LJ BB: "Go your hardest"

Vikings' Morgan Albers (32) drives near

the baseline in 64-54 win over Patrick

Henry in the Grossmont Invitational.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

When you walk up and shake hands with Morgan Albers, you realize how big his hands are. More to grab those rebounds with. He stands 6'3".

The quiet, unassuming young man is working his program: A junior who often starts for La Jolla High, he would like to play basketball in college. He has gained "a lot of weight" since his sophomore year, building his upper body strength. He has been lifting weights, which has really made a difference. "I'm better at boxing out (for rebounds), and stuff," Albers observes.

He had a recent encounter with 6'10" Brandon McCoy of Morse, as did his fellow Vikings, in the Grossmont Invitational. "He used his elbow and I got hit in the chin," relates Albers. "He didn't even get called for a foul." It still hurts five days later. "I'm going to go to the chiropractor Monday (Dec. 29) if it still hurts," the forward says. "My jaw is sore. It's a tightness. It's weird."

Such are the verities of life under the boards in varsity basketball. Morgan had to sit out basketball much of the summer a year ago, after breaking his pinkie in practice, requiring surgery. That was frustrating, as he was vying for significant minutes of playing time in Coach Paul Baranowski's program.

Morgan's older brother has played a significant role in his younger brother's development. Three years older than Morgan, Garret used to play basketball and the two would compete. "He's bigger and stronger. Playing him helped me out playing tougher," says Albers. It has aided him in facing opponents like McCoy.

Garret is part of a University City-La Jolla dynamic in Morgan's life. The Albers family lived in Clairemont when the older brother attended UC High, one of the Vikings' rivals. Morgan was on track to attend UC as well, when he attended Standley Middle School. The second week of his seventh grade, he transferred to Muirlands Middle School, leading to his attending La Jolla High. So he knows some of the players on the UC basketball team, including Justin Holder, a starter a year ahead of Morgan.

A tight-knit family, the Albers clan just returned from spending Christmas in Northridge at the home of Morgan's maternal grandparents. They played miniature golf one day during the vacation. At other times, Morgan had bonding opportunities with his grandfather watching basketball on television together.

The family moved from Clairemont to La Jolla, where Morgan's father grew up, after his paternal grandfather passed away and his dad's childhood home was remodeled before they moved in. Morgan's father has set up a nice basketball court in the backyard, where the 17-year-old can shoot and get a sweat going, with dad rebounding, then shower to get more alert, his preferred routine to prepare for games.

Eddie Parker, Alex Pitrofsky, and Albers, all juniors, eat lunch together at school and "hang out". They've all contributed to the team already in the first month of the basketball season. Parker, a newcomer to the varsity, has gained significant minutes during preleague and tournament games recently. He has some smooth moves to the basket, and has good basketball sense.

Pitrofsky, 6'6", looks to contribute more inside under the boards when Western League play starts in January. Albers plays wing and sets up under the basket at various times. All three have been starters at one time or another as Baranowski goes with different lineups.

As far as academics, Morgan is taking AP Environmental Science, which he says is a difficult course. He might take marine science next year, since things about the ocean interest him.

A philosophy he tries to put into action is "Go your hardest, work your hardest all the time." At practice, he tries to run hard as part of that effort.

In the food department, "Thanksgiving food" is tasty, and steak and mashed potatoes are a favorite meal. Cookies and cream gets the nod in the ice cream freezer, oreo also a front runner. "Sometimes my mom gets (ice cream) drumsticks," he reveals.

Albers, gaining "street cred" for sustaining injuries, also broke his right middle finger when he was younger. "I shoot with my left hand a lot. I don't know if you noticed," he says. "So I shot with my left hand a lot more," and he has continued that as part of his game, as a result.


Copyright 2014 Ed Piper

Water polo: "Walshism"

I have a confession to make, here two days after Christmas

I am connected to "Walshism".

Walshism is embodied, in this case, in the person of Jack Walsh, a water polo player for Coronado.

The reason I'm "confessing" this (tongue-in-cheek) is because he played a major role in beating La Jolla's water polo team in the fall. And I'm related to him.

