Coronado High School Girls Water Polo fans entering the La Jolla Coggan Family Pool Saturday evening had to have mixed feelings about the San Diego CIF Division II championship game they were about to witness between the Islanders and the Knights from the Bishop’s School.

The Islanders had to battle to come from behind in their semi-final game against No. 3 seed USDHS to win 5-4. Conversely, their archrivals from Bishop have cruised to a 22-8 victory over University City in the other semi-final contest.

Then there was the matter that Coronado had lost to Bishop’s three times already this season. By the score of 11-10 at Santa Barbara; 9-3 at Bishop’s in a Western League game; and then Coronado fell to the Knights 11-5 in their second league game played at La Jolla. From a historical perspective, this one was over before it started.

Fortunately, they go ahead and play the games instead of comparing records at this time of the year and the finals more than lived up to expectations. The Islanders and the Knights alternated the first five goals of the game, with Coronado’s Katie Estrada scoring at the 4:20 mark on an assist from Kelly Phelps, and then Phelps found the back of the net on an assist from Sandra Fernandez. Bishop’s scored twice in the last two minutes of the quarter to take a 5-2 lead.

In the second quarter, Elizabeth Hopkins scored on a penalty shot and Lizzy Hansen scored on a man-up situation, sandwiching their goals around two scoring efforts from Bishop’s. The Knights took a 7-4 lead into intermission.

The third quarter found Coronado playing some of their best water polo of the season, as they outscored Bishop’s 4-1. Hannah Sebenaler scored on an assist from Natalia Lopez two minutes into the quarter; Sebenaler scored again 90 seconds later; Estrada then scored on an assist from Sebenaler; and Hopkins scored her second goal on an assist from Hansen with 1:09 left in the quarter.

Having scored the game’s last three goals, Coronado seemingly had the momentum on their side entering the final frame. However, Bishop’s Sarah Van Norman scored on a backhand sweep shot, followed 90 seconds later by a long 7-meter shot from Koree Blyleven that stretched the Knights’ lead to two goals. A man-up goal at the 2:31 mark by the Knights gave them a three-goal lead. Sebenaler scored her third goal of the game with 1:15 remaining, but the clock ran out on the Islanders, with the final score of 11-9.

For the game, Coronado converted on two of their six man-up situations, while Bishop’s converted on six of their 12 power play opportunities.

The two teams have now faced each other in the CIF finals five times, with Coronado holding a 3-2 lead in the head-to-head championship game rivalry. Both teams are very young, so expect more of the same in the next couple of years. Coronado loses senior starters Elizabeth Hopkins and goalie Megan Braun from this year’s roster.

"I’m proud of our team and happy with the way they played," said Head Coach Dave Throop. "We had our chances and for a team that had the whole roster re-made, minus two players, that says good things about the girls. I was proud of both of our seniors. Bits (Hopkins) helped everybody bond on the team. Her experience and work ethic were a large part of what we did. Megan made a couple of key saves early in the game. No one in my 10 years on the girls’ side has worked harder than she has. Her development in the last year was really great. I couldn’t have been more proud of the seniors all year."

In their semi-final victory against USDHS, Emily Bigham kicked off the Islander scoring, followed by goals from Sebenaler, Hansen and a game-tying goal by Estrada. With 2:20 remaining in the game, Sebenaler scored the game-winning goal on a power play. Braun was credited with four steals and 10 saves in goal. Coronado had to score four of the game’s final five goals to reach the finals.

The Islanders finished the season with a fine 21-10 record and 18 of the 20 players return for next season. History would seem to indicate that the Islanders and the Knights might be in similar positions again next year.

Scheduling last week’s CIF quarter-final playoff game proved to be a challenge and the CHS Girls Soccer Team wound up playing their game against San Dieguito Academy at Coronado’s Niedermeyer Field Saturday at 6 pm. Original plans to play the contest at Otay Ranch fell through.

However, the Islanders made the best of the rugged field conditions and held off an overly physical Mustang squad by the score of 1-0. Junior Sasha Vido scored the lone Islander goal and Coronado benefited from the strong play of their defensive backfield. Coronado’s defense allowed only two San Dieguito shots on goal, an unusually low total for a playoff contest. Conversely, the Islanders had 19 shots on goal. Senior goalie Jamie Klages notched her 19^th shutout of the season.

Senior Ashley Copp, who spent the first half of the season scoring on a one goal per game rate, played sweeper for the Islanders in place of the injured Maureen Mulvey. Head Coach Miles Ramirez had to juggle his lineup and basic offensive set. He had his players employ a 3-5-2 attack, which allowed the Islanders to control the middle of the field defensively and offensively.

Although the game was physical, Coronado proved to Ramirez that they could play that type of game and win. "I was proud of the kids. They rose to the occasion. San Dieguito was physical and that was their whole game plan. They tried to intimidate us. We stepped up and we were in control of our aggression. Their team was flat out dirty."

Now on to the semi-finals, where the No. 2 seeded Islanders will play the No. 3 seeds from Valhalla at Patrick Henry High School Wednesday evening at 7 pm. The Top 4 seeds all remain alive in Division III, with USDHS facing Mission Hills in the other semi-final contest.

Ramirez will likely have seniors Erin Buss and Mulvey back in the lineup for the balance of the playoffs. "Trainer Connie Martinez did a great job with Erin, who was doing drills with the team on Friday. She could have played, but the (other) team was so physical, I didn’t want her to re-injure herself. Mulvey might be back. Neither of them wanted to graduate and leave that way (not playing). They want to get back for the semi-finals and the finals.

