Whether it was Kaley Miller in 2019 or Caitlynn Wong the past two years, Alabama-bound wunderkind Cami Silva always had a partner with whom she could work some magic at the top of Manteca’s formation.
This year, junior Alexia Alva has emerged in that role, and together they’re giving opposing back lines fits.
The Buffaloes’ prolific pair was the difference in a 3-1 win over visiting rival East Union on Friday when both teams kicked off Valley Oak League play. Silva set up Alva’s two goals in the first half, and Serenity Cerritos capped scoring with a tap-in on the final play of the game.
Gabrielle McInthosh scored the lone goal for East Union (0-1-0 VOL, 3-8-2 overall) early in the second half off a free-kick cross from Chloe Silva.
“I’m just really excited, because this is my first official season,” Alva said. “I’m really proud of our team and EU — they also played well, and this was good game. I’m really excited that we came out with the win.”
Alva missed her entire sophomore year with a knee injury, and during the COVID-shortened, spring 2021 season she was hampered by a balky quad.
Now, she’s part of the top scoring tandem in the Sac-Joaquin Section. According to stats reported to MaxPreps, Silva came into the league opener as the top scorer in the SJS with 77 points scored (33 goals, 11 assists), while Alva checked in at No. 4 with 40 points (14 goals, 12 assists).
“I’m grateful to have this chance to play with Cami,” Alva said. “I think she’s a wonderful player and a person. She’s always very confident on and off the field and is very supportive if her friends and teammates. And she’s always pushing you to be better.”
Silva, a key player in Manteca’s 2019 SJS Division III championship team as a freshman, said it didn’t take long for the newest partnership to gain traction.
“We’re both smaller players, but we’re fast on the ball and we know where each other is at all times,” Silva said. “It’s like playing with Caitlynn Wong, really. It’s not like it has been a big change.”
Alva broke the ice in the fifth minute and struck again during injury time at the end of the first half. There were two long stoppages in play early on. Silva collided with another player and was slow to come off the field before returning to action minutes later. In the 15th minute, Manteca defender Kamiyah Johnson and East Union defensive midfielder Faith Perez clashed heads when running down a 50-50 ball.
It wasn’t until the very end that Manteca coach Justin Coenenberg could feel comfortable. Cerritos was presented with a point-blank look after Corrine Jones’ free kick into the box was deflected.
The Buffaloes (1-0-0, 14-1-1), namely Alva and Silva, had multiple chances to put the win away much sooner but were thwarted by either East Union goalkeeper Madelynn Miske or the posts on breakaways. Manteca had the best looks and finished with a 16-11 edge on shot attempts.
“I think the most positive thing that came out of this was we created opportunities,” Manteca coach Justin Coenenberg said. “Normally, we’d probably put a few more of those in the back of the net. It didn’t work out that way, but ultimately we got the win.”
Miske was the player of the game for East Union, finishing with nine saves. The Lancers scored three minutes into the second half and had an opportunity to knot the score when Chelsea Keathley and Kaylee Mejia had shot attempts blocked by Manteca keeper Haylie Brasil five saves on the same sequence.
“Beginning of the game, we came out flat,” East Union coach Jason Silva said. “We knew what the task was — we tried to keep (the ball) off (Cami Silva’s) feet and take space away from her. We just couldn’t do that. We were giving her too much space, we were not marking her, we were not running with her. Eventually, she’s going to burn you. Even when she doesn’t score the goals, she creates so much attention that if we take eyes off other players they’ll step up and score.
“I felt we played a much better second half, and Maddy stepped up and kept us in the game.”
East Union will look to turn it around next Monday at home against Oakdale, while Manteca hosts Kimball on Wednesday.
“We’ll have another big task in Oakdale,” coach Silva said “This year, there are five solid teams going after four playoff spots. It’s going to be a race down the final stretch, so every game counts. We have to make sure we bounce back and dig ourselves into a bigger hole.”
Junior varsity
Manteca 4, East Union 2
Mila Ysalva accounted for both of the Lancers’ goals, which were assisted by Gwen Baker and Genesis Rodriguez.