I'm sorry, Vikingland fans.

Walsh the water polo player is the nephew of my son-in-law Brendan.

I remember last fall when Brendan came home and informed me, as I was spending time with the grandkids at his house, that he had attended the Coronado-La Jolla match, and that the Islanders had powdered my boys.

It's all in the family.

The reason I'm part of the Viking family is that my granddaughter, Alexis, graduated from LJHS, Class of 2008, and she was a varsity cheerleader for four years. That's how I got started taking photos of La Jolla High sports (and cheer).

Now, the other wing of the family has engendered a water polo star who plays for one of the Vikings' enemies. Ouch. It's a mini-version of the North vs. the South, the Hatfields vs. the McCoys.

Actually, I thought I'd better write about it now, because it may be the last chance I have to do so. Jack was just named UT Academic Captain for water polo.

He was also named an Academic All-American in water polo by Water Polo magazine, according to the source.

His photo in the announcement had him wearing black horned-rim glasses--just like the ones his uncle wore in photos taken during his schooldays.

Anyway, as I give best wishes to any Viking opponent, congratulations, Jack, and well wishes, but not too much--at least if you ever face La Jolla High again. But I don't think he will, at least in water polo, because he is a graduating senior. (I don't know if he plays any other sports.)

At the family brunch on Christmas Day, Brittany Black, Jack's cousin, was present as part of the host family, gracious enough to invite the in-law grandparents over. Brittany played for La Jolla coach Kristin Jones in soccer in her junior year, which was 2012-13. This is the first time I have met her. She now attends Cal.

Brittany wore uniform number 6, and played midfielder.


Copyright 2014 Ed Piper

LJ BB: Thomas Jefferson and Reed Farley

Vikings guard Reed Farley

slams against Del Norte

in 59-48 win Dec. 22.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

If you strike up a conversation with Reed Farley, you might end up talking about Thomas Jefferson and the American Revolution.

"I wrote a history project this year on Jefferson," says the 6'4" point guard of the La Jolla High basketball team. "What impresses me is that he took the ideals of so many people and incorporated them into a document" that so eloquently speaks of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in the Declaration of Independence.

"I'm a big history fan," he allows, propped comfortably at the top of the stands, watching a preliminary game in the Grossmont Invitational during the winter vacation. "What interests me in the Revolution is that 13 small colonies in a giant empire could unite."

That is a theme for the sophomore standout, who sports a size-12 or larger shoe size to provide the base for a still-growing frame. He measured an inch or more less in height last season, during his freshman year at the La Jolla school.

Coming together for a shared ideal, in the best interests of the team. This appeals to Farley. He will draw the parallel to basketball. "You see that in sports: people coming together. It can be the best for the people. Uniting for a common goal," he says.

With his repeated mention of giving up individual rights for the welfare of the whole, one gains a different impression of the sandy-haired La Jollan than what one might have from merely watching him play basketball during his initial year in high school.

As a green freshman, he spent a lot of extra-curricular time talking with referees. And as he repeatedly fouled out in games as the Western League schedule progressed last winter, he regressed in his manner of dealing with adversity--the jersey pulled over his head as he left the game and moved toward the bench, drawing attention to himself and away from the team ethic Coach Paul Baranowski so highly espouses. In short, he was a hothead.

Reed still admits to being "almost like a caged animal" in his intensity on the basketball court. "It's like a role change in basketball" from the rest of his life, he maintains. He brought self-assurance, even a swagger, with him when he first stepped on the high school parquet. This has come with plenty of minutes in roundball prior to coming to LJHS, and considerable athletic skills that include a near-30-inch vertical leap that enables him to slam dunk against an opponent on a not-infrequent basis.

The point guard sets up the

offense in first quarter versus

the Nighthawks.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

 



Earlier in the Grossmont tournament, Farley took an alley oop pass from a teammate to slam the ball down while swooping in from the right side of the hoop. He was well above the rim when he caught up to the ball. It didn't matter that a Patrick Henry defender contested it. The feat drew oohs-and-aahs from the assembled crowd from various schools that lasted for several minutes. This, from a point guard who normally sets up the offense at the top of the key.

