Violets move on to semis

The Violets of the Caribbean from Laguna Beach advanced to the semifinals of the AYSO girls’ Under-10 Division postseason tournament by playing to a tie against both the first- and third-place teams in the division.

The Violets, considered the underdog in both matches, had finished regular-season play in fifth-place.

With victories in two other playoff matches, the Violets finished in second-place in Pool A and advance to the division’s semifinal round.

In their first match, the Violets and top-seed Green Gorillas fought to a scoreless tie. Earlier in the season, the Green Gorillas edged the Violets, 4-3.

“Our girls played their hearts out,” Violets Coach Todd Thornton said. “Each girl knew her role on the field and they executed it brilliantly. It was a total team effort.”

The Violets followed that match with a 1-1 tie against No. 3 seed Think Pink. The Violets came back from a 1-0 halftime deficit when forward Mackenzie Fischer netted a penalty kick in the second half. Keeper Anya Gourley and the backfield defensive line of Anika Larsen, Sophie Shields, Charlotte Duran and Caspian Brock, along with midfielders Summer Dvorak, Ashlyn Hancak, Lauren Hutcherson and Kira Thornto, kept Think Pink off the scoreboard in the second half.

Fischer and Coco Putnam also played strong offensive games.

In other youth sports action:Laguna Beach surfers Tyler Stanaland, Eli Viszolay and Taylor Pitz all surfed to fifth-place finishes in their respective divisions at the Rip Curl GromSearch USA Nationals.

Local youth shine in surf

The event, which drew competitors from California, Florida, North Carolina, Hawaii, New Jersey and Puerto Rico, was held Saturday at Salt Creek Beach.

Stanaland competed in the boys’ 16-U division, Viszolay the boys’ 14-U division and Pitz in the girls’ 16-U division.

Competitors in the boys’ 16-U and girls’ 16-U competed for the chance to earn an all-expense paid trip to Bells Beach, Australia for the upcoming International Ripcurl.