BEAUMONT — Port Neches-Groves barely reached the semifinals and Port Arthur Memorial barely missed that same plateau Friday afternoon at Beaumont Kelly’s Winter Classic girls soccer tournament.

  PN-G relied on a 20-yard game-winning shot in the final minute to edge Katy John Paul 3-2, while another 3-2 Hardin-Jefferson win proved costly in Port Arthur Memorial’s bid to reach this morning’s 10 a.m. semifinal round.

  Beaumont West Brook (1-1-1) meets PN-G (3-0) in one semifinal while Hardin-Jefferson (3-0) faces host Kelly in the other. The semifinal winners meet in the championship game today at 1:30 p.m. in the Chris Quinn Memorial Complex.

  The semifinalists were determined by a point system. Even though Memorial ended the day at 2-1, West Brook advanced to the semifinals with 22 points to Memorial’s 21 points.

  Sophomore forward Chloe Chiasson enabled PN-G to remain unbeaten with her 20-yard game-winner with approximately 45 seconds left in regulation.

  Chiasson and sophomore midfielder Natalie Hagar guided the Lady Indians to a 2-0 halftime advantage over the Katy squad. PN-G claimed a pair of much more one-sided victories prior to Friday afternoon’s game.

  The Lady Indians blanked Vidor 7-0 in Thursday’s opener and commanded a 4-0 halftime lead. Earlier on Friday, PN-G defeated Tomball Rosehill 8-0 after roaring to a 6-0 halftime lead.

  Memorial’s tournament wins were 5-1 over Ozen on Thursday and 7-0 over Bridge City in Friday’s finale with the H-J loss sandwiched in the middle.

  Hardin-Jefferson led in shots over Memorial, 15-14. The Lady Titans took a 2-0 halftime lead with the wind at their backs and with first-half goals from Evelyn Torres and Joanna Banda. Torres had a breakaway attempts that just missed the pole by inches with four minutes left in the game.

  “On one of their goals, the ball hit the goalie’s hand and rolled off,” Lady Titans coach Phil Mattingly said.

  Banda and Norma Avila had two goals apiece in the victory over Bridge City to end Memorial’s tournament appearance.

  The Lady Titans will host Beaumont Central on the PAISD auxiliary field Tuesday at 5 p.m.

 

Nederland boys 4, PA Memorial 1

  NEDERLAND — Two penalty kicks proved especially worthwhile for Nederland on opening night at Bulldog Stadium as the Bulldogs outlasted Port Arthur Memorial, 4-1, in the season opener for both teams.

  Senior forward Jared Willson converted two goals, including a first-half penalty kick, as the Bulldogs (1-0) led in shots on goal, 18-9.

  Sophomore midfielder Bay Callaway converted a first-half goal with an assisted from Jordan O’Neal. Jordan Wagner also knocked home a second-half penalty kick.

  Memorial (0-1) scored in the second half when senior forward Saul Carillo scored with an assist from Manuel Castaneda.

  Both coaches and area products, Rob Bledsoe of Nederland and Brian Morgan of Memorial, were complimentary of the other team.

  “It’s absolutely incredible the job that Brian Morgan has done at Memorial and the amount that he’s done with that program,” Bledsoe said afterwards. “I thought we played really well but I know the shape that Memorial’s program was in three years ago when he took it over and it’s remarkable how much they have turned around their program. We had to play pretty well and it was a very clean, well-played game.”

  “I think we played fairly well in the second half but I think they took us by surprise in the first half with their aggressiveness,” Morgan said. “Nederland has a strong team and we weren’t able to put enough pressure on them. We had about five players who weren’t able to play because of grades. But it was good for us to play a good program like Nederland because they are the caliber of the better teams in our district.”

  Memorial will entertain Beaumont Kelly on the PAISD auxiliary field Tuesday at 7 p.m. Nederland will travel next Thursday to the second annual Panther Challenge at Humble Kingwood Park. The Dogs’ opening tournament game will be Thursday against Brazoswood at 3 p.m.

 

Lady Bulldogs win twice at Marble Falls

  MARBLE FALLS — Nederland’s girls opened their 2009 soccer season with two victories, recording shutouts over both Lampasas and Austin Crockett on Friday.

  The Lady Bulldogs (2-0) of coach Julie Johnson claimed two shutout wins for sophomore goalkeeper Bianca Garza.

  Nederland will meet Canyon Lake this morning at 10:30 in the Marble Falls tournament. A win would advance Nederland girls to Saturday afternoon’s championship game at 4:30 p.m.

  Nederland dominated shots on goal in both Friday games. The Lady Dogs defeated Lampasas 2-0 with a 13-1 edge in shots on goal.

  Amanda LeDoux scored three minutes into the second half after an assist from Megan Melancon. Jacie Bell followed with an unassisted goal four minutes later.

  Nederland blanked Austin Crockett 5-0 and jumped to a 2-0 halftime lead. The Lady Dogs dominated shots on goal 22-0 on Friday night.

  LeDoux and Bell each scored twice in the Crockett game while Melancon added a lone goal. Rachel Binagia, Layken Richard and Melancon chipped in assists against the Austin school.

  The NHS coach praised the work of Lauren Washburn at sweeper, Austyn David at stopper, Morgan Morrison and Jenna Perry at the fullbacks.