Spectacular individual exploits can draw attention away from the corporate good. But Farley's teammate, senior Zach Duffy, says Reed's dunks "fire the team up" and ignite his teammates. And Duffy says Farley has gotten a handle on "a lot" of the emoting that spilled over during games in his freshman year.

Through the first month of the 2014-15 season, the growth has been evident. The sophomore doesn't spend much time at all conversing with referees. He has toned down his former emotionality. The main drama observed by one reporter was his grimacing at real pain from physical contact in a tournament triumph over Del Norte Dec. 22, resulting in his asking Baranowski to remove him with 25 seconds left and the win secure.

"I could score a lot, but I want to do what the team needs," Farley says. "I'm willing to be a team player and do what it takes, if that means a victory."

Reed credits his coach, Baranowski, with melding disparate parts into this year's unit, though the team's consistency is still a work in progress in the early going. "We have so many people with so many talents, shooting, defense, passing. Coach does a good job of putting us all together, putting the best five players on the court."

Another theme: being a student throughout all areas of his life, whether it's the seriousness of academics in the classroom with a 4.3 GPA, or observing and analyzing the demands of his leadership position at point guard.

He also wants to be consistent across the roles in his life. "I think I want to be the same person when I'm a point guard, when I'm a brother, a son, a teammate," he asserts. "When I'm all those different things, the way I act, it correlates to all the other things."

"I'm a typical high school guy. I hang out with my friends. We watch sports and throw a football. We go to the beach. I spend time with my family. What could be more important than being with family?"

Michael Quin was a cousin of the Farley children--Reed has two older siblings, Ryan and Clare, who starred in volleyball at La Jolla and play in college, respectively, at Williams and MIT--who Farley admired greatly. "He was from the East Coast, but he was based as a Marine at Camp Pendleton," he says. "He died in a training accident in Arizona about three years ago. He was fun to be around. He was super energetic. He's someone I use and my family uses as a motivating factor.

"He was a helicopter pilot. He knew that the job was dangerous," Reed relates. "He was a dedicated person. He came down and we went to Padres games together. He was like an older brother and a mentor to me. He is the kind of person I aspire to be."

Not all is seriousness and intensity with the young man, who still has two more full years in high school. The 16-year-old admits to inhaling cartons of chocolate ice cream after practice while watching SportsCenter. "Ask anyone in my family," he says with a grin.


Copyright 2014 Ed Piper

LJ Cheer: Advisor Mia Kelley

Mia Kelley, new LJHS Cheer Advisor

(photo used by permission from Facebook page)

 

 

Mia Kelley, newly hired LJHS Cheer Advisor, is already working with squad members and looks forward to the team performing at league basketball games after the turn of the new year.

 

"We'll definitely be stunting," said the 23-year-old resident of San Diego, in reference to the fact that in the absence of an advisor since week six of the football season, the cheerleaders were not allowed to form the "human pyramids" after touchdowns and do the flips on the track that you would traditionally see during games. Kelley made her comments in an interview by phone.

"I want them to have fun and be a real team," she said as far as her coaching philosophy. During basketball season, the team will focus on getting the spirit up at games. "Next year, we hope to be competing" in cheer events.

 

Kelley, from Breckenridge, Colorado, was a captain on Summit High School's cheer squad during her junior and senior years. "I danced competitively all through high school. I started dancing when I was four," she said. "I ski and snowboard."

 

Taking over a squad that went without an advisor during the second half of the fall football season, she said she is "just trying to go with the flow," not making any major changes, getting to know the squad members, and working with them in afternoon practice sessions after school.

 

Kelley manages a salon in Pacific Beach, which she says is called a "beauty bar".

 

Patty Belardes, a cheer mom, was pretty excited about the hiring of the new advisor and said in the fall, before Kelley was announced, that she will be an outstanding addition to the staff and committed to providing continuity in the cheer program beyond the 2014-15 school year.

 

 

Copyright 2014 Ed Piper

LJ b soccer 1, Hoover 5

La Jolla's boys soccer team played with noticeable spirit and verve in the first half, riding an Andrew Estrella goal in the 22nd minute for an early 1-0 lead at Edwards Stadium Dec. 19.

