It was a topsy-turvy time in Coronado High School Sports last week. One soccer team went 3-0, while the other went 0-2; a very young water polo team had a strong tournament result and the two basketball teams split their games.

Shutouts are not uncommon in soccer, but The Islander Boys Soccer Team has put together a nice run of six consecutive games without allowing a goal. During that time they have defeated Hoover 3-0; Madison 3-0; and Crawford 1-0. Last week Coronado added Clairemont 1-0; Christian 3-0; and Mar Vista 1-0 to their shutout list and improved their overall record to 13-3, 7-0 in Harbor League play.

This year marks the first time in the past five campaigns that Coronado has won on the road against Hoover, Crawford and Clairemont in the same season.

The constants through last week’s play were the offensive spark supplied by senior Captain Stuart Gallant, the fine play of the defensive midfield and the efforts of junior goalie Hugo Vera. Gallant scored the game winner against Clairemont, added a third goal to two scores from Kelcey Fisher in the Christian game, and scored the decider in the Mar Vista game.

Goals are fun, but defense wins championships. Head Coach Brian Hiatt-Aleu knows his defenders are getting it done. "Hugo Vera has been playing really well and he’s been doing what he has to do. Our midfield has stayed really compact and our defensemen including Patrick Ahern, Michael Dykstra, Travis Lindsey, Charley Wood and Austin Speer have been playing well. We keep finding ways to get results. Luckily, we have been free of injuries and illnesses."

With a relatively young team entering this season, Hiatt-Aleu thought that it would be difficult to best last year’s 14-6-3 mark. This week the team hosts Hoover Tuesday at 3 pm and then hosts St. Augustine Thursday at 5 pm.

When asked why St. Augustine, one of the perennial powers in Division III soccer was added to the schedule, Hiatt-Aleu said, "we needed the games. It’s tough to get all of our games in during the month of December. We had a bye Thursday (in the Harbor League schedule), so we scheduled a non-league game. It will be good for us to see where we stand with everyone else in Division III. St. Augustine is usually a powerhouse. "

The Girls Water Polo Team started their week last Wednesday with a 10-5 Western League victory over University City, a game highlighted by the play of goalie Megan Braun. The senior Co-Captain was credited with 14 saves and four steals and helped Coronado’s offense with counterattack opportunities with her pinpoint outlet passes. Freshman Hannah Sebenaler scored three goals, while Elizabeth Hopkins and Emily Bigham each contributed two assists.

Thursday the team began participating in the 32-team Irvine Southern California Championships, and played five games in three days, against most of the top water polo talent in the state. Seeded 12^th in the tournament, Coronado opened with Edison High School from Orange County in a 6 pm game and won by the score of 7-5. Just to show they had a sense of humor, event organizers then scheduled Coronado to play Corona Del Mar in the 8 pm game, with only an hour between games. To show they had a sense of humor, Coronado defeated CDM 6-4 in what Head Coach Dave Throop described as "the upset of the tournament."

Less than a month ago Coronado lost to CDM, currently ranked No. 1 in Division II of the CIF Southern Section, by the score of 8-2 in another major tournament. This game started on a down note, as Corona Del Mar earned and converted a penalty shot 20 seconds into the contest.

Said Throop of the game, "that was the only time CDM was in the game. It was just an outstanding game for us. This game, I was just amazed. We played a great game. Our defense set the tone. We were very aggressive and that opened up some transition opportunities for us. CDM is a very physical team. We have played well for a quarter or a half this season, but in this game we played well for all four quarters. The kids surprised themselves. That win was huge for us because we hadn’t beaten CDM in a couple of years." Braun was credited with nine saves, while Katie Estrada and Hopkins were both credited with two goals.

Friday Coronado faced Santa Barbara and their center forward Kami Craig, who is considered to be the best player at her position in girls water polo and was the only prep athlete on the Women’s Under 20 Junior Team that defeated the Russians for the title in the World Championships a week ago in Australia. Craig, who averages six goals per game, was held to two tallies in this contest. However Santa Barbara, which would eventually finish in fourth place in the tournament, won the game 6-4.

Throop praised Kelly Phelps for her effort against Craig, with Phelps fouling out Craig by the conclusion of the third quarter. "As big as the win against CDM was, we only lost 6-4 to the best center in the game," Throop added. "We did phenomenally well in both games. We had three opportunities late in the game to score. It was just a phenomenal team effort. "

Fatigue set in about that point, as Coronado then faced Montebello, seeded No. 3 in Division I of the Southern Section, losing 7-6. "We were a little flat," said Throop. "To be honest, we haven’t played three teams of this quality in a row all season. It was a game we should have won. We were up 4-3 at the half and tied 4-4 at the end of three quarters. The theme for Saturday was that we collectively were overwhelmed. Part of it was fatigue and partly it was great competition." Phelps had two goals for Coronado.

That left the seventh place game against Long Beach Wilson, which Coronado lost 11-5. Throop was able to play most of his players in the game. "This time we were flat and not firing on many cylinders. We played all 15 girls who were on the trip. We were down 6-1 and I thought ‘how do we get the most out of this experience?’ It was a great weekend and a huge confidence boost for us. It could a turning point for us in the season. I was very impressed with the way we played. Until we did it, the girls didn’t think we could finish in the Top 8."

To complete the tournament, Sebenlaer scored three goals, while juniors Sarah Clinton and Sandra Fernandez scored once each. Megan Braun was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Wednesday the Islanders face Scripps Ranch at Miramar College at 3 pm for their final regular season game. Coronado’s overall record is 17-9 and they are likely to be the No. 2 seed behind the Bishop’s School in the CIF Division II playoffs.

