Currently sporting a nifty 12-0-3 overall record, the Girls Varsity Soccer Team had another good week with a 0-0 tie against perennial prep soccer power USDHS and a 1-0 victory over Scripps Ranch.

While visiting with Head Coach Miles Ramirez on the phone over the weekend, the question was asked about the tie game with the Dons, which The San Diego Union-Tribune labeled ‘controversial’ due to a shot attempt and spectacular save by Islander goalie Jamie Klages.

"There was no controversy whatsoever," said Ramirez. "She made a great save. After she had made the save, she fell back into the net and hit the net. The referee was 15 yards from the play and was right on top of it. There was really no controversy."

The article in the paper perhaps obscured the larger issue that the Islander Girls Soccer program has made tremendous strides in the past several years under Ramirez and is now capable of battling USDHS on even terms. "It’s a huge step toward what we’re trying to accomplish," Ramirez said of Wednesday’s contest. "The girls left the game thinking they could win the game. We’ll plan and prepare for it (the return game scheduled for Friday, January 30 at Niedermeyer Field) over the next month. We played an excellent first half. We struggled a little bit in the second half due to fatigue. That is a reflection of the injuries we have had to this point. We put up a good battle for 80 minutes"

Last week’s other game was the 1-0 victory over Scripps Ranch, with the lone tally coming in the fourth minute of play by Islander Rhett Chase. Although happy with the victory, Ramirez noted that it wasn’t the game wasn’t a thing of beauty. "The game was more chaotic than finesse. The referee let both teams get away with aggressive play. It carried over into a ‘whack and hope’ type of game. It wasn’t a good game to watch."

Ramirez singled out the play of Chase as being notable last week. "Rhett is playing very well. She plays outside mid for us and is capable of playing forward and defender as well. She’s solid, does her job and works hard."

Also drawing praise were the team’s defensive backfield of Alex Vido, Sasha Vido, Maureen Mulvey and Teal Jensen, who have helped Klages record a total of 12 shutouts so far this year.

The club is already guaranteed a winning record for the season, despite playing without three starters in Jade Hughes, Ashley Walsh and Rachel Poe, who are sidelined with a variety of injuries. Ashley Copp is playing with a sling on her arm, but the team continues to perform.

Senior Dayna Queisser, who is headed to Cal next year to pursue her soccer career, earned some recognition last week. She was named one of the San Diego Union-Tribune’s ‘Athletes of the Month’ on the strength of 12 goals scored this season. Queisser was also named "Far West Scholar Athlete of the Year for 2004" by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, an honor that covers eight western states.

This week Coronado plays Montgomery in an early-week contest and then they play at Christian on Friday. "Every week is a battle in our league," Ramirez said on conclusion. "The whole league is bottled up with ties. Only three teams, La Jolla, Our Lady of Peace and us have a win. We have a lot of talent on this team this season. It’s a good team and the kids have really worked hard."

The Girls Basketball Team recorded a nice win last week by virtue of their 49-41 decision over Scripps Ranch, but went about earning the victory in a unique way, falling behind 18-6 after the end of the first quarter. However, they ended the game in style, outscoring the Falcons 17-5 in the final stanza.

Never one to straddle the fence, Head Coach Toler Goodwin wasn’t too happy with the effort his team put forth in the early going. "We had a shaky start. That was as bad a quarter as we have played all year. We came out and looked like we had been on vacation for 2 weeks. Alexis Castro kept us focused mentally and got us started in the second quarter. She had a couple of strong conversions off of offensive rebounds. Then we got the running game started and settled down defensively. Her intensity got us back in the game."

In fact the only time Coronado led the game at the conclusion of any quarter was the final frame. If you get to pick your spots to lead in a game, that’s the one to choose.

Castro scored 21 points in the victory, followed by eight points from Anne Marie Strohbeck, five points from Brooke Becky, four each from Ashley Depfer and Janelle Kuhlow, three from Vanessa Gosenheim, and two each from Ashley Settle and Nikki Hayden.

An early-week game against ranked Mission Bay will be followed by the beginning of Harbor League play on Friday with a game at Hoover. "They have a couple of girls who shoot the ball fairly well," said Goodwin of the Cardinals. "They have their top two scorers back and we have to account for them defensively. We’ve got to step up our growth and force ourselves to get better."

