Photos by Marty James

By MARTY JAMES

martyjames.sports@gmail.com

The Napa Valley College men's soccer team went into Tuesday's Bay Valley Conference match with a full roster, with everyone healthy for the first time all season.

"We're healthy. Everyone is back," Storm coach Rogelio Ochoa said before the match at NVC. "We're playing better soccer, where we're learning. Those are growing pains, but I think they're going to help us to follow through the season."

Returning for the Storm was Mateo Villanueva-Martinez, a sophomore midfielder and team captain. He has been out since injuring his shoulder early in Napa Valley's season opener in August, in a nonconference game against Folsom Lake College.

"The very first play, he got the ball, goes to the ground. It was literally two seconds to the season back in August," Ochoa recalled.

Villanueva-Martinez came off the bench on Tuesday and played at different times, scoring a goal and helping Napa Valley to a 4-0 win over Yuba College-Marysville.

"I gave him pockets of minutes, here and there, just to see how we felt," said Ochoa. "He's been to every away game, every home game. He is part of the team, like anyone else. He knew he couldn't play, and he was waiting to get back in. He finally got cleared, and he went in there and had an impactful game, not only in the scoreline, but within the game.

"He knows how to find the pockets, knows how to find the spaces, and just distributes the ball really well. So, we're really glad to have everyone."

Villanueva-Martinez scored the Storm's final goal of the game from close range. The assist went to Tyler Collins, a freshman defender.

The win was the second in a row for Napa Valley (2-9-2 overall, 2-2-1 Bay Valley).

Ochoa said Napa Valley and Merritt College-Oakland are working on rescheduling a match from last week that was postponed due to the Keller Fire, a brush fire, in the Oakland Hills on Oct. 18.

"We have to find a date that works for both (schools). Hopefully, we can find one soon," said Ochoa. "Hopefully, we can play it soon, in the next couple of weeks."

Napa Valley is playing some of its best soccer of the season. The Storm has 11 goals in its last five conference games.

"I think we've been in every single match. I know the results don't show that," said Ochoa. "It's just really making sure that we manage the matches, manage the score."

Napa Valley was on point with its attack, using a very aggressive offense to get off shots early in the game against Yuba.

Napa Valley took a 2-0 lead into halftime.

"We kept fighting and we kept composed, and that's what we wanted. We wanted to make sure we took a good, well-rounded result, where we don't concede, making sure we get that third goal, things that we haven't done before. We thought we did a good job with that," said Ochoa.

It was the first win by shutout for Napa Valley, which has seven matches to go in the regular season.

"Today, we had a lot of possession, and I think they were very composed in possession," said Ochoa. "The message we had was to keep our centers high and make sure that we stay focused. I think the back line did a good job."

Napa Valley got solid play from its two goal keepers, Angel Olvera-Vega and Carl Osifo-Doe.

"I thought they did the right things and played well with their feet, which is always good to see," said Ochoa.

Yair Rafael-Gaspar, a sophomore forward, scored the Storm's first goal of the game. The assist went to Jesus Medina, a freshman midfielder.

The second goal was scored by Gedeon Ilunga, a sophomore forward. Getting the assist was Gabriel Cendejas, a sophomore defender.

The third goal came from Medina. The assist was credited to Collins.

Napa Valley continues its season at home on Friday, Oct. 25 against Mendocino College-Ukiah at 4 p.m.

"We have got to make sure everyone is ready for the next match. It's going to be very tough," said Ochoa.

* 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.