Nado Natterings
A weekly column by David Axelson

Nado Natterings
by David Axelson, Chief Executive Officer
The Islander Sports Foundation

12 Dec 2007 Issue #48

Rain was not a problem last week for the CHS Girls Soccer Team, as they evaded the elements and posted a 1-1-1 record, with all three of the games played as part of the Barons Tournament.

In the first game, the Islanders charged into battle with Mission Hills missing five of their starters, who were out of commission due to a combination of injuries and SAT testing. “We got caught in a counter attack in the last few minutes of the game,” said Head Coach Kiko Medina. “We played really well, but we couldn’t finish (score).” Coronado lost 1-0.

Things improved in the next contest, as Coronado played Our Lady of Peace, a team that defeated the Islanders four times without a loss last season. “There was a lot on the table for that one,” Medina said. “We were ready and excited for the game and we beat them 1-0. We scored in the last couple of minutes. Colleen Burns had the assist and Leah Hatheway scored the goal. Andrea Davis had four saves and earned the shutout. We had 10 shots on goal. We had a lot of chances and we weren’t finishing, but we got the goal in the end.”

Game Three of the week was a 1-1 tie with Mater Dei (formerly Marian Catholic) and Medina summarized the Islander’s lone score. “Colleen put pressure on the keeper and the ball fell to Leah and she had the goal on that one.”

With an overall season record of 2-1-1, the Islanders host Canyon Crest Tuesday at 4:45 pm, and are at home again Thursday at 5:30 pm with Eastlake. “The Eastlake game should be a good one,” Medina said of the contest against the Division I powerhouse. “They are a very strong team and quite a few players from the Under 17 Nado Select Team play for them. In fact, we have four players from that team and they have four. It should be very interesting.”

Boys Soccer Faces Tough Tournament Test

When last we left the CHS Boys Soccer Team, they were headed into the Coronado Invitational Tournament against tough competition, primarily against larger schools with historically strong soccer programs. The Islanders competed in the tougher upper bracket of the tournament and were the only CIF Division IV team to win a game in the event, a feat they accomplished against Southwest of El Centro. “It was an interesting test,” said Coronado Head Coach Brian Hiatt-Aleu of the tournament.

First the Islanders lost to Mt. Carmel 3-0, interestingly a contest in which Hiatt-Aleu’s team dominated the play. “We missed numerous opportunities to score in the first and second half. We were a little over anxious and our kids felt some pressure to perform. We played really well between our 18-yard box and their 18-yard box. The score was 1-0 until 90 seconds were left in the game.” Two quick scores at the end of the contest accounted for the lop-sided score.

The second game found Coronado ahead 2-1 against Bonita until the last minute of the game when Bonita scored the equalizer. The game ended in a 2-2 tie, with Arturo Valle scored both Islander goals.

The Islanders hit their offensive stride against Southwest of El Centro, winning 5-0. Valle scored three goals, with Clay Butner and Peter Kittiyasawadi scoring once each. The contradictions sometimes found in sports in general and soccer specifically occurred in the tournament. Mt. Carmel which beat Coronado 3-0, defeated Southwest 1-0 on a last minute goal, a team the Islanders dominate. 

The final game of the fortnight was between Coronado and San Ysidro, which now sports an unblemished 6-0 mark. “The game was a lot like the Mt. Carmel game,” said Hiatt-Aleu. “We made one mistake on defense on a crossing shot and we didn’t put away our chances. The final was 1-0 and they didn’t have an official shot on goal all game.”

This week the opposition doesn’t get any easier, as Coronado hosts La Jolla Tuesday at 6:30 pm at Niedermeyer Field and then the Islanders travel to Crawford to start the Central League season Friday at 3 pm.

Caesar and Boys Basketball Enter Win Column

Last week the CHS Boys Basketball Team split their two games to complete the Hilltop Tournament, defeating Chula Vista 60-58 on double figure scoring efforts which included 12 points from Matt Fowler and 11 each from Justin Parsons and Cole McLean. The victory was the first for new Head Coach Ken Caesar at the helm of the Coronado Boys program.

