Written and reported by Serena G, Taz D, and Lucy H.

On Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024,The Mendocino Cardinals and Fort Bragg Timberwolves squared off against  each other at the Coast Cup, which is one the most eventful soccer games of the year on the coast, and happened at the one and only Fort Bragg stadium. 

Fort Bragg won the Coast Cup last year, but this year Mendocino took charge and defeated Fort Bragg 1- 0, with one goal by Beau Breton. Their head coach, Emily Griffen, was impressed with how the seniors played. Here are some words from her.  “Theo Hahn and 

Clayton Hunter was incredible at the center back positions, making game-saving tackles all game long, and our goalkeeper Abel Garvin came up huge when we needed him with some key saves. Markus Oliveira was the workhorse who did everything we needed from him at center midfield, and striker Beau Breton put the ball in the back of the net for the game winning goal. Pablo Salmon, our central defensive midfielder, held down the middle of the field and challenged for balls in the air all night bravely, and Phoenix Aum was incredibly solid at right back and didn’t make any mistakes” 

Winning the 2024 Coast Cup was a big deal for the seniors, as they won the coast cup three years ago, when they were sophomores; it was a special thing to win the Coast Cup two years in your time at the high school.