But then Hoover pocketed two quick goals in the two minutes before halftime, one a kick from the 50-yard line on the football field that sailed high and over Viking goalie Alexie Sebald's head. The Cardinals sailed to a 5-1 final score in the preleague contest on the last school day before the two-week winter vacation.

James Penner, recently returning to La Jolla's side following the conclusion of club team duties, looked active and sharp. "We just need to improve our defense and finishing," said Penner. He did note, despite the loss, "But the way the team is looking when everyone is playing together, the season looks promising."

Head coach Marco Gonzales has enlisted the help of new assistant coach Victor Zendejas, who was vocal and encouraging on the sidelines during the match.

La Jolla now enjoys a respite from games for two weeks during the Christmas break.


Copyright 2014 Ed Piper

LJ Cheer: New advisor

According to parent Patty Belardes, who has helped serve as volunteer parent advisor during the interim, a new La Jolla Cheer advisor has been hired and will begin her duties with the league basketball season in January 2015.

Her name is Mia Kelley, and she apparently is from Colorado, according to her page on Facebook.

The previous advisor had to resign midway through the fall football season due to family and personal responsibilities.

Meanwhile, the Vikings are led by three student captains who have helped fill the leadership void. Squad members who do gymnastics had to hold off from performing stunts, due to safety and liability with no staff advisor in place. It would be assumed that cheerleaders would be able to resume their flips and other stunts with the new advisor coming on board.


Copyright 2014 Ed Piper

LJ g soccer: Raffetto

Right defender Lillian Raffetto advances the ball

against Oceanside. (Photo by Ed Piper)

La Jolla High soccer coach Kristin Jones spoke of senior Lillian Raffetto's value to her team. "Lillian is playing right defender. She has played different positions her four years on varsity," said Jones, interviewed before the Dec. 16 game at San Dieguito.

Besides Lillian's versatility in playing wherever "Jonesy" has needed to put her, Raffetto is providing leadership in anchoring down the defense, where she is one of the last cogs in front of goalkeeper Helen Lee.

Jones reviewed the now-defender's positions through her four years at La Jolla. In the ninth grade, "Lil" played forward and defense. In the last two seasons, she has played center midfielder. "Everything went through her," commented her coach, on the latter position.

Raffetto is one of three team captains named by Jones. Interestingly, she is the only senior. The other captains are sophomore midfielder Olivia Riley and junior forward Phoebe Riley. It is somewhat rare in high school sports to have younger captains. But soccer is a bit of a different animal from the traditional sports of football, basketball, and baseball, due to the prominence of non-school club teams, where younger talent has the opportunity to develop earlier. Some of the girls started playing soccer at age 6.


Copyright 2014 Ed Piper

LJ g soccer 1, San Dieguito 0

Viking forward Summer Ruane (5) goes one way and

her Mustang defender the other after a header in

first half action in Encinitas Dec. 16.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

The heavy rains let up and forward Phoebe Riley sneaked in a goal in the 20th minute of the game, as La Jolla High's girls soccer team took a 1-0 win at San Dieguito Tues., Dec. 16.

Viking coach Kristin Jones had talked before the game about her leaders who she has named team captains, including Riley. La Jolla previously played two Open Division opponents, La Costa Canyon and Carlsbad, and took away tough losses in a tough week.

But this was a night, despite the cold and the rains--which took a break after steady precipitation earlier in the afternoon--to face a Division II opponent on more equal turf.

The defense, led by senior Lillian Raffetto, looked strong again, as it had in the contests against the Open Division powers. The lone goal by Riley held up as the defenders limited San Dieguito's threats to score.

On offense, sophomore Emma McCall-Delgado looked recovered after a jarring incident in a Dec. 11 home game against Oceanside in which an opponent came up under the tall McCall-Delgado and slammed into her jaw. LJHS trainer Ben Howe treated her on the sidelines and recommended she get checked by a doctor just to be safe. Whether she did that isn't known. But Emma smiled when asked about the jaw and said she was fine.

