Area 2J tournament that featured the top league finishers from the areas represented. It was wet and cold, but the Saratoga girls finished one-two-three in the tournament. The Sharks edged the Tidal Waves 2-1 in overtime in the tourney championship games. The Sharks, champs during the regular season, scored a goal in the second half of the first overtime period to clinch the win. The Waves were second in the regular season. The Tidal Waves had dominated play the first day of the tournament, finishing first in their group with 30 points. The Sharks were first in their group with 26 points, setting up the title game the next day. Making up the squad for the Sharks were Janelle Borelli, Erin Dottery, Julie Eisenberg, Lisa Evans, Amanda Fazio, Elisha Garg, Sheeva Ghafouri, Christina Hammell, Danielle Maynes, Elisa Sabes, Allison Sieff and Jennifer Wu. Coaches included David Seiff and Rose Maynes. Playing for the Tidal Waves were Mahssa Barkeshli, Kacy Bonnet, Kelly DeBarr, Courtney Duncan, Alicia Follmar, Jennifer Griswold, Megan McConnell, Kristin Miller, Brittany Smith, Lindsay Walker, Kellie York, Chelsea Young and Gina Milano. The coaches were Rich Walker, Pam DeBarr and Duncan Miller. The Bumblebees finished a close second to the Sharks in the first day of competition, rolling to 25 points in their group. By finishing second, the 'Bees advanced to the consolation game against the Silver Lightning of Cupertino, second to the Tidal Waves in the other group with 26 points. The Bumblebees, third during the league season, clinched third place in the area tournament with a convincing 4-0 victory over the Silver Lightning. Members of the Bumblebees included Shweta Balakrishnan, Kelly Clark, Katelyn Dennis, Esther Hsu, Alyssa Johnson, Suzanne Lessack, Mariam Malik, Melissa Mandella, Bryte Nielson, Jesse Nilan-Axline, Tiffany Sun, Lauren Urrutia and Marisa Witkin. The coaches were Art Clark and Ric Urrutia. "It was a very long, grueling, but very exciting weekend," said Pam DeBarr, a coach for the Tidal Waves. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, January 20, 1999. ©1999 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.