Wednesday evening in the slightly surreal surroundings of Balboa Stadium, the Coronado High School Boys Soccer Team lost to St. Augustine 2-1 in the CIF Division III semi-final game. The contest had a retro feel, with the game played on an old artificial turf surface, with jet planes periodically diving overhead on their final approach to Lindbergh Field.

But the play on the field was anything but retro, as the No. 8 seeded Islanders bravely battled the No. 1 seeded and eventual CIF Division III Champion Saints all night long. Clad in all green uniforms, with white numbers and lettering, Coronado got off to an uncertain start, yielding a goal on a long throw-in and a header just 1:14 into the contest. Almost exactly 20 minutes later, Coronado’s Christian Bond took advantage of a Saints defensive lapse and evened the score at one-all. From that point in the game until the conclusion of the first half, Coronado took the game to St. Augustine, forcing the Saints to repeatedly defend their goal.

"I thought it was real intense," said Coronado Head Coach Brian Hiatt-Aleu of the competition level. "We came out ready to play. I thought we had the better chances in the first half. We were really mature, digging away and we created a few scoring opportunities. At halftime it was an even game. I thought we stayed focused and we were playing well."

St. Augustine’s depth of talent became apparent in the second half. A diving save by All-Central League First Team Goalie Hugo Vera with 34:19 remaining in the half kept the game tied. Vera made another nice sliding save on a Saints counterattack halfway through the second half to keep the Islanders in the game.

With 15:01 remaining in the game, St. Augustine scored the game-winning goal on a quick counter, culminating in a 25-yard left-footed shot, which found the upper right-hand portion of the Islander net. Vera read the shot well, but couldn’t get there in time.

Hiatt-Aleu immediately moved an extra attacker forward to try to even the score. "We wanted to try to get to the finals, not try to get lucky in the last 5 minutes of the game. The game got a little sloppy and we panicked a little bit."

St. Augustine, which is nearly completely comprised of Premiere Level club players, is able to go six or seven deep on their bench without a drop in talent. But Coronado gave them everything they could handle Wednesday evening. The ‘What Could Have Been’ element to the season were injuries suffered by Travis Lindsay and Jack Harms, which caused the seniors to miss the last month of the regular season and didn’t permit them to be 100 percent in the playoffs. Both players turned in a fine effort against the Saints.

"We ran out of gas," said Hiatt-Aleu of the final moments of the semi-final game. "The effort the boys gave was incredible. St. Augustine is ranked third or fourth out of 95 schools in San Diego County. It was the Saints year. I told their coach after our (early season) tournament that Division III is yours to lose. I kind of jinxed myself right there. They scored a good goal and they were better than we were in the second half. We lost to a better team. We lost only three games all year, which was pretty incredible."

The Islanders officially finished with a 19-3-4 mark, as a couple of their tournament wins via shootout are technically ties according to the CIF. Joining Vera on the Central League First Team are Nick Hamilton and Lindsay. Second Team honors were awarded to Michael Dykstra and Matt Ganyard. Hamilton was the runner up for Central League Player of the Year. Vera finished with 14 shutouts this season, including six in Central League play.

For this portion of the column, I was going to open with a ‘Spahn and Sain and pray for rain" line, which referred to the Boston Braves 1948 National League pennant race when southpaw Warren Spahn (15-12) and right-hander Johnny Sain (24-15) hurled their team into the World Series.

However, virtually no words rhyme with either (Kevin) Couture or (Kyle) Pokorny. Plus it sounds as though we’ll have enough rain this week to last us for a while.

The Islanders are off to a fine 2-0 start by virtue of 15-2 victory Friday over San Diego High School, which featured a 14-hit offensive surge by Coronado. According to Head Coach Sam Ceci, the top third of the Islander batting order consisting of Dan Cepin, Max Weinfurtner and Couture all scored in each of their first three trips to the plate.