The Islanders Boys Basketball Team’s schedule took them on the road for their two games last week, the results of which were a 55-46 loss to Madison and a 25-22 victory at Clairemont. And that’s not a typo on the latter score.

Several of the CHS teams "hit the wall" in a manner of speaking this week, as their regular season started to wind down and the playoffs draw nearer. According to Head Coach Sandy Dillon, his team was a member of that group. "Going into the Madison game, the kids had played five games at a high level of energy and efficiency. We came out really flat. We didn’t have it Tuesday. I’d be surprised if we don’t beat Madison (when we play them again)."

The Clairemont game wasn’t a thing of beauty, but it was a Harbor League victory and allowed the Islanders to level their conference record at 3-3 to go with an overall record of 14-6. Dillon picks up the narrative on the Chieftains vs. Islanders contest. "Clairemont (the gymnasium) was packed. We had a bunch of fans there. They hit the first couple of shots they took. Like every other game, we are instantly down. Both teams were taking time off the clock and we had some good looks. We were down 11-7 at the quarter and only scored four points in the second quarter. We never led the game until the last minute of play."

Senior Jonathan Smith had a standout game according to Dillon. "Jonathan had five points, he rebounded, played defense, handled the ball when he had to and played really great. Adam Munns played very well too. Together, they had all the big rebounds. Alex Fairman played real well too."

For the game, Coronado was 10-43 shooting from the floor, which included a 4-22 effort in the first half.

As the season winds down, some teams are capable of mentally pack it in, but Dillon remains pleased with his club’s effort. "The kids support each other. We defended well the other night when we had every excuse to chuck it in. We played pretty well Tuesday night for playing on emotion. I think we’re getting as much out of these kids as we can."

This week the Islanders have an unusual schedule, as they travel to Hoover Tuesday for a 4:45 pm game and then host Crawford Wednesday at 5:15 pm as the second game of a rare mid-week Girls/Boys Basketball doubleheader.

The CHS Girls Basketball Team’s fortunes last week were nearly identical to their Boys Team counterparts, as they lost to Madison by five points and then defeated Clairemont 32-27. The parallels even went to far as to winning a road game at Clairemont while figuratively not being able to throw the ball in the ocean from the shore.

Coronado was 12-43 from the field for the game, allowing the Boys and Girls Varsity teams to shoot a combined 22-86 (25.81 percent) from the field and still win their two games. One would have to assume that there was very little orange paint left on either rim, after all of the shots that clanged off of the basket that night.

Head Coach Toler Goodwin knew that history was being written that night. "Between the boys and the girls, it had to be two of the ugliest games of all time."

Somewhat ironically, the Islanders lost to Madison 51-46 earlier in the week, in the process scoring the most points they have totaled all year. "Amanda Marks played really well," said Goodwin. "She had 16 points and 11 rebounds, with seven of her rebounds coming on the offensive end of the floor. Brooke Becky had 15 points and six assists."

Coronado lost the Madison game on the boards, according to Goodwin. "Their two big girls on the inside beat us. They had a girl with 22 rebounds and another with 10 rebounds and 16 points."

In Friday night’s Clairemont game, Farrell Pompa contributed 11 rebounds, Becky had four points and five assists, Jessica Davis-Ricci had 11 points and Tiffany Depfer added eight points and three rebounds.

Due to some uncorrected scheduling mishaps at the conference level relating to the San Diego City Schools and the coming four-day weekend, the Harbor League has back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday, with Coronado hosting Hoover Tuesday at 5 pm and then hosting Crawford at 3:30 pm Wednesday. "Both games are at home against big, physical teams," said Goodwin. "We have to be able to rebound. We should be confident to play against both teams, because we are right there."

The Girls Soccer Team entered the week with a record of 19-0-2 and left the week with a record of 19-2-2, still indicative of a great season. The first game was a 1-0 home loss to Our Lady of Peace. The second was a 1-0 loss at University City.

The loss to OLP broke a 28-game unbeaten streak for the Islanders, a record that extended back into their 2004 Division III championship season.

In the OLP game, the Pilots scored at the 26:58 mark of the first half and made that lone goal stand up for the victory. The Islanders missed a penalty kick earned in the early going of the second half, and were unable to mount a consistent scoring attack in the game.

Head Coach Miles Ramirez accepted responsibility for the OLP result. "What’s happening is we are in playoff mode right now. The kids are absorbing new information and trying different stuff. The OLP game was my fault. I didn’t prepare the girls and we were guilty of looking past that game. Unfortunately the kids had to suffer. They outplayed us. It’s hard being 19-0-2 and maintaining that intensity all season. OLP is fighting for a playoff spot and our girls didn’t respond. Everyone wants to give you the first loss. We’re ready for the playoffs to start. It’s been a long season, with a lot of games played."

Conversely, even though they lost at University City, Ramirez was pleased with his team’s effort. "We played well and I was real happy with how we responded to the loss. We did a lot of good stuff."

The Islanders have four regular season games remaining, including a Monday afternoon home game against Christian at 5 pm, and the big biggie, a home tilt with USDHS Wednesday, also at 5 pm. Next week games with Point Loma and Scripps Ranch finish the regular season. Currently Coronado is in sole possession of second place in the Western League, two points behind USDHS. "If we beat USDHS and finish out with all wins, we’ll win the Western League," said Ramirez. "We’ve never been this close."

Congratulations to CHS Senior Jamie Klages for being named a "San Diego Union-Tribune" ‘Athlete of the Month.’ Klages and her Islander teammates were undefeated (6-0-1) for the month of January and did not yield a single goal. Klages was credited with 22 saves during that time.