By MARTY JAMES

martyjames.sports@gmail.com

The Napa Valley College men's soccer team got goals from Mario "Gio" Avina, Michael Soto and Jose Ramirez in a 3-1 Bay Valley Conference win over host Yuba College in Marysville on Friday, Nov. 7.

Napa Valley (5-7-4 overall, 4-3-1 Bay Valley Conference) is now in second place in the league standings.

The Storm has scored 22 goals in 16 games.

Avina's goal came in the first minute of the game, giving the Storm a 1-0 lead. Avina is a sophomore forward. The assist went to Jovani Jimenez, a freshman forward.

Soto's unassisted goal in the 25th minute of the first half increased the Storm's lead to 2-0. Soto is a sophomore midfielder/defender.

Napa Valley's third goal of the first half, coming from Ramirez in the 35th minute, gave the Storm a 3-0 lead. It was an unassisted goal from Ramirez, a freshman forward. Cadel Newton-Knotch played very well at goalkeeper for Napa Valley, making six saves in 90 minutes.

Yuba's only goal of the game was in the 75th minute of the second half.

There are two matches to go in the regular season for the Storm.

The Storm is at home on Monday, Nov. 10 for a Bay Valley Conference match against Merritt College-Oakland at 3 p.m.

* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.