“We jumped out on them, managed to get the ball into the post and limited our turnovers,” said Caesar of the team’s victory. “They took the lead in the last two minutes of the game, but it was never by more than one point. It’s one of the better games we’ve had this year.”

The second game of the week was a Friday evening affair as the Islanders faced an extremely quick team from Monte Vista and Coronado was on the short end of a 66-53 score. Krishna Samperio recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, with Parsons adding 12 points and eight rebounds. Fowler played a nice floor game with five assists and two steals, and tying Parsons with team-high scoring honors with 12. McLean added nine points and four rebounds in the losing effort.

“I got on the guys at halftime,” Caesar said of the Monte Vista game. “When I put us in the tournament, it didn’t matter to me if we lost all five games. We needed to see different size and speed. When we play the better teams, we can’t be shell-shocked. I don’t mind getting beat by a team that is more athletic and more skilled. We need to have a sense of urgency. Our guys need to know that if the other team gets a dunk, it will be the only one they get. It’s a whole culture thing. They have to look at this thing like we are going to be good now.”

This week the Islanders (1-4) have their first two home games of the season. They host Mountain Empire Wednesday at 6 pm, followed by another home game Thursday against Christian Life Academy at 6 pm.

Girls Basketball Loses to Torrey Pines

In their lone game of the week, the Coronado Girls Basketball Team traveled to Torrey Pines, where they fell to the Falcons 47-37. According to Head Coach Toler Goodwin, it was a game Coronado was capable of winning. “We got down early by eight or ten points and then we had the lead (23-22) at halftime. We had four or five minutes in the third quarter when we played very poorly offensively. Arrielle Luna got her fourth foul and our offensive rhythm wasn’t good after that. We didn’t move the ball, we made one pass and shot, and we were not real disciplined. We played a lot of individual basketball and shot ourselves out of the game. We got down 12 or 14, and then we worked it back to six points, but we couldn’t get the key basket we needed to get it to a one possession game.”

Tiffany Depfer led Coronado with 13 points, followed by Bria Phillips with 11.

“We did some really good things to work our way back into the game,” Goodwin elaborated. “We played team defense, blocked out, rebounded and limited their shot opportunities. One thing we haven’t done real well is defend the three-point shot. Ramona, OLP, Chula Vista and Torrey Pines all hit a couple of threes because we didn’t rotate out.”

The team is getting healthier, with Natalie Brooks due to return to the team after sustaining an injured ankle. With three games scheduled for this week, Brooks and crew need to be at full speed. Tuesday Coronado hosts University City at 7 pm; they play at Francis Parker Thursday at 4:30 pm; and Saturday the Islanders host Mar Vista in the final day of play for the Coronado Round Robin Tournament. Tip-off for the varsity game is 4 pm.

Girls Water Polo Opens With 1-2 Mark

Playing a tough non-conference schedule seems to be the order of the day for the CHS Winter Sports Teams, and Girls Water Polo is no exception to that concept. In fact the Islanders may have taken the theory to an extreme. In the first three weeks of the season, Coronado will face four of the Top 10 prep water polo teams in the country including Long Beach Wilson, Newport Harbor from last week’s schedule and Los Alamitos and Dos Pueblos later in the month.

Friday night the Islanders played Long Beach Wilson at Belmont Plaza in the high school showcase game of the Holiday Cup. The game before theirs featured the women’s national teams of the Netherlands and Italy. The game following found the U.S. and Australia playing each other.

“It was a great format and a great environment,” said CHS Head Coach Dave Throop. “Long Beach Wilson is very, very physical, which is their game plan. It was our first game and we didn’t handle that real well. I told the kids ‘you’ll have to adjust on the fly and realize that you’re not going to be helped out by anybody.’ Long Beach shot lights out, and the deficit was 8-1 at halftime. In the second half, we got a lot more physical and we clawed our way back, but it was too little, too late.”

