The Manteca Futbol Club Boca jumped 12 spots north of its previous national ranking after an impressive three-day run in the invitation-only San Diego Surf College Cup Nov. 26-28.
Boca was the top squad out of its under-16 boys flight but was knocked out in the semifinal round by the Portuguese Athletic Club Tigres of San Jose, 2-1.
The PAC Tigres ended up winning the tournament, 1-0 over Santa Clara Sporting, while earning the No. 2 national ranking according to GotSoccer.com. Three of the four semifinalists hail from Northern California, with the fourth, Mexicas FC, coming out of Texas.
Despite the tourney-ending defeat, Manteca FC improved its stock in its first action since late August, climbing up to the No. 45 national spot and 5 in Northern California.
Boca, headed by Sierra High varsity boys head coach Jose Montes, consists of several area standouts.
Sierra sophomore Nico Gonzalez scored the lone goal in Boca’s 1-0 opening victory over South Bay Force.
In Game 2, Weston Ranch junior David Molina scored twice in Manteca FC’s thrilling 4-3 win against the Placer Blues. Boca was staggered just seconds in the match following the opening kickoff, and a penalty kick a few minutes later had them down 2-0.
Manteca FC trailed 3-1 in the first half before running the table. David Reyes and Jeffrey Pereira each contributed a goal in the comeback.
The team’s best effort came against Albion SC White of San Diego, rated the second best team in the country heading into the tournament.
Molina had several good looks and couldn’t convert for Manteca FC, but it didn’t matter.
Based on the tiebreaker, Boca needed only to hold on for a scoreless draw in the battle between two 2-0 teams to advance to the semifinals.
“At first we went toe-to-toe with them,” Montes said, “but then we turned it into a keep-away game.”
Against PAC, Boca trailed 2-0 before Christian Angulo netted their only goal of the contest.
Boca continued its tear that started over the summer. In their previous three tournaments, they won the California Cup (Sacramento) in June, were the runners-up in the Santa Clara Sporting Invitational in early August and a semifinalist in the Nike Mustang Stampede (Danville).
Goalkeeper Monica Castillo posted three shutouts in four appearances in the box.
Lucia Cazares collected four goals to lead the Mustangs, while Kiana Lamont and Lexi Ziakas turned in three apiece.
Kayla Lamont, Erin Garcia and Allison Yang combined to dominate on defense.
The Mustangs went 11-3-1 overall on the season, outscoring opponents by a wide 44-13 margin. Season scoring leaders were: Ziakas (14), Katherine Quezada (6) and Alexis Clark (6).
Boca was the top squad out of its under-16 boys flight but was knocked out in the semifinal round by the Portuguese Athletic Club Tigres of San Jose, 2-1.
The PAC Tigres ended up winning the tournament, 1-0 over Santa Clara Sporting, while earning the No. 2 national ranking according to GotSoccer.com. Three of the four semifinalists hail from Northern California, with the fourth, Mexicas FC, coming out of Texas.
Despite the tourney-ending defeat, Manteca FC improved its stock in its first action since late August, climbing up to the No. 45 national spot and 5 in Northern California.
Boca, headed by Sierra High varsity boys head coach Jose Montes, consists of several area standouts.
Sierra sophomore Nico Gonzalez scored the lone goal in Boca’s 1-0 opening victory over South Bay Force.
In Game 2, Weston Ranch junior David Molina scored twice in Manteca FC’s thrilling 4-3 win against the Placer Blues. Boca was staggered just seconds in the match following the opening kickoff, and a penalty kick a few minutes later had them down 2-0.
Manteca FC trailed 3-1 in the first half before running the table. David Reyes and Jeffrey Pereira each contributed a goal in the comeback.
The team’s best effort came against Albion SC White of San Diego, rated the second best team in the country heading into the tournament.
Molina had several good looks and couldn’t convert for Manteca FC, but it didn’t matter.
Based on the tiebreaker, Boca needed only to hold on for a scoreless draw in the battle between two 2-0 teams to advance to the semifinals.
“At first we went toe-to-toe with them,” Montes said, “but then we turned it into a keep-away game.”
Against PAC, Boca trailed 2-0 before Christian Angulo netted their only goal of the contest.
Boca continued its tear that started over the summer. In their previous three tournaments, they won the California Cup (Sacramento) in June, were the runners-up in the Santa Clara Sporting Invitational in early August and a semifinalist in the Nike Mustang Stampede (Danville).
Manteca Area Soccer League
Under-19 Mustangs
The MASL Mustangs went 4-0 to win a tournament that combined teams from the MASL and Sacramento Youth Soccer League.Under-19 Mustangs
Goalkeeper Monica Castillo posted three shutouts in four appearances in the box.
Lucia Cazares collected four goals to lead the Mustangs, while Kiana Lamont and Lexi Ziakas turned in three apiece.
Kayla Lamont, Erin Garcia and Allison Yang combined to dominate on defense.
The Mustangs went 11-3-1 overall on the season, outscoring opponents by a wide 44-13 margin. Season scoring leaders were: Ziakas (14), Katherine Quezada (6) and Alexis Clark (6).
