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Sonoma soccer boys blank Drake

Dragons play Piner in SCL openers, boys host Thursday, girls away Friday

Playing their first home match of the young season at the start of the Labor Day weekend, the Sonoma Valley High School varsity soccer boys looked sharp in their final nonleague match.

With senior goalkeeper Daniel Dwyer and his supporting defense turning in a shutdown performance, the Dragons scored a first-half goal, then tallied a second-half goal en route to defeating Drake 2-0 Friday afternoon at the high school field.

After Sonoma senior Fidel García rebounded a deflected shot-on-goal and drilled the ball into the net for the 1-0 halftime lead, junior teammate Bryan Ruiz added a second-half insurance goal off an assist by senior Connor Grieggs-Demmin and the Dragons evened their preseason record to 3-3 with the shutout win.

Comprising Sonoma’s varsity soccer boys’ team – directed by longtime head coach Pedro Merino and assistant coach Mike Linder – are seniors Dwyer, García, Grieggs-Demmin, Stephan Flynn-García, Griffin Hill, Martín Hurtado, Daniel Montes, Pedro Nápoles, Newang Sherpa, Tashi Sherpa and Manuel Young; juniors Ruiz, Andy Chávez, Alejandro Echeverría, Anthony Echeverría, Anthony García, Miguel Guillén and Zack Thompson; and sophomores Sam Bridges-Sonheim and Alexis Zamudio.

The Dragons host new Sonoma County League member Piner in their SCL opener at 4 p.m. this Thursday, Sept. 6, on the high school field.

Sonoma’s varsity soccer girls will kick off their SCL season at 4 p.m. this Friday, Sept. 7, when they travel to Santa Rosa to also face Piner.

The Lady Dragons’ home opener is Friday, Sept. 14, when they host SCL rival Healdsburg at 4 p.m. on the new Hanna Boys Center field.