Just how good is the Coronado High School Girls Soccer Team this year? Monday of last week the Islanders defeated Our Lady of Peace 3-0 and then Friday defeated La Jolla 3-0. Somewhat surprisingly, Head Coach Miles Ramirez said of his team’s play, "we hit a bump in the road. It is hard to say the girls played well this week."

Keep in mind the team currently has a record of 19-0-2 and sits atop the Western League standings. Consider also that a 3-0 victory in soccer is roughly equivalent to a 40-point win in basketball or a 10-0 shutout in baseball. This is on a par with Tiger Woods winning the Masters and not playing his ‘A’ game.

Last week was finals week for the first semester of the 2004-05 academic year. The Girls Soccer Team, which has a cumulative grade point average of 3.68 on a 4.0 scale, was collectively distracted by their exams. After all, they are referred to as "student-athletes," not "athlete-students."

Ramirez knows the impact finals can have on the players. "Finals showed us down mentally. We didn’t play with the killer instinct that we need going into the playoffs. The time of the year when we have to play our best is the playoffs. We’ll be ready."

Against OLP, Ashley Copp scored twice and Rachel Poe once to lead the Islander attack. The La Jolla game found Poe scoring the first, and ultimately the game winning goal, followed by tallies from Marissa Nagler and Leah Hathaway. The goal scored by the freshman Hathaway was the first varsity goal of her career.

The La Jolla game marked a statistical oddity, as it was the fourth time the Islanders have defeated the Vikings this season, twice in Western League play and two additional times in tournaments played around Christmas.

Despite being in first place by two points in the conference standings over USDHS, Ramirez knows the final chapter on the Western League title race has yet to be written, with the league champion likely to earn the No. 1 seed in the CIF Division III playoffs. "It’s going to be a run to the finish line between USDHS and us. The No. 1 seed hasn’t won the title in Division III in five years. I shouldn’t be superstitious, but I am. Division III has been really strange over the past few years."

This week the march toward the playoffs continues as the Islanders host OLP Wednesday at 5 pm. OLP wasn’t able to secure a playing field for the contest, so Coronado will be hosting what is in essence a road game. Friday the Islanders travel to University City for an important contest to be played at 3 pm. The Centurions lost to Coronado in the first round of Western League play this season.

Maybe it’s the shoes, possibly it’s the coaching, or maybe it’s as simple as the team has learned how to win, but the Coronado Varsity Boys Soccer Team clearly has momentum on their side. Last week the Islanders defeated Madison 3-0 and then traveled to Crawford, where they won 1-0.

That’s three straight shutouts for Coronado, which now has an overall record of 10-3, 5-0 in the Harbor League.

Last week, a victory at Hoover was the big story, a place where Coronado had not won in 5 years. This week’s victory at Crawford is even rarer according to Head Coach Brian Hiatt-Aleu. In their previous five games at Crawford, Coronado had earned one tie and sustained four losses. Against Hoover they had two ties and three losses.

Tuesday against Madison, Ryan Manazir scored the team’s first two goals, the first in the 13^th minute of the first half, with the second coming 16 minutes later. Stuart Gallant, who had missed the first 70 minutes of the contest due to the after affects of a foot injury sustained in the Hoover game, played the final 10 minutes and scored the team’s third and final goal in the 78^th minute of play. Blair Geiss assisted on all three tallies.

The scoring line against Crawford was simpler, but no less elegant. The game-winning goal was scored by Christian Bond, on an assist from Gallant.

"Ryan and Blair played really well Tuesday," said Hiatt-Aleu. "Travis Lindsay and Michael Dykstra also played really well, as did Kelcey Fisher."

Even when your team is on a roll and all things are clicking well, there is still coaching to be done. "We were tied 0-0 at halftime against Crawford," Hiatt-Aleu explained. "We talked about how we were playing a little bit scared the first 20 minutes of the game. We had nothing to lose. Crawford was the defending league champion for the last 2 years. We had to keep the same intensity. We have a high work rate and I am confident in their skills. We scored in the first 2 minutes of the second half, which made everybody confident. When we scored the goal, all 11 guys went over and celebrated.

Nick Hamilton and Dallas Chase had really good games against Crawford. Everybody played well. To beat Crawford, you have to have a mistake-free game in the back (defensively). We’re not making the mistakes we made at the beginning of the year."

Coronado sits atop the Harbor League with a 5-0 record after the first round of conference play, followed by Hoover at 4-1 and Crawford at 3-2.

