Boys, Girls who stood out at the UHS Invitational

Teams from the Bay Counties League, from the West Catholic Athletic League, and AAA teams from the San Francisco Section came together over the weekend of Dec. 17-18 for the fourth installment of the University High School Invitational. This unique event gives players a chance to play against others with who they went to middle school, or played club soccer with years ago. Kids growing up in a city such as San Francisco reach a point of divergence when they get to high school and some attend a private school in the city, some go to private schools in the South or North Bay regions and others attend a San Francisco public school. It was a coming together in the San Francisco soccer community, as well as a chance to play teams they would not otherwise have a chance to play. <strong>GIRLS</strong> [caption id="attachment_37029" align="alignright" width="300"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-37029" src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2021/12/Keely-Grove-300x200.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /> <strong>Keely Grove scored twice.</strong><em> Photo: Greg Davis</em>[/caption] The host University girls topped Cardinal Newman 5-2 on the first day and drew with a very good Archie Williams team 1-1 on Day 2 and were led by <strong>Keely Grove</strong> and <strong>Caroline Spencer</strong> in the first match. Grove scored twice and Caroline Spencer took the ball from end-to-end and scored a fantastic goal. In the second match, <strong>Grace Schneider</strong> scored the lone goal on a free kick from 20 yards away and buried it in the top corner. For AW, senior keeper <strong>Gabby Thawley</strong> stood out, making several fantastic stops to keep her team in the match and secure the draw. The Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep girls went 2-0 during the event, topping Mission-SF 4-1 on Day 1 and then beating Ukiah 2-0 on Day 2. In the first game, Irish junior forward <strong>Brianna Kyne</strong> had a hat trick and in the second game, junior forward <strong>Sophia Turnbull</strong> scored both goals. Turnbull also assisted one of the Kyne goals in the win over Mission. Marin Academy also went 2-0 during the event, topping inner-city school Lowell 3-0 and then beating St. Mary’s of Berkeley 1-0. Several girls stood out for the Wildcats who played technically sound, were intelligent, and showed the ability to change the game with creativity. <strong>Cat Zola</strong>, a junior, was a standout at center back, senior <strong>Ella Klingelhofer</strong> stood out at holding mid, <strong>Chloe Swindle</strong>, a junior, at attacking mid, senior <strong>Becca Sherry</strong> as a striker, and sophomore <strong>Ime Jenkyn</strong> out on the wing. <strong>BOYS</strong> The hosts had a win and a loss at the Invitational, dropping a 1-0 decision to a very good St. Ignatius team on Day 1 and beating Menlo 2-0 on Day 2. For the Red Devils, senior keeper <strong>Alex Nealy</strong> was outstanding as the only goal he allowed over two days was an opportunistic rebound that led to the lone SI goal. He kept a clean sheet against a Menlo team that put six goals past SHCP the previous night. Sophomore <strong>Charlie Mazzucco</strong> really stood out against Menlo, putting in a huge shift and scoring what was the winning goal, and assisting on the insurance goal. What was impressive about Mazzucco’s performance is that he is normally a right back, but he was shifted to attacking mid for a 15-minute stretch and both goals for UHS came during that time. Cardinal Newman dropped games to Marin Academy and St. Ignatius, for which there is no shame as those are two very good teams, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="7999" first="Julian" last="Cortina"]</strong>, a senior center and right back for the Cardinals, really stood out. Coach Ryan Corriveau commended Cortina’s vision, playmaking ability, and passing ability. Cortina is asked to be strong defensively and be attack-minded and help push the ball forward. <strong>Alessandro Velazquez</strong> stood out for Menlo as the Knights split their games at the UHS Invitational, topping SHCP 6-0 and falling to University 2-0. Velazquez, a sophomore captain who plays as an attacker, helped switch the control of play and then got the scoring started on Friday night. He helped put the game out of reach by providing two assists, the second after beating four defenders and finding Jonah Blaydes-Greenburg for a goal. Rancho Cotate picked up two wins, beating Lick-Wilmerding 3-2 and Mission 2-1 and in the first game, <strong>Sergio Bermudez</strong>, a senior, was the man of the match scoring a brace to help come back from a 2-0 deficit. Against Mission, senior <strong>Aaron Walker</strong> had a goal and an assist to earn man-of-the-match honors. The Marin Academy boys had a 4-0 win over Cardinal Newman and a 1-1 draw with SHCP, and it was <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="7562" first="Ethan" last="Carr"]</strong> who stood out for the weekend. The senior holding mid controlled the rhythm and tempo of the first game, getting on the ball constantly, changing the point of attack, and deciding whether to push forward. He could not be dispossessed. He put his stamp on the game with his personality as well as his technical ability.