By MARTY JAMES
martyjames.sports@gmail.com
The Napa Valley College men's soccer team opened the Bay Valley Conference season with a match against host Mendocino College in Ukiah on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
The Storm was held to one goal and lost, 4-1 to Mendocino.
The goal was the second of the season that Napa Valley (0-8-1 overall) has scored in nine games.
It was the fourth loss in a row for Napa Valley.
Mendocino scored four goals in the first half and was ahead, 4-0 at halftime.
Napa Valley got its goal, at the 52-minute mark of the second half, from Yair Rafael-Gaspar, a sophomore forward. The assist was credited to Gabriel Cendejas, sophomore defender.
Mendocino's scoring came from:
Ethan Gyenis, on an assist from Gabriel Tepale.
Anthony Garcia, unassisted.
Daniel Sandoval, on an assist from Gyenis.
Hector Velasquez, on an assist from Jose Angel Garcia. Napa Valley goalkeeper Carl Osifo-Doe was credited with three saves in 90 minutes.
The Storm is at home for its next game as it faces College of Marin-Kentfield on Friday, Oct. 4 in a Bay Valley Conference match at 4 p.m.
Northern California teams in CCCSIA poll
Nine Northern California teams are listed in the California Community College Sports Information Association poll, as announced on Sept. 30 by the California Community College Athletic Association, at www.cccaasports.org.
Evergreen Valley-San Jose is No. 4, Hartnell-Salinas is No. 6, Canada-Redwood City is No. 9, and City College of San Francisco is No. 10.
Also, in the poll:
No. 12 Cosumnes River-Sacramento, No. 13 Las Positas-Livermore, No. 14 San Joaquin Delta-Stockton, No. 15 Skyline-San Bruno, No. 19 Santa Rosa.
Those listed as others include:
De Anza-Cupertino, West Valley-Saratoga, Folsom Lake, Foothill-Los Altos Hills, Chabot-Hayward, Butte-Oroville.
*Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.