Umpqua Valley Christian cruises to first win of the season

The Umpqua Valley Christian boys soccer team defeated East Linn Christian Academy 4-1 Tuesday night at Fir Grove Field in their season opener. The non-league game saw the Monarchs (1-0) finish four out of their eight shots on goal. “Were trying a new system out and trying to figure out what works,” UVC coach Chris Guastaferro said. “We have a smaller team this year. We have 15 guys and had some people were missing today. We’re heavy on the attack right now while we get our defense figured out.” Spencer Adams and Koby Sewall both had two goals apiece. The first goal came in the 12th minute from Adams then in 20th minute Sewall scored to make it 2-0. In the 44th minute Sewall made it 3-0. Adams made it 4-1 in the 69th minute, as the Monarchs cruised to victory. Sam Guastaferro had three big saves for the Monarchs (1-0) while Nathan York also got in at goalkeeper. The Monarchs made it to the first round of the playoffs last season when they lost 1-0 to Santiam Christian. “Our offense was big for us tonight and we’re working on our defense,” Chris Guastaferro said. “We lost five seniors last year and they were our top players but our underclassmen have stepped up. We could be as good as we were last year baring injuries. I have full expectations to go to back to the playoffs this year.” UVC plays Glide next Thursday in its Special District 4 league opener at 4 p.m. at Fir Grove Field.