M’town boys soccer blanks Tech 2-0 – Lake County Record-Bee

UPPER LAKE — Middletown’s defense slammed the door on the Technology Titans during second-round boys play Friday evening at the fourth annual Tyler Duncan Memorial soccer tournament in Upper Lake.

Behind goals from Wyatt Moore in the first half and Nadav Dicovski in the second half, Middletown blanked Technology 2-0 to improve to 2-0 in the tournament standings. The Mustangs (2-0) play twice more on Saturday as the tournament wraps up — 9 a.m. against McKinleyville and 1:30 p.m. against Willits.

Dicovski and Moore also took turns assisting on each other’s goal.

“We spent almost the entire game on their side of the field,” Middletown interim head coach David Clark said. “They busted their butts the whole game for me and never asked to come out.”

Will Hoskins, a freshman, initiated Middletown’s scoring play in the second half, working the ball up the field to Moore, who then fed Dicovski for the goal, his fourth of the tournament.

Technology only had one real scoring opportunity the entire game, according to Clark.

In other boys games Friday:

McKinleyville 1, Upper Lake 0

Xavier Snow’s shot on goal with two minutes left to play missed just right of the frame, leaving the Upper Lake Cougars on the wrong end of a 1-0 decision to the McKinleyville Panthers during second-round action.

Snow had a one-on-one opportunity against the Panthers’ keeper late in the second half.

“He just pulled it a bit,” Upper Lake head coach Thomas Santana said.

The Cougars (0-2) allowed an early first-half goal that was the difference in the game, McKinleyville working one into the net against keeper Johnny Gozony, a first-year soccer player.

“He did great,” Santana said of Gozony. “He had five saves.”

Despite being shut out, the Cougars were able to generate some legitimate attacks and had 11 shots on goal, most of those by midfielders Sammy Avalos and Manny Villalobos.

“Sammy controlled the game and had five shots on goal,” Santana said. “Manny also had some strong shots.”

Santana had nothing but praise for the play of his defense.

“They played great, played strong,” he said. “We made just the one mistake.”

Upper Lake wraps up the season-opening, round-robin tournament Saturday with two games – against Willits at 10:30 a.m. and against Technology (Rohnert Park) at 3:30 p.m.