1. Mountaineers stumble in semis
By Jeff Rancudo
CHATSWORTH — “Let’s go. Get some energy. Pick it up.”
North Murray High School Mountaineers soccer coach Matt Chambers said it loudly and couldn’t have been
more clear about what he needed from his players with 2 minutes, 30 seconds left in the first half of
Wednesday’s 3-0 loss to Sonoraville in the Region 6-3A playoffs.
Might as well have been Greek he was speaking to his guys. Because, for whatever reason — as can happen in
any of life’s endeavors — sometimes you just don’t have what it takes to meet the challenge, no matter how
much urging on you get.
North Murray was a prime example in a game dominated by Sonoraville (14-3) in the first half, which led to a
3-0 lead. In the second half, the Mountaineers fought hard and made at least six strong shots on goal, but saw a
dimly-lit fuse to a possible explosive comeback fade again and again before finally going out.
If lessons were to be learned about intensity and game readiness, the Phoenix players were more than happy to
take the Mountaineers to school in a matchup of the Nos. 2- and 3-seeded 6-3A teams from regular-season play.
The region’s No. 2-seed Mountaineers came out flat and were never able to match Sonoraville, which spent
most of the first half firing away at the North Murray goal, also barely missing on at least three other close
shots.
Fortunately for both North Murray (12-2) and Sonoraville, they have already qualified for the state playoffs.
With Calhoun’s 2-0 win Wednesday in the 6-3A playoffs over Gordon Central, North Murray hosts Gordon
Central Friday night to determine who will be the third and fourth seeds from 6-3A entering the state playoffs.
Kevin Villatoro scored Sonoraville’s first goal with 26:56 left in the first half on a penalty kick, after he was
leveled by a North Murray defender. The Phoenix moved ahead 2-0 when Jonathan Soldevilla sailed a corner
kick straight to his brother, Alexander Soldevilla, who headed the ball in with 5:59 left before intermission for a
2-0 edge. Omar Jacobo kicked in the third Phoenix goal just over a minute later.
Sonoraville Coach Hector Holguin was glad to see his team avenge its regular season loss to the Mountaineers
in a game that had state playoff seeding at stake. He said his Phoenix squad has worked extra hard since the fall
for a day like this.
“We were prepared. First of all, North Murray is a great team. We knew we had to play fast and had to play
hard,” Holguin said. “When they came to us (in the regular season), they got a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes.
We were able to come back and make it 2-2 and eventually lost on penalty kicks. They were the only team in
the region that beat us. Coming in (Wednesday), we knew they were going to be a tough team. They want to be
in the region championship like we do. I’m just glad that we were able to score three goals in the first half.”
“I started working out with these guys, morning workouts at 6 in the morning in September,” Holguin added.
“Speed drills. I had 35, 40 guys show up. It’s paying off tremendously. I see the change. We’re a second-half
team I feel like. But we came out in the first half and definitely the speed and conditioning is helping us out.”
Chambers knows his team can recover from the shutout and be ready for Gordon Central Friday.

2. “We just didn’t have the energy tonight. Simple as that. It happens. It just wasn’t there,” Chambers said. “Like I
told my boys, there’s not a team I’d pick over them or a player I’d pick over them. We’re going to re-focus, re-
assess and get ready for Friday night. And that’s all that matters at this point. We’re going to be ready to play
hard.”
Chambers would love to beat the Warriors, then move into the state tournament with momentum to go even
farther than last season. In 2015, North Murray reached the Sweet 16 before falling to Westminster.
“Sometimes you’ve to lose a little bit to learn,” Chambers said. “We have the skill and ability to learn from our
mistakes and learn from nights like this and just use this as more firewood for our motivation. And keep on
playing hard. I think it just comes down to the guys and we’re encouraging them ... they’re tough, they’re strong
and they’re the ones that feel it the worst right now. I guarantee you, they don’t want to feel this way again.
Great team. Great character. I stand by them every game. We’ll be fine.”
“The No. 3 team from our region last year went really far in the state playoffs,” Chambers added. “And I
believe we can do the same thing in our area. So not all is lost. It’s a long season. We really, really want to push
our record in state and start making it a lot farther and proving we are one of the top teams.”