Long Beach converted on 11 of their 15 shots on goal to win by the score of 11-7. “The positive was that no one quit,” Throop said. “In the fourth quarter, we started an all underclassman group and they did a good job.”

Saturday morning Coronado hosted Newport Harbor and the Islanders emerged on the short end of a 6-5 score. The Islanders were having trouble finding the net, converting on five of 18 shots on goal. Summarizing the Islander shooting woes, Throop said, “In the first half their goalie didn’t have a save against us. We were overshooting. Ashley Young was our leading scorer with two goals, and Hannah Sebenaler, Carly Hoshko and Sabrina Anonas all scored once.”

Coronado found their shooting touch in Saturday’s nightcap against University City, out-scoring the Centurions 11-3. “We played very well early in the game,” Throop said of his talented squad. “Had we played like that against either earlier opponent, we would be been much more competitive. I still think as they learn their roles and understand their situations, this will be a very, very dominant team. Right now we’re just trying to keep it as simple as possible. Our preseason is pretty brutal. Last night’s game (against University City) was important for their confidence. We’ve been conditioning pretty heavily. The season still has three months to go.”

This week the Islanders host Cathedral Catholic at Coronado Municipal at 3 pm.

CIF Champion CHS Boys Water Polo Team Post Season Awards

CHS Boys Water Polo Head Coach Randy Burgess announced his team’s award winners at the post season banquet last week. The Golden Tassel Award for highest team grade point average – Jacob Smith; ISF Award for Integrity, Sportsmanship and Friendship – Norbi Karoly; Team Captains – Kyle Pokorny, Sean Cook and Smith; Coach’s Award – Sam Working; Most Improved – Jake Hunzecker; Most Valuable Offensive Player – Cook; Most Valuable Defensive Player – Pokorny; Team MVP – Smith.

The All-Western League and All CIF Division II Teams were identical and included: First Team – Cook and Smith; Second Team – Karoly and Pokorny; Third Team – Alex Johnson. The Player of the Year for the Western League and CIF Division II was Smith. Nominated to the Division I vs. Division II Senior County-Wide All-Star Game were Cook, Pokorny, Karoly and Smith.

The JV award winners as announced by Coach Ian Silverman were: Team Captain – Jack Nicholson; Most Valuable Offense – Asante Sefa-Boakye; Most Valuable Defense – Lex Aponte; Coach’s Award – Joe Clarkson; Most Improved – Anthony Salvatore.

Coach Silverman also performed the honors for the Novice Team awards, which included: Team Captain – Patrick Geer; Most Valuable Offense – Dylan Peterson; Most Valuable Defense – Garrett Smerdon; Coach’s Award – Shane Owens; and Most Improved – Braydon Hummeldorf.

National Letter of Intent Day Finds Islander Girls Quartet Heading to Division I Schools

‘Playing at the next level’ has become a reality for four female Coronado High School lacrosse players. High School All Americans Greer Goebels and Bria Phillips were joined by Alyssa Littin and Hannah Sebenaler in signing to play for Division I programs.

Goebels, who like Littin and Sebenaler, will have played for four seasons in the Coronado lacrosse program, signed with Colgate. She expects to continue to play midfield for the Raiders.

Phillips will matriculate to the University of Maryland Baltimore County and like Goebels will play her high school position of midfield for the Chesapeake Bay Retrievers (seriously, I’m not making that up). Phillips also plays basketball at Coronado and transferred to the school from the Seattle area a year ago.

Littin will play at Marist College in New York, the current home of former Islander star Julia Schelkun. Littin discovered Marist through her connection with Schelkun, a former teammate and is excited to attend the school that has a developing and improving lacrosse program. If you’re keeping score, the Marist College sports nickname is the Red Foxes.

Finally, Sebenaler threw a curve into an otherwise symmetrical story, as the talented two-sport star in water polo and lacrosse, will play water polo at UCLA. If you are reading this sports column