Senior starting pitcher Ryland Gill earned the victory and sophomore Josh Fink pitching in his first varsity game, worked the last inning for Coronado. "Ryland threw well and Fink came in and threw strikes," Ceci said succinctly.

The following day the Islanders rode an eight inning two-hitter by Couture to a 2-0 victory over Francis Parker. Couture also struck out 14 Lancer hitters and took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. A great diving catch by second baseman Pokorny put a stop to a Parker scoring threat late in the game.

When last we left the Islanders, they capped a great 22-13 season with the runner-up spot in the CIF Division III Playoffs to USDHS, now Cathedral Catholic. This year the Islanders are still in the Western League, competing against the likes of Mission Bay, Cathedral, La Jolla and University City. But their post-season run this year will be conducted in the somewhat friendlier confines of Division IV.

One of the reasons the Parker victory was important is that the Lancers are now a divisional playoff opponent. The win by Coronado will likely play a large factor in the post-season seeding meeting. "They are a very good hitting team," said Ceci of the Parker nine. "We needed Kevin on the mound to get on top of them. Kevin was Kevin. He did real well and wanted no part of coming out (early in the game)."

Other prospective Division IV playoff opponents include Santa Fe Christian, Horizon, Marian Catholic, Christian and Bishop’s.

Being early in the high school season, the Islander lineup is still somewhat in a state of flux. The outfield from left to right consists of Alex Rowan, Weinfurtner and Benson Lorden. The infield consists of Cepin at third, Couture and Blake Spitzer sharing time at shortstop, Jake McMahon at second and Ben Thorne playing first. Spitzer and Michael Baker-Denson share time catching, depending on the Islander pitcher.

Pokorny, who a great playoff run last year, experienced some arm trouble during the off season, and has not pitched in the early going this year, although he is able to play in the field. Key players off the bench include pitcher/outfielder Chas Marks, and outfielder David Sand.

This week the Islanders play in the Bully’s Tournament, and face bracket play against Westview Monday at home, Otay Ranch Wednesday and Mission Hills Friday. Ceci knows this is a tough tournament field. "I doubt if we are going to see a shutout this week. All three schools have enrollments between 2,200 and 2,800 and are decent programs. All of them were playoff teams from last year."

Fresh from a runner-up finish in the CIF Division II playoffs, the CHS Girls Water Polo Team held their post season banquet at the Coronado Municipal Golf Course last week. The Varsity award winners as announced by Head Coach Dave Throop included: MVP Offense – Katie Estrada; MVP Defense – Kelly Phelps and Morgan Ronimus; Coach’s Award – Alex Adamson; Co-Most Improved – Sarah Clinton and Maggie Sosnowski; and Team Captain – Sandra Fernandez.

JV Head Coach Ian Silverman announced the JV award winners, who were: MVP Offense – Aly Rodgers; MVP Defense – Lenea Smith; Team Captains – Kathryn Bailey and Julie Zeller; Co-Most Improved – Heather Ireland and Michelle Carroll, and Coach’s Awards – Laura Luttrell and Kelsey Harms. Congratulations to all of the award winners.

Head Coach Ed Shanholtz has his Co-MVPs from last season Farrell Pompa and Sara Noceto returning to the club. Pompa is the team’s starting shortstop and clean-up hitter, while Noceto is the squad mound ace.

Armed with that combo, the Islanders defeated Kearny High School 4-1 Friday in the season opener for both teams. Like their counterparts on the CHS Baseball Team, the Islander Softballers will compete in the Western League, while ‘dropping down’ to Division IV come playoff time. The Western League competition features La Jolla, University City, Cathedral Catholic, Mission Bay and Point Loma. "Clairemont won the league last year," said Shanholtz, when asked about the teams to beat in conference play in 2006. "And Cathedral was second last year. They are the top two teams again."

