Photograph courtesy of The Sparks
The Sparks, a girls under-16 AYSO soccer team from Sunnyvale, won the Section 2 championship. Members of the team included (front, l-r) Melissa Junge and Sharlee Deangelo; (first row, seated l-r) Paige Harkness, Katelyn Reese, Jenn Frederito, Sara Laymoun, Grace Tang, Diana Keeler, Hillary Caudle and Elisabeth Krow-Lucal; and (back row, standings l-r) Rebecca King, Christina Nguyen, coach Steve Krow-Lucal, Lisa Pedersen and Denisse Corral.
Sparks fly to AYSO Section 2 tourney
Krow-Lucal goal breaks the tie
By Dick Sparrer
The Sparks were flying, and they were flying high after the AYSO Section 2 soccer tournament.
And what else would you expect? After all, the Sunnyvale Sparks had just won the section championship with a thrilling overtime victory over Half Moon Bay.
The Sparks, an under-16 girls soccer team, won the sectional crown when Elisabeth Krow-Lucal knocked in a penalty shot that broke a 2-2 tie and gave Sunnyvale its first Section 2 championship in more than a decade.
The Sparks, who had gone undefeated to win the title in AYSO Area A (Mountain View, Los Altos, Portola Valley, Sunnyvale and Menlo Park), posted a 1-1-1 record in the Section 2 qualifying round and beat out Prunedale on points to win the right to play for the title.
After a scoreless first half, Half Moon Bay scored in the first minute of the second half to take a 1-0 lead. And that's how it remained until the final seconds when Katelyn Reese centered a pass to Rebecca King who knocked it in for the tying score.
The game, and the championship, would come down to a best-of-five penalty kicks, with each team alternating attempts.
Sara Laymoun and Hillary Caudle each knocked in their shots, and goalkeeper Melissa Junge blocked two Half Moon Bay attempts to make it 2-1 heading into the final round.
Half Moon Bay scored to tie it 2-2, but Krow-Lucal broke the tie when she "looked left and shot right" to give the Sparks the victory.
Denisse Corral scored three goals in the tournament for the Sparks, and Sharlee Deangelo also scored a goal.
Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