The Boys Basketball Team split on the week, with a 75-64 loss at Francis Parker offset by a 58-34 victory over Santana. The Boys now have a sporty 12-4 won-loss record of their own with an early-week game scheduled against Brawley and Harbor League play beginning at Hoover on Friday.

"Parker is good," said Head Coach Sandy Dillon of the team that has defeated his Islander club twice this season. "They beat Santa Fe Christian the following night after our game and they beat Bishop’s by about what they beat us by. We had two three-minute times against Parker that decided the game. One when we didn’t handle the ball very well and one span in the third quarter when they crashed the boards and got some second chance baskets. They are really tough."

To say the Santana game started slowly would be an understatement. Coronado won the first two quarters by scores of 10-6 and 12-9. Senior Tony Moore was whistled for this third foul midway through the second quarter and senior sharpshooter Brett Milke couldn’t find his range in the early going. The team’s defensive intensity picked up in the second quarter, due in part to senior Julian Cole supplying some much-needed energy and rebounding coming off of the bench.

"I was pleased with Brett’s second half and I was pleased with Tony’s passing in the second half," Dillon said. "Also, Tommy Corcoran played some good minutes. He plays hard always. And Gene Pontes is playing well."

Milke wound up with 22 points, based in part on an 8-9 effort from the free throw line in the second half. Moore had 11 pints, with Bobby Talley contributing eight points, Cole and Pontes with six each, and Corcoran added four points. Senior Kyle Hammel, who is just coming off of a badly injured ankle suffered at the beginning of practice this year, scored his first point of the season.

The Girls Water Polo Team showed that all of the training they accomplished during the Christmas break paid off when they went 2-1 in their three games last week to push their record to 2-4 on the young season. They defeated Patrick Henry 17-0, Scripps Ranch 10-5 and then lost to Foothill High School 11-5.

The Foothill loss wasn’t unexpected as they are generally considered to be the best interscholastic girls water polo team in the country and are riding the crest of a 49 game winning streak. That, plus senior Mary Lowe was on a recruiting trip and fellow senior Erin Jones’ contribution was limited due to illness. The scoring in the Foothill game was one goal from Jones, and two each from Katherine Burt and Elizabeth Hopkins.

Senior goalie Coral Kubala played the entire game against Foothill and was credited with playing well by Head Coach Dave Throop. Kubala and junior Megan Braun combined on the shutout against Patrick Henry.

"The Foothill game wasn’t a bad result," said Throop. "Their experience showed up in the game and our inexperience showed up later on. Sandra Fernandez and Natalia Lopez-Montero were in foul trouble. But the main thing is that we responded to the challenge. We told the girls that they were better than they played against University City or USDHS. I was anxious to see where our confidence level was after the loss to Bishops."

In the Scripps Ranch victory, center forwards Sydney Van Orden and Katie Estrada both scored three goals. Katherine Burt led the Islander’s scoring in the Patrick Henry game with four goals, with Mary Lowe adding five steals in less than one half of play.

The bad news is that Coronado, after an early-week contest against La Jolla, draws Foothill again at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions on Friday. "This week and the next three weeks are pretty tough," added Throop. "If we get all the way through the playoffs, we still have 25 games left to play."

Not much news from the Boys Soccer Team, as they haven’t played since before the Christmas break, but Head Coach Brian Hiatt-Aleu guides his young team into League play against Madison in an early-week game and then at Hoover on Thursday.

The CHS Sailing Team, which has had a phenomenal run of success over the past several years, is hosting their annual fundraiser dinner and auction Thursday, Jan. 29 from 5:30-8:00 pm at the Coronado Yacht Club. Adult dinner tickets are $15 each, with child’s dinner tickets priced at $5 each.

The Sailing Team is also soliciting donations for raffle prizes. For more information on the event, please contact donations chairperson Karen Paquin at 435-0643.

I don’t often watch entire sporting events in which I don’t have a rooting interest, but this past weekend’s NFL playoff action was spectacular. The Carolina Panthers vs. St. Louis Rams game alone had more plot twists and turns than a bad Russian novel.

Which in turn reminds me of the San Diego Chargers. If Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning is 75 percent as good as his older brother and Indianapolis Colts qb Peyton Manning, the Chargers will be making a huge mistake if they don’t take Eli with their No. 1 draft pick. Unfortunately Charger incumbent Drew Brees isn’t in the same class with the eight playoff signal callers on display over the weekend.