The pitching staff is bolstered by a transfer from Bonita Vista Alexis Wright, who will play centerfield when she is not on the mound. Noceto plays first base when she doesn’t pitch. Christy Mebust plays either first or center field, depending on the Coronado pitcher. Rosie Harris is behind the plate, with Lisa Bernardy at second, Brandi Bible at third, Karli Massie in left field and Jessica Davis-Ricci in right. All-important bench strength is supplied by Hayley Kitzmiller, Katie Gomrick and Kelly McCray.

As for the CIF Division IV playoff race, Shanholtz nominates Christian as the front runner. "They won it last year and Imperial is near the top of the division. We play at Christian Tuesday (3:15 pm start), so we’ll find out about them soon. We play at San Ysidro Friday at 3:30 pm. Francis Parker is in Division IV and we’re playing them." Later this month, the Islanders will play in the Aztec Tournament, annually hosted by Montgomery High School.

Shanholtz is again assisted on the bench by Coaches Greg Loving and John McClimon. The JV team is lead by Head Coach Tony Isabella and his assistants Jay Kruer and Brenda Smith.

CHS Head Track Coach George Green lobbed an E-mail to Your Natterer to inform anyone interested in participating in Track and Field at the high school, that they may join the team through the end of this week. The squad’s first dual meet isn’t scheduled until March 30. Contact Coach Green after school at the CHS track or via E-mail at ggreen2@san.rr.com.

Head Coach Robbin Adair’s CHS Boys Tennis Team won a pre-season tune-up against Mira Mesa last Wednesday and did so without a senior in the lineup. The team won 11 of the 16 contested sets and according to Adair, the five sets that were lost included two via tie-breakers and the other three by scores of either 6-4 or 5-7.

"It’s a little early to finalize the lineup," said Adair of his team. "In singles it looks like freshmen Krishna Samperio and Patrick Holman will play No. 1 and No. 2. In doubles, we have three pretty equal teams with sophomore Frankie Harrison teaming with freshman Daniel Grazian; juniors Chris Mitchell and Matt Oakley playing together; and sophomore Evan Wheeler playing with junior Adrian de Aribe.

Rounding out the singles ladder may be Jordan Vance, Brenton Mashburn, Mitch Moran, Sergio Duck or Ryan Jones. We’ll see."

The Islanders host San Dieguito Academy Tuesday in a Varsity and a JV match.

Coronado Municipal Golf Course Pro Dean Cummings takes over the role as head coach of the Islander Boys Golf Team in 2006, succeeding Dr. Lee Price. And Coach Cummings has a lot to work with this season.

"We are going to have a really, really good team this year," said Cummings, a Coronado alumnus himself (CHS ’96). "It’s exciting. I played for the team for 3 years and I’ve worked (at the golf course) for quite some time. I really think this team can be pretty darned good. I’m trying to tell them they are pretty good. I just need them to be convinced of that. I think they can be the best golf team (at Coronado) in quite some time."

The Top 6 on the team currently include Stewart Harris, Connor Pompa, Nick Finley, Weston Moore, and Bobby Center, "one of the nicest kids I’ve ever met," according to Cummings. Center is a transfer from New Orleans, and a Hurricane Katrina transplant. Rounding out the squad is Bryan Reed, fresh from a fine basketball season as Coronado’s starting center.

Another possible addition to the team is sophomore Dylan Hakes, who has transferred to CHS after a playing for a year at The Bishop’s School. Currently the transfer paperwork is being processed.

Boys Golf in San Diego County employs six players per team on the course, with the best five individual scores counting toward the overall team score. The lowest team score wins the match.

"During our tryout days, the worst team score we played was a 192," said Cummings. "That’s way better than even when I was in school. We had five kids average under 40 (strokes per nine holes). We have the potential to be really good."

Their first regular season match of the year will be played Monday against Cathedral Catholic at The Crosby at Rancho Santa Fe. (I think I was just assessed a $50 fee for typing the name of the exclusive course.) Said Cummings of the course, "I just received a three page E-mail with all of the course rules." (Make that an even $100).

Coronado will play in the Central League again this year, where they are again the favorite to win the conference crown.