Like a true veteran coach, Hiatt-Aleu is concerned about the Islanders next game at Clairemont. "We’ve got to win Tuesday. That would be really nice. It’s always tough to go to Clairemont. They have a very small and a very sloped field. I walked it off and it is legal (the field’s dimensions) by about a foot. Every coach in the Harbor League complains about the field and everybody hates to play there. We should be playing eight-on-eight (number of players) instead of 11-on-11. You don’t have time to do anything on that field, it is so small."

Clairemont is the first of three games this week. Thursday they host Christian and Saturday they host Mar Vista in a non-league contest. Both home games are scheduled for 5 pm.

Most observers, including this one, thought Hoover would have their way with The Coronado Boys Basketball Team at last Tuesday’s Harbor League game played at Coronado. The Islanders gave all they had against the second-ranked team in Division II, before falling 42-36.

Hoover was without the services of sophomore point guard sensation J.D. Luster, a fact not lost on the student cheering section, which chanted, "You Need Luster," at the visiting Cardinal team and their fans in the second half. Luster, who may need to have an MRI procedure performed on his sore knee, attended the game but did not play.

Head Coach Sandy Dillon received a great effort from his team, especially on the defensive end of the floor. "I know Luster makes a hell of a difference. We did everything we could do to make their life miserable. Ryan Guard was the real deal and he showed some fire in the Hoover game." Guard finished with 14 points and four rebounds. One of his scoring plays was a beautiful running, left-handed lay-up (Guard normally shots right handed) that he banked in high off of the corner of the backboard in the second quarter.

Jonathan Smith had eight points and eight rebounds, while Reid McLean added six points and two rebounds. Alex Fairman contributed seven rebounds and two points.

After trailing 11-4 at the end of the first quarter, and 18-10 at halftime, Coronado closed the gap to 36-32 with 2 minutes remaining in the game and 40-36 with 13 seconds remaining. Coronado had to foul to try to regain possession, but three different Cardinal players converted both ends of their 1-and-1 opportunities to hold on to the victory.

Coronado bounced back Friday night with a 60-45 victory over Christian in a physical contest that was tied 8-8 at the end of the first quarter and found the Islanders with a 20-15 lead at halftime. Coronado stretched the lead out to 38-24 at the end of three quarters. With 30 seconds remaining in the game, Coronado led by 20 points.

"Give Christian credit," Dillon said. "They played really, really hard. Friday night Adam Munns (12 points, six rebounds, three blocked shots) played his best game of the year. He does an incredible job in there in the middle of our zone. He can jump so quick and so high that he can block shots."

Dillon acknowledged the contribution of several of his other athletes. "Reid McLean plays very hard and he understands going hard. I can turn him loose and let him gamble. Reid was tremendous against Hoover. Friday night Drew Zeller came in and hit a really big three-pointer in the corner and Blake Spitzer got a rebound at a time that was really, really big. Chas Marks has been unbelievable. He’s like a bull in a closet."

Friday’s game ended with Dillon finding some varsity playing time for sophomore Benson Lorden (four points, one rebound, one steal) and sophomore Geoffrey Worley (one rebound, one steal, one assist). Both figure to be factors on next year’s varsity team.

All of the intense play left the team banged up for Saturday morning’s practice. "We were a total MASH unit Saturday," Dillon laughed. "We had ice on the knees and ice on the legs. I’ve never seen so many kids limp at practice. Six were in bad shape and six were ok."

This week the Harbor League schedule continues for the Islanders, now 13-5 overall and still likely the San Diego County leader in fewest points allowed per game. Tuesday Coronado travels to Madison for a 4:45 game. Friday evening they are on the road at Clairemont for a 7:30 pm game.

The Coronado Girls Water Polo Team gave their all last week against Bishop’s before falling by the final score of 11-5. They did it in unique fashion, allowing Bishop’s to score five times before the Islanders got on the scoreboard.

Head Coach Dave Throop picks up the narrative. "Then we clawed our way back to 5-3, but we gave up two quick goals to make it 7-3 at the half. Hannah Sebenaler had four goals, and Emily Bigham scored the other one. Megan Braun had eight saves in goal. Carly Hoshko played well at center back, with a lot of speed and mobility. She was making the right pass all game long. Later she matched up with (Bishop’s scoring star) Sarah van Norman. On the plus side, all of our goals were scored by underclassmen."

Friday night the Islanders defeated USDHS 6-5, with two goals from Lizzie Hansen, and one goal each from Sandra Fernandez, Katie Estrada, Elizabeth Hopkins, and Bigham. Braun was again on her game with 12 saves. "The score was closer than the game actually was," said Throop. We did a bad job of clock management in the fourth quarter. Megan Braun played well in the game. She plays really well in the bigger games. The better the competition, the better she plays. We rebounded (from the loss to Bishop’s) against USDHS really well. We’re shooting where we need to shoot. We’ve been on a psychological roller coaster. We had finals and played Bishop’s twice in six days. We were down 5-0 and the girls kept playing and playing well."

