Suffice to say the Boys Soccer Teams representing Coronado and San Dieguito High Schools don’t particularly care for each other. Truth be told, the coaches probably don’t exchange season’s greetings either.

Some historical perspective might be relevant at this point. Two years ago the Mustangs defeated the Islanders 1-0 in the CIF Division III quarter-finals. Last year, despite dominating the game everywhere except on the scoreboard, Coronado fell 1-0 to San Dieguito at the friendly confines of Niedermeyer Field. One team’s celebration is another squad’s taunting and the Islanders didn’t take kindly to the Mustangs’ post game antics.

The creators of the hit television show "Earl" have done quite well with a production based on the principle of karma. Saturday night Coronado proved that it may take a while, in this case a couple of years, but karma had its day as the Islanders were victorious by the score of 2-1 in a contest played at Torrey Pines High School.

"The game started at a furious pace," related CHS Head Coach Brian Hiatt-Aleu. "I told the guys we have to play. We were nervous. We weren’t intimidated, but we were nervous. We can dish it out too. They had seven yellow cards in the game, the same as last year. Physically there was no time to rest. The game was a real roller coaster ride."

Soccer players are the artists of the athletic world. Creativity and flow of the game are important to purists and overly physical play is antithetical to the spirit of the sport. Therefore, to question your opponent’s skill level is the soccer equivalent of a challenging them to a duel by slapping them in the face with your gloves.

"At halftime I told the team that they needed to relax a little bit," Hiatt-Aleu said. "We have guys with better technical skills than they do in Christian Bond, Kelcey Fisher and Christian Herrera." One glove is off. Here comes the other. "We scored five minutes into the second half. After that they threw everything forward. They were thumping and hoping for the best. Every single time they had a free kick, they would send eight guys into the box. Hugo Vera didn’t have to make any big saves. They couldn’t create anything." Load the pistols, the duel is on now.

Conversely, the Islanders showed offensive flair with their first goal coming on a counter attack, described by Hiatt-Aleu. "Christian Herrera beat three guys and laid it off to Kelcey, who slipped it under their goalie. It was a real nice, quality goal."

The second Islander tally came off of a set play, a particular strength of the Islanders over the past several years, according to Coach Hiatt-Aleu. "We ran a three-touch set play and Christian Herrera crossed it in. Nick Hamilton scored the goal. When the game was over, it was a huge relief for everyone. They were so happy. It was a big weight off of everybody’s shoulders. It was a special game. The stands were packed and we had a ton of guys there being really rowdy."

To reach the quarter-finals, the Islanders had to fight their way past San Marcos, which they did by the score of 6-1. The contest marked the return from injury of both Travis Lindsay and Jack Harms, neither of whom had been able to play for four weeks. The game allowed both players to overcome some initial nervousness before facing San Dieguito in the quarter-finals. Two Coronado goals were credited to both Herrera and Hamilton. Matt Ganyard scored once and Michael Dykstra converted on a penalty kick. Hiatt-Aleu explained why Dykstra took the PK. "He’s been our captain all year and been a real good kid. I told him ‘It’s yours for all the things you have done.’ It was his last kick on the home field."

The Islanders forthcoming appearance Wednesday in the CIF Division III semi-finals against St. Augustine marks the first time the CHS Boys Soccer Team has advanced that far in the playoffs. The Islanders vs. Saints game will be played at 7 pm at Balboa Stadium. "We’ve got nothing to lose," said Hiatt-Aleu of his team’s game against the top-seeded Saints. "We can come out relaxed Wednesday and if it falls our way, great. We only have two losses all year."

The Coronado Girls Water Polo Team’s CIF Division II Playoff victories over Mar Vista (21-1), Valhalla (13-1) and La Jolla (10-6,) set up the much-anticipated championship final with The Bishop’s School last Saturday evening at La Jolla High School’s Coggan Family Pool. Neither team is a stranger to the finals concept, as it was the sixth time in the last nine years that the Islanders have faced the Knights in the season finale.

In the two games played earlier in the season, Bishop’s won both battles by the scores of 9-6 and 9-7. In the championship final, Bishop’s converted on seven of their eight man-up scoring opportunities and rode that offensive efficiency to a 13-7 victory. Coronado converted on only one of their five power plays.

