Napa Valley College women's soccer opens conference tournament with 4-2 win
Photo: The Napa Valley College women's soccer team
Courtesy photo
By MARTY JAMES
The host Napa Valley College women's soccer team opened the Bay Valley Conference's round-robin tournament with a 4-2 win over Solano Community College-Fairfield on Friday, Nov. 1.
Napa Valley (7-2 overall, 6-2 Bay Valley) went ahead in the match, scoring two early goals in the first half.
The Storm scored two goals in the second half.
Thais Thompson-Rangel, a freshman midfielder, scored two goals to lead the Storm.
Annie Sanchez, a sophomore forward, and Amy Alfaro-Vega, a sophomore forward, each scored a goal.
The win was the second in a row for Napa Valley, which has scored 40 goals in nine games and has a 4-1 record at home.
Phoebe Arbabaraghi, a freshman forward, had three assists. Sanchez also had an assist.
"We started really well," said Storm coach Mark Corbett.
Napa Valley was ahead 2-0 at seven minutes into the match.
"Two really well-worked team goals," said Corbett.
Sanchez scored the Storm's first goal, at the four-minute mark. The assist went to Arbabaraghi.
Thompson-Rangel scored at the seven-minute mark, off an assist from Arbabaraghi, to give NVC a 2-0 lead.
Solano tied it, 2-2, getting both goals from Zoe Zanassi at the 20- and 35-minute marks of the first half. Both assists went to Katelyn Walbolt.
Napa Valley and Solano were tied, 2-2 at halftime.
"The message at halftime was get back to how we started the game. Play under control. Move the ball well. Make smart decisions in the final third," said Corbett. "And in the second half, we were outstanding. Two nice goals – one from Thais and then Amy getting her goal.
"Our back line was outstanding in the second half – Natalie (Montoya) and Ciana (Susa), shifting, closing the ball down. Isabel (Frias) made a great save."
Also playing well were Leila Newberry, Ashlee Guzman-Aguirre, Noelia Guzman and Alexis Orozco.
Thompson-Rangel put Napa Valley in front, 3-2, scoring a goal at the 60th-minute mark. The assist went to Sanchez.
Alfaro-Vega scored the Storm's fourth and final goal at the 73rd-minute mark, off an assist from Arbabaraghi.
The top four teams in the Bay Valley Conference play a round-robin tournament. The Storm finished in third place in the conference season.
The Storm continues its season with a match at Los Medanos College-Pittsburg on Friday, Nov. 8 at 2 p.m.
The Storm also plays at Merritt College-Oakland on Nov. 15.
* 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.