Overall the Islanders are now can boast of a fine 15-6 overall record, 8-2 in the Western League. Throop sees the possibility of a fourth game against Bishop’s this season in the CIF finals. "We’re firmly in control of the second seed in the playoffs, barring any type of upset."

This week the Islanders play University City Wednesday and then play in the prestigious SoCal Invitational over the weekend in Irvine.

The CHS Girls Basketball Team lost twice last week. The first contest of the week was an overtime loss at Hoover by the score of 46-45. The second game was a 47-34 home loss to Christian.

Head Coach Toler Goodwin talked about the Hoover game. "We got off to a pretty good start, leading 13-7 at the end of the first quarter. We hit a little dry spell offensively in the middle of the second quarter. Brooke Becky got her lip caught in her braces was out for a while. In the third quarter we really struggled and played a little selfishly. We had too many people trying to win the game. We had too many bad possessions and got some fouls out of that. We played the entire fourth quarter with Brooke and Jessica Davis-Ricci with four fouls.

Farrell Pompa played well, with 13 rebounds to go with eight points. Amanda Marks had nine rebounds and five points. Brooke would up with six points and four assists. Jessica had 13 points."

The Christian game was a struggle form the outset, as Coronado trailed 28-9 at halftime. Coronado won the final quarter 17-13, but the Patriots height advantage made it tough on the Islanders underneath the basket. Davis-Ricci was Coronado’s leading scorer with 10 points; Becky added nine points, six rebounds and three steals; and Amanda Marks contributed four points, six boards and two assists.

Ashley Depfer, who had two points and five rebounds, earned praise from Goodwin. "She does work so hard. She works hard no matter what the situation."

The Islanders are currently 7-13 for the year and according to Goodwin are probably on the bubble for making the Division IV playoffs this season. "We’ve worked hard as a group. I have hope for the playoffs and I think we’re better than the record indicates. We’re getting better every day we go on the floor, which is a positive."

This week the Islanders host Madison Tuesday at 5 pm and travel to Clairemont for a 6 pm game Friday evening. The game against Clairemont marks the beginning of the second half of the Harbor League season.

Robbin Adair, head coach of both the Boys and Girls Tennis Teams at Coronado High School (among many other titles he has held at the school, including athletic director) is being honored by the High School Sports Association at its annual banquet Feb. 7 for his contributions to high school sports… Katherine Wingert (CHS ’04), who was a cross country and track standout at Coronado High School, is currently running indoor track for Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. Wingert set a new forum record in the mile run (5:14.57) at the St. Olaf Invitational Track Meet and was named the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference track athlete of the week… CHS multi-sport athletes Reid McLean and Jamie Klages are getting some advance publicity for the coming track season from the www.dyestatcal.com website. McLean was named as the "man to beat in the San Diego area," in his specialty of the 300-meter intermediate hurdles. He is the defending CIF Division II champion in the event and was named to the State Pre-Season All-State First Team. Klages, who finished tied for fifth in the state in the high jump with a jump of 5-feet, 7-inches, was named to the State Pre-Season All-State First Team in her specialty… Congratulations to Katie Hansen (CHS ’03), who was a member of the USA Junior Women’s Water Polo Team that defeated Russia 11-9 to win the Junior Women’s Water Polo Championships in Perth, Australia over the weekend. In a previous game, Hansen scored five goals, including four in the third period as the USA defeated China 19-1 in pool play. Against Russia in the title game, the USA took their first lead in the third period, after trailing 6-4 at halftime. In addition to her role on the U.S. Junior Women’s Team, Hansen plays water polo for Stanford University. Last summer she played for the gold medal-winning USA team in the Junior Pan American games played in El Salvador.

A final reminder that Coronado Middle School spring sports sign-ups will be held Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 7pm at Granzer Hall, on the CMS campus.

Spring sports include Co-ed Track, Boys Lacrosse, Co-ed Tennis, and Girls Basketball. Fees are $80 per student. Coaches for the respective sports plan to be on hand Feb. 8 to answer questions regarding scheduling and practice times.

A sports registration form must be completed, and a prospective athlete must have had a physical within the last 12 months to be eligible to participate in sports. For the answers to questions regarding the appropriate forms and other requirements, please go the Islander Sports Foundation’s website at www.IslanderSportsFoundation.com for more information.