The game was closer than the final score might suggest, as the Islanders took some defensive risks late in the game in a do-or-die effort to get back into the contest. As Head Coach Dave Throop said, "The last few goals were situational. We were down without a lot of time and we had to gamble. Ten percent of the time it works for you and 90 percent of the time it doesn’t."

Bishop’s held the lead 2-1 at the end of the first quarter and 4-3 at halftime. Scoring three of the contest’s next four goals put the Knights up 7-4. Bishop’s bested the gambling Islanders 6-3 in the final frame to capture the title.

Katie Estrada, playing the center forward position led the Islanders with three goals, while one goal each was scored by Kelly Phelps, Maggie Sosnowski, Carly Hoshko and Emily Bigham. Morgan Ronimus was credited with nine saves.

Despite the loss, Throop was pleased with the performance of his team, which posted a 21-10 record this season. "All of the girls that got in the water played hard. Our strength was our cohesiveness. This group of girls was the most team-committed that I have ever worked with. Even the kids who knew they weren’t going to play at a given point in the playoffs, their esprit de corps was the same as a starter’s who never comes out of the game. We stress at the beginning of each year that we want to be the best team we can be. No team is perfect and there is some heartbreak, but I’m really proud of them."

Throop also had some positive things to say about his six graduating seniors, including Phelps, Bigham, Sandra Fernandez, Sarah Clinton, Natalia Lopez, and Callie Martin. "The seniors did a nice job of working with the other girls. They set goals for themselves and bought into the program. Those are six pretty dynamic people for what they did and for what they went through in 4 years. They are a very, very nice group of people to be around."

Wednesday evening, the Coronado Girls Basketball Team hosted Canyon Crest High School in a Division IV first round playoff contest, coming away with a hard-fought win by the score of 47-39. In a unique scoring pattern, Coronado won the first quarter 20-11, the third quarter 16-7 and the fourth stanza 5-3, while losing the second frame 18-6.

Islander Head Coach Toler Goodwin verbalized the play that transpired on the court. "I thought the good thing about the game was that we kept our heads. We played a good first quarter, but a sloppy second quarter. They took the lead into halftime. The kids responded and played a strong third quarter. They played a mentally tough fourth quarter and didn’t give up anything easy. We sat down and defended, rebounded and did not give up second-shot opportunities. We played against a team with a couple of young, pretty good players."

With Coronado holding a 42-36 lead at the end of the third quarter, neither team scored for the next 4:12 on the game clock. The contest featured four ties and six lead changes.

Brooke Becky led the Islanders with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists; Farrell Pompa contributed nine points and four boards; Jessica Davis-Ricci had seven points, seven rebounds and four assists; while Tiffany Depfer chipped in seven points, six rebounds, three assists and five steals.

Center Arrielle Luna made a strong contribution, finishing with six points and eight rebounds. She dominated play at the outset of the game before running into foul trouble. In the first three minutes of the contest the sophomore scored four points, committed two steals, blocked a shot, and grabbed four rebounds. Freshman Angela Strohbeck played well as Luna’s backup, which bodes well for next season.

Saturday night things got serious as Coronado traveled to No. 1 seed La Jolla Country Day and came out on the short end of a 52-24 result. "We had turnovers against a pressing team and they converted our turnovers," summarized Goodwin. "I thought we played well, but they were just better. We didn’t get Brooke enough shots, but that was part of their pressure defensively. We didn’t get her enough clean looks. They have great size, speed and some very good players. We gave a full and honest effort. If you are going to lose, you might as well play as hard as you can. There’s a reason why they are the No. 1 seed."

Due in part to the fact that they didn’t qualify for s shortened CIF playoff field last year, the Islanders were decidedly short on playoff experience on this year’s squad according to Goodwin. "The only one who played in a playoff game before was Brooke. Farrell and Jessica were on the bench in the playoffs (2 years ago). We have 12 of our 14 players coming back and getting a win in the playoffs is a big step. It will help us toward our off season playing and development."

The contest also marked a coaching anomaly for Goodwin, who just completed his seventh season at the helm of the Islanders Girls Varsity. "In the past we have zoned out of bounds plays and a quick defensive gimmick here or there. But it was the first time since I’ve been here where we played 32 minutes of zone defense."

Coronado concluded their season with an 18-10 mark.

Tuesday night found the Islanders Boys Basketball Team hosting Palo Verde from Blythe to a Division IV home game. To get to Blythe, hop on I-10 North for 3.5 hours and you’re there.

