January 31, 2006 > FC Fremont Lightning 2005 State Cup results

by Karin Diamond

FC Fremont Lightning played in a tough preliminary round on the California North State Cup tournament on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 21 and 22. In a random draw that pitted the Lightning against the number 4 seed Santa Clara Sporting 92 Metro, El Dorado Eclipse 93, and Mount Diablo Shock, the Lightning finished second in their flight, winning two of three games.

Lightning shut out the El Dorado Eclipse 93 with a final score of 5-0. Paige Diamond scored 3 goals for a "hat trick," along with Natalie Sanchez scoring 1 goal and Aubrey Lalumandiere scoring 1 goal on a penalty shot. Assisted by Andrea Bonilla, Elisa Chen and Janell Koide, Lightning offense easily dominated the game. Tough defense from Lauren Floro, Lica Monobe, Shannon Genberg and Debra Blalock helped to control the game. Solid hands and outstanding goal work from Megan Kufeld stopped all shots on goal.

With a score of 1-0, Lightning shut out Mt. Diablo Shock. In a cat and mouse game that was controlled by the Lightning, Natalie Sanchez found the net late in the second half with an assist from Aubrey Lalumandiere to give Fremont the win. However, the Lightning were unable to advance to the next round when they lost to Santa Clara Sporting 92 Metro by 6-1. In a tough game against this semi-finalist from last season, Fremont scored late in the second half when Paige Diamond hit her shot on a direct free kick. They will finish their season when they play in the finals of the NorCal Cup in Clovis in February.