Menlo Park-Atherton AYSO girls-under-19 team wins championship
Local soccer fans were thrilled but not surprised when Pastor Guzman’s 2012 girls-under-19 (GU19) team won the championship match held at Kelly Field in Menlo Park on November 11. Having led girls’ teams to championships in 2009 and 2011, Guzman knows a thing or two about producing strong and effective soccer teams.
Before he began working his soccer magic with girls’ teams, Guzman accumulated an impressive record of victories that included multiple championships with BU19 teams: his teams topped the local fall league four times and dominated the Pacific Coast Spring Soccer League another four times.
This year, so many girls signed up for GU19 soccer that two teams were formed, United and Green02. United, coached by Guzman with assistance from Rudy Medina, brought home the championship trophy. Green02, also coached by Guzman with the help of assistants Sandra Horwitz and Adrienne Wong, finished sixth in a competitive league that included teams from as far away as Salinas.
Team United had a challenging start to the season, suffering their first and only loss when they fell to the San Jose Destiny. As the weeks passed, Destiny became known as the team to beat. When United advanced to the championship game, they were considered the underdogs, a fact that motivated them to defeat Destiny by a score of 2-0.
Total record for the season: eight wins, one loss, 28 goals scored, over three per game – the highest of any team – only eight goals allowed. Players and their schools: (Menlo- Atherton) Katie Doherty, Rubi Guzman, Chloe Green, Rosemary Hernandez, Meghan Hom, Kimberly Medina, Capri Zelaya, Lexie Kemp-Dahlberg; (Sequoia) Lizbet Gomez, Elisa Solis; (Everest) Sofia Alcazar, Jocelyn Aledo; (Woodside) Kasey Inglis; (Castilleja) Becky Abramowitz; (King’s Academy) Hannah Lawry; (CSM) Shelby McDonald; (Foothill) Becca Kaplan.