The Islanders came out flat and were down by three points at the first break and farther down by the score of 31-20 at halftime. With 5:35 remaining in the third quarter, Coronado trailed by 17 points. The Islanders mounted a furious comeback and with 1:58 remaining in the game, a long three-pointer converted by Chas Marks tied the game at 51-51. Unfortunately Coronado was required to use all of their energy to claw their collective way back into the contest and a Bryan Reed lay-up with 1:26 remaining in the game was their final scoring play. Palo Verde won by the final score of 60-53.

Marks scored 31 points on the game. JJ Pontes, earning his first start of the season, turned in a fine performance for Coronado with eight rebounds, two points, an assist and a steal.

Head Coach Sandy Dillon put on a full court press in the third quarter, spearheaded by Drew Zeller, Kasey Zapatka and Geoff Worley, that was particularly effective. "I was proud of the comeback," Dillon said. "We could have chucked it in. Palo Verde played pretty well and we didn’t shoot the ball particularly well."

The unofficial race to see who could hold the first post-season banquet went to the Boys Basketball program, who gathered en masse Sunday evening at the Coronado Yacht Club. The Varsity awards presented by Coach Dillon included: Co-MVPs – Ryan Guard and Chas Marks; Hustler Award – Geoff Worley; Co-Most Improved – Bryan Reed and Matt Oakley; Co-Captains – Blake Spitzer and Marks; Islander Sports Foundation Award for Integrity, Sportsmanship and Friendship – Kasey Zapatka and Spitzer.

Marks was unanimously voted to the Central League Second Team, which considering the talent level in the conference this year is noteworthy.

The JV Awards as announced by JV Head Coach Robbin Adair went to: Co-MVPs – Cole McLean and Matt Fowler; Co-Most Improved – Krishna Samperio and Erik Karlsson; Hustler Award –Fowler; Tri-Captains – Alex Rowan, Fowler and McLean.

The banquet’s Moment of Zen was provided by Frosh/Soph Head Coach Bob Lindfelt, while attempting to stress the importance of practice to the success of a team. "Practice is like a game…A game is like practice." Those are words to live by.

Lindfelt, who sincerely is one of the nicest men ever to coach a sport at Coronado High School, announced his award winners as: Hustler Award – Colin Pewtress; Most Improved – Tyler Hustwick, and MVP - Blake Malkemus.

Remember where we came in at the start of this column, about San Dieguito and physical soccer? This is the same song, second verse, except with a different result. In the CHS Girls Soccer game vs. San Dieguito, the Islanders fell 1-0 on their home field on a controversial goal.

When presented with the theory advanced by Your Natterer that the Islanders were more talented and the Mustangs were more physical in their style of play, CHS Head Coach Kiko Medina agreed with the assessment.

The game’s lone goal came with 6:01 remaining in the game and was unusual. The Mustangs fired a shot at Islander goalie Megan Mushovic, who deflected the shot straight up in the air, didn’t move backwards in the direction of the goal line at all, and then cradled the shot for the apparent save.

Then the controversy came, with the narration supplied by Medina. "The center referee took it upon himself to call the goal. The linesman didn’t have a clue. Other people at the game said ‘no way was it a goal.’ It was just one of those unfortunate things, where you can look back and talk about it. But unfortunately, that’s how it goes."

Attending the game, while admittedly a long way away from the goal line, it appeared to this reporter that Mushovic had the play well in hand.

In fact the Islander defensive backfield of Rosie Harris, Kindall Caldwell, Lindsay Naple and Emily Kopp turned in a fine game. "Defensively, we played really well. They didn’t create much. (Get those dueling pistols out and have them ready.) Lindsay had probably one of her best games of the year. Sasha Vido was the heart of the team for most of the year and she played great. Leah Hatheway had a great game as well."

Coronado had the better of the play in the first 15-20 minutes of the second half, when the game became very physical, primarily on the part of the Mustangs. Let’s charitably say that the referee and the two linesmen didn’t appear to be up to the challenge the game presented to them. Medina contested several calls that went against his club, all to no avail.

"The game was there for us. We played well enough to win it," Medina said. "We didn’t convert the chances we created. We got unlucky with the calls and it wound up hurting us. I look at it as they did a good job of taking us out of our game. They were extremely physical. In the game of soccer it doesn’t always work out your way. The girls worked hard all year long and left everything on the field. For us to lose that many players (to graduation) and for us to be there (in the playoffs) says something about the character of the girls."