Prior to the game, "Jonesy" talked about another of her captains, midfielder Olivia Riley, only a sophomore, and her influence already. "Olivia has really stepped up in her leadership," said Jones, bundled in her heavy black La Jolla High jacket and sweatpants in the cold at the Encinitas school. "She talks it up. She stayed positive last week with the rough week."


Copyright 2014 Ed Piper

LJ BB 67, Bishop's 59 - Game On Sports Championship

La Jolla overcame an early deficit and defeated crosstown rival Bishop's in a cliffhanger, 67-59, in the championship game of the Game On Sports Challenge at Madison High School Mon., Dec. 15.

The game was closer than the score indicates. Small contingents of fans and staff from both schools were present in the otherwise-empty gym in Clairemont, but they were vocal. Any match-up of the two schools brings out a special cousin-vs.-cousin intensity, since many of the members of each school community know others from the other school.

The Vikings led by a narrow margin, 35-31, at halftime after trailing several times in the first half. With 1:18 left in the game, La Jolla went up 62-56 on a basket by Morgan Albers, breaking Bishop's full-court press. Albers was fouled, and then made the free throw to complete the three-point play. The Vikes led by seven.

The Knights came back within four, 63-59, on a three. But La Jolla was able to hold on to take the tournament title.


Copyright 2014 Ed Piper

LJ g soccer 0, Oceanside 1

La Jolla marked and fought and passed and defended, but lost 1-0 to Oceanside in girls soccer Thursday, Dec. 11, on its home turf.

The Pirates scored the lone goal of the game in the 27th minute of the first half. It was all they needed.

Viking coach Kristin "Jonesy" Jones was noticeably vocal during the game in her urgings and her remonstrations of her players.

Early in the second half, LJHS sophomore forward Emma McCall-Delgado was involved in a collision in which a Oceanside player's head came up and hit her under the jaw. McCall-Delgado was shaken up and didn't return to the game. But she appeared to be okay after trainer Ben Howe treated her.

La Jolla traveled to Carlsbad for an away non-league game the following day, Friday, Dec. 12, in rainy conditions.


Copyright 2014 Ed Piper

LJ g BB 38, Montgomery 50

The La Jolla girls basketball team, with only six players suited up, fought visiting Montgomery pretty evenly until senior guard Jenna Harmeyer had to sit out after committing her third foul with five minutes left in the second quarter, and dropped a 50-38 decision Thursday, Dec. 11.

New varsity coach Johnnie Horne started returning juniors Satori Roberson and Paulina Cardenas, and newcomers freshman Rebecca Saul, a freshman, and Melisa Conroy, a senior, alongside Harmeyer, who handled much of the ballhandling against the Aztecs' full-court press.

Conroy was somewhat humorous when she replied to a question about having only one "s" in the spelling of her first name: "I'm from Bulgaria. I'm not American," putting a lot of emphasis on the word "American". She seemed to bring a bit of spunk to her role in the game.


Copyright 2014 Ed Piper

LJ b BB 66 El Capitan 45 - Game On Sports Challenge

La Jolla rode a 30-5 streak in the second quarter to swamp visiting El Capitan and take a decisive 66-45 win in the Game On Sports Challenge Dec. 8. Sophomore guard Reed Farley had 19 points, including two three-pointers, with six assists in limited playing time.

In one sequence during the run that got the small midweek Vikings crowd oohing-and-aahing, 6'6" center Alex Pitrofsky blocked a Vaquero's shot, then immediately after the leaping Farley blocked the shot of a Vaquero who grabbed the loose ball and tried to follow with a score.

La Jolla trailed 16-11 with 58 seconds left in the first quarter. Once the Vikings ignited, they tied El Capitan at 16, then blew by on trip-after-trip downcourt. At halftime, the red-and-black led 41-21. The game was virtually decided by then.


Copyright 2014 Ed Piper

LJ g soccer: Helen coming back strong

Viking keeper Helen Lee leaps to ensure

that a La Costa Canyon attempt safely

flies over the goal Dec. 5.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

Helen Lee spent eight months sidelined from playing sports after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament in her left leg. She missed the La Jolla High volleyball season this past fall as a result, as well as sports last summer, after sitting out the end of basketball season last winter as that team went to the CIF Division III Finals. She also missed lacrosse season last spring, her favorite sport.

