October 10, 2006 > Palmeiras win Golden Gate Invitational

by Karin Diamond

The Union City Palmeiras girls U14 Division 1 soccer team won the Golden Gate Invitational tournament held in San Francisco on September 23 and 24.  The team started strong on Saturday with a 3-0 win over Ajax United Tsunami.  The first goal came on a corner kick from Paige Diamond that connected with Cris Garingan on a header to Mariah King for the goal.  Palmeiras midfield controlled the game with the next goal scored by Joana Lopez with an assist from Johanna Blackwell.  The final goal came late in the game from Khyra Conerly.

Palmeiras were back on the field just hours later when they played the Los Gatos Metro. The midfield including Natasha Springer, Sol Luna, Joana Lopez, Paige Diamond, Mariah King, Emily Clark and Johanna Blackwell, rarely allowed the ball into the Palmeiras backfield.  Tight defense led by Cris Garingan, Valeria Wuest, Ashley Flores, and Sabrina Alvaro shut down the Metro offense.  Khyra Conerly scored the only goal of the game to give Palmeiras the 1-0 win over Metro.

On Sunday the girls were back on the pitch when they played San Juan Spirits 93 White. Again in control, the Palmeiras won 2-0 with Sara Brathwaite scoring and Emily Clark scoring on an assist from Nina Arrescurrenaga.

The championship game found Palmeiras playing Placer United Prestige 93 Gold.  In a back and forth game, neither team was able to score during regulation play.  They moved into the "Golden Goal" overtime, but neither team scored.  The game was decided on penalty kicks, Plameira's goalkeeper Megan Kufeld's time to shine.  With a diving block, Kufeld was able to deflect a Placer PK.  Her teammates Ashley Flores and Valeria Wuest hit their shots to give Palmeiras the championship victory.