"It’s still a two team race, regardless," said Ramirez, focusing on the Dons from USDHS and his Islander club. "We’re not looking past Valhalla, but I thing we will match up very well with them. We have more soccer players than they have. Our girls are determined to step up to the challenge."

Somewhat ironically, the San Dieguito Academy Mustangs were the opponents for both the CHS Boys Soccer Team and the CHS Girls Soccer Team in the CIF Division III quarter-finals. Unfortunately, the result for the Boys wasn’t as good as it was for the Girls, although the scores were both 1-0 in their respective games.

The Mustangs scored with 3:09 remaining in the first half for the game’s only tally, and made it hold up through a furious Islander attack at the conclusion of the game.

Head Coach Brian Hiatt-Aleu knew his team was in the game, but simply couldn’t find the back of the net. "We had more opportunities than they did (to score). We missed some easy chances. We had the first three or four chances in the first half, and once you don’t put those away, you get the feeling that this is not going to be your night. When you lose in the playoffs, you want to lose to a team that is better than you. It leaves a sour taste in your mouth when you don’t."

Harbor League Player of the Year Stuart Gallant contributed on several set pieces that the team ran in the game, chipping balls over Mustang defenders and putting throw-ins in close proximity to the goal on several occasions. "They had him man-marked," said Hiatt-Aleu of Gallant. "The game was physical, but about right for the playoffs. The field didn’t help a lot. It (the field) was kind of embarrassing, to say the least. Stuart tried to control the ball a couple of times and it pops up and hits him in the shins. It’s pretty weak that we don’t take care of the field. It was probably the worst field in the county that hosted a playoff game."

Hiatt-Aleu acknowledged the effort of his team. "Blair Geiss played really well, as did Travis Lindsey. Everybody tried their best, but we didn’t have enough composure in front of the goal. That was really frustrating. We had a good year overall, when you think about it. We only had two seniors that started and played a lot. Winning the Harbor League was a pretty good achievement. It would have been nice to win the home game."

The CHS Boys Basketball Team opened their participation in the CIF Division IV playoffs with a 54-32 victory over the Army-Navy Academy on the Islanders home floor, in a game where Coronado’s defense never really let the Warriors offense get started. Coronado led 18-4 at the conclusion of the first quarter and stretched their lead to 29-12 at halftime. For all intents and purposes, the game was over at that point.

Senior Jonathan Smith earned a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with three assists, a steal and a blocked shot; Chas Marks earned high scoring honors with 14 points, to go along with five rebounds; Brad Munns added 10 points and two rebounds; and twin brother Adam Munns had six points, eight rebounds and four steals. Junior Ryan Guard played a nice floor game with five assists, while Alex Fairman added seven points, four rebounds and two steals.

It was the last home game for the seniors, including Co-Captain Reid McLean who missed the final two games of the season with a severe right ankle sprain.

Saturday evening the Islanders traveled to Francis Parker to face the Lancers, who came into the contest as the No. 3 seed in CIF Division IV, behind Horizon at No. 1 and The Bishop’s School at No. 2.

The game started with Parker going on an 8-1 run and three minutes into the game things looked grim for Coronado. Fairman then converted a lay-up on an assist from Guard; Marks converted another lay-up on a Guard feed; Fairman hit a jumper and Marks cashed in a three-point attempt and suddenly the Islanders were back in it.

In the second quarter, the Islanders played one of their strongest quarters of the season, outscoring Parker 19-11 to grab a 31-27 lead at halftime. Marks scored seven points in the quarter, Brad Munns added five more and the Islanders were taking the game to Parker on their home floor. However, both Adam Munns and Bryan Reed ended the half with three personal fouls.

In the third quarter, it was all Parker, as the Lancers went on a 26-0 run on their way to a 30-4 quarter. Coronado looked fatigued and couldn’t stem the momentum Parker built in front of their home crowd. After an even fourth quarter, the Islanders were on the short end of the 76-52 final score. Coronado finished the season with a record of 17-9.

The Munns brothers combined for 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Smith (six points, seven rebounds), Fairman (nine points, three rebounds), Marks (nine points, four boards) and Guard (eight points, two assists) all contributed for Coronado.

"I couldn’t be more proud of these youngsters," Head Coach Sandy Dillon said. "Army-Navy hasn’t been beaten badly by anybody this month and we only beat them by three points the first time we played them. Against Parker, in the second quarter, we played about as good as we could. They (Parker) had scouted us really well. They were calling out our plays. We got tired and our mental capacity to get back on defense wasn’t where it was early in the game."

Dillon pointed to the fine play during the week of sophomore guard Geoffrey Worley, who was the leading scorer on the junior varsity squad this year. Worley was pressed into service in the playoffs due to the injury to McLean. "He had not one turnover Wednesday night and only one against Parker. The kid came in and gave us 12 minutes in an important game and he was ready for it. He basically had three practices to learn the difference between the varsity and the JV. He did a really nice job."

Dillon, who has been at the helm of the Islander Boys Basketball program twice for a total of 18 seasons, says that the 2004-05 squad is one he’ll remember. "This bunch of kids would be among my favorite teams. They came with the right attitude every day. They took care of each other and there wasn’t any jealousy. At the end of the year I still looked forward to going there (to the gym) every day."

A total of 10 Islanders who dressed for the Parker game will return to the varsity next season, so the future looks good.

With track practice underway, Head Coach George Green forwards this note. "After warming up with Steve Scott (American record holder in the mile run), freshman Ben Enowitz took third place in the 13-17 division at the Pardee Homes Torrey Pines 5-kilometer run with a time of 17 minutes 34 seconds. The Boys Track & Field Team should be very strong this year with Jake Ruzevick, Brad Munns and Enowitz leading a young and promising distance running crew that won the Harbor League cross country title last fall.