 

Says Lee of her starting position as goalkeeper on the Viking soccer team, "I love jumping and diving to make saves, so usually when I'm in goal I'm having a lot of fun. I play my best when I'm having the most fun."

 

Such a positive presence on the team, even while injured--Helen kept the scorebook during games in volleyball--Helen says, "As the soccer team starts the season, I try to keep in mind how lucky I am to be playing this game.

 

"If we win or lose, at least I am able to play. Having not been able to play competitive sports like this for eight months has made me so humble. I am so incredibly lucky every time I am able to step on a field and play a sport I love with coaches I respect and a team I love."

 

Describing her game as a keeper, she says, "I think one of my strengths is that having played soccer as a midfielder before, I am able to understand what is going through the striker's mind as they shoot the ball.

 

"Likewise, as the ball moves downfield or the ball is crossed, I can react quicker because I can understand the patterns of play."

 

Lee (purple jersey in background) listens with

teammates to La Jolla coach Kristin Jones

in halftime talk during Maverick game.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

 

 

Her left knee, understandably, is on her mind as she comes back on the athletic field. She is very honest about that. "My knee is always a concern when I'm playing, and it always will be. At first, I was definitely hesitant on diving on my left side, but it hasn't caused me any trouble at all.

 

"What irritates it the most is punting." She is a lefty punter.

 

Regarding academics, the La Jolla High junior says, "My favorite classes right now are my AP U.S. History class and my AP Psychology class. They both are very interesting to me."

 

Looking ahead two years, Helen says, "In terms of college, my dream college would be one that is highly academic but still has lots of school spirit. My hope would be that I could play either club or even school lacrosse at whatever college I attend. I'd love to be as involved in college as I am in high school.

 

"I'm very interested in health and studying anything about the human body, whether it's mentally or physically. Career-wise, there (are) just too many (choices) to choose from for now."

 

She spends a lot of time alone in goal while her teammates are downfield battling on offense. How does she occupy her mind to stay engaged? "I come up with different scenarios in my head of what I think they (opponents) might do. Who their strongest players are. Whether they're more likely to attack from the side or down the middle.

 

"I just try to be as prepared as possible for any situation when the ball gets close."

Copyright 2014 Ed Piper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LJ b soccer 4, Mt. Miguel 2 - Coronado Invitational

Vikes' Lukas Keeling makes it a hat trick in the

first seven minutes of play with this left-footer at

close range on the Mt. Miguel goal.

(Photo by Ed Piper) 

Lukas Keeling let forth a blast of three goals within a handful of minutes to open the game, and La Jolla hung on to defeat Mt. Miguel 4-2 in its last game of pool play in the Coronado Soccer Invitational Sat., Dec. 6.

It was as if all the Vikings' frustrations after two tough losses to Open Division playoff teams to open the season were focused in the midfielder's barrage, which began with a goal in the third minute of play and ended moments later in the sixth minute of play. At that point, Coach Marcos Gonzales pulled Keeling out to give his teammates an opportunity to score.

Gonzales had told his players before the game that he wanted to see shots on goal. They took him to heart early on.

But after Keeling's instant hat trick, the La Jolla scoring well went dry. Still, Gonzales was pleased after not seeing his team score in the opening period in their previous games against CIF powers Poway and Hilltop, praising his players with "Good activity" several times.

Keeling's third goal was a classic soft nudge from close range, as he lifted the ball with his left foot over the Matador goalie's left shoulder and into the goal. The score demonstrates that deftness often involves precision rather than brute force of blasting the ball, in which the case the ball would have soared over the goal or slammed into the goalie's body.

Each of the goals came off the midfielder's hot left foot. The first one skimmed by the goalie on his right side, the second to his left into the corner of the net. Keeling, not demonstrative in his reaction to his flurry of goals, had a wry grin on his face as he took an early spot on the bench. Gonzales only reinserted him late in the game when Mount Miguel threatened.

The Vikings, following a halftime breather and re-marshaling of energies, came right out and scored again in the person of Andrew Estrella in the opening minutes of the second half to put LJHS up 4-0. They had not led in a game yet this young season, and now they led by a whopping four goals.

But by the midpoint of the second period, momentum had shifted as Gonzales made several substitutions to give most of the roster substantial playing time. Mt. Miguel, already angry over going down so quickly 3-0 in the first half, channeled that ire into two goals and trailed only 4-2 with eight minutes remaining in regulation time. Faces formerly smiling on the La Jolla sidelines became grimmer as the game tightened up with the real possibility that Mt. Miguel could come back.

Both teams each had lost both their previous games in pool play, so this was a chance to end the preliminary phase of the annual Coronado tournament with at least one win. La Jolla players discussed the fact that had they gotten out with a tie against either Poway or Hilltop, they would have had a chance to advance to the winners bracket with a win against Mt. Miguel.

La Jolla held on, and took its first win under Gonzales at the helm. The first-year varsity coach had seen his team start well in this game, so now they need to put together a good start with a good finish.



Copyright 2014 Ed Piper

LJ g soccer 0, La Costa Canyon 2

Forward Emma McCall-Delgado contends for ball

in early minutes of Vikes' game at LCC Dec. 5.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

The La Jolla Vikings girls soccer team played a hard-fought game, featuring some new players, but fell in a valiant effort at La Costa Canyon, 2-0, Friday, Dec. 5.

Coach Kristin Jones' troops (now 1-1) gave up single goals in the first and second halves. A small contingent of parents and family traveled through heavy traffic at rush hour to support their players in a game with a start time of 5:15 p.m. against the Mavericks.

Among the newbies is Helen Lee, who played the entire game in goal. Helen took a year off from soccer at school last year to play for the La Jolla basketball team, then suffered a leg injury that has kept her sidelined from sports since last winter. Helen was keeper for the junior varsity two years ago.

Another newcomer is Nikki Collins, a freshman, who just finished her first year playing on the varsity field hockey team with her older sister Kelly.

The starting lineup for the La Jolla side, in addition to Lee and Collins, included Phoebe Riley, Emma McCall-Delgado, Sophia Rhodes, and Sophia Bourne; Maddie Lavelle and Olivia Riley; and Lillian Rafetto, Ana Corona, and Jessie Penner.

The first of LCC's goals came with 31:42 left in the opening period on a high bounder by Hayley Mayne that bounced over Lee's head into the net. It was her first goal of the season.

The second one, a left-footed boot from the left by Kallie Kampfl, again flew over Helen's outstretched arms, this time with 5:54 left in regulation time.

(Spelling of players' names provided by coaches; please let me know if there are spelling errors.)


Copyright 2014 Ed Piper

LJ b soccer 1, Hilltop 2 - Coronado Invitational

Goalkeeper Alexei Sebald (yellow jersey) makes

a spectacular leaping two-handed punch over a

Hilltop player (partially hidden) to clear the

ball near the Vikings' goal Dec. 4. The action
took place in the 34th minute.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

 

La Jolla put in its second strong effort in two games under new varsity coach Marcos Gonzales, but the Vikings fell 2-1 to Hilltop in the Coronado Soccer Invitational Thursday, Dec. 4, when the Lancers scored two goals within a minute.

Alexei Sebald and the defense held Hilltop, an Open Division playoff team last year, scoreless until the 59th minute, when a cross from the right led to the first score. A short time later, Hilltop scored on a kick from straight away into the left side of the net.

The Vikings returned part of the favor with a goal later in the second half.

Gonzales started, besides Sebald in goal, Alejandro Romano, Daniel Martinez, Cesar Hernandez, and Will Curtis; Jared Roberts, Jesus Leyva, and Lukas Keeling; Andrew Estrella, Noah Shen, and Juan Viana.

After rain conditions in the opening tournament game Tuesday, Dec. 2, LJHS faced the Lancers in dry conditions on the Coronado High School artificial surface.

La Jolla (0-2) is still looking for its first win under Gonzales, who coached some of the players on the junior varsity last year. The Vikings continue play in the Coronado tournament Sat., Dec. 6.


Copyright 2014 Ed Piper