File photo – Arcata goalie Skaidra Pulley

The Arcata Tigers swept a pair of games at St. Bernard’s on Wednesday, with the girls winning 5-1 and the boys winning 7-0.

Del Norte also swept a pair of games at South Fork, with the boys scoring two late goals to win 2-0 and the girls dominating a sluggish and injury-plagued South Fork team 5-0.

At McKinleyville, the Fortuna girls overcame an early two-goal deficit to pull out a 5-2 win to keep pace with the league leading Eureka Loggers, who had a midweek bye.

Also at McKinleyville, Fortuna’s Sergio Marquez scored a late equalizer in a 1-1 tie with the Panthers in boys action.

For more on the Fortuna and McKinleyville girls, see Fortuna girls overcome slow start at McKinleyville …

For more on the Fortuna and McKinleyville boys, see Huskies strike late to tie the Panthers 

BOYS

Arcata 7, St. Bernard’s 0

The Tigers ran out to a comfortable win at St. Bernard’s to keep the pressure on league leaders Fortuna.

With the win, Arcata improves to 5-1, with the Tigers’ only loss coming against the Huskies.

“Arcata’s well-coached,” St. Bernard’s head coach Brian Dunlap said. “And they’re playing really good soccer this year.”

Injuries haven’t helped matters for a small SB roster, but goalie Ben Huynh continued to set the tone at the back with another outstanding display.

The Vietnamese exchange student made a remarkable 26 saves in the game and posted a shutout for much of the second half.

In front of Huynh, who has been sensational for the Crusaders in all three of their games so far, Justin Keffer and Jon Andre each also played well in defense.

No scoring details were available for Arcata.

Del Norte 2, South Fork 0

A late letdown cost the Cubs a chance at a win over a Big 5 school, with the visiting Warriors scoring two late goals to sneak the victory against the run of play.

Indiscipline, however, proved costly for the home team, which gave up a penalty kick 20 minutes from time that resulted in the winning goal.

The Warriors added a second goal two minutes from time.

“We had a mental breakdown, and that changed the whole game,” South Fork head coach Kelly Paine said. “We were ahead on shots on goal, we just couldn’t get it in.”

The Cubs continued to impress defensively, with Cameron Messenger, Sterling York, Jayden Paine, Kobe Gellman and goalie Logan Hobbs all playing well.

No scoring details were available for Del Norte.

GIRLS

Arcata 5, St. Bernard’s 1

Thea Trout led a balanced Arcata performance, with five different players netting in a 5-1 win.

Trout scored a goal and set up two others, as the visiting Arcata girls scored three unanswered second-half goals to break open a tight game.

“Our first half was rough,” Arcata head coach Patrick Stranahan said. “We got away from our passing, away from our positioning. 

“The second half was great. We got back to our shape and looked much better.”

The Tigers got another strong performance from their back line, with Jocelyn Bliven particularly impressive.

“She threw herself all over the field. She’s just an overall good player,” Stranahan said of the senior who is playing high school soccer for the first time this year. “I’m really happy she came out to play soccer in her senior year.”

In addition to Trout, Zakiya Elloway, Tildy Macdonald, Annie Macdonald and Bailey Cherms each also scored.

Arcata goalie Skaidra Pulley had an impressive 10 saves on 11 shots.

Del Norte 5, South Fork 0

An injury-depleted Cubs team came out flat in a shutout loss to visiting Del Norte.

South Fork goalie Lyndsee Brewer made eight saves in the loss, as the Warriors posted their first league win of the season.

No scoring details were available for Del Norte.

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Ray Hamill writes at humboldtsports.com, where you can read lots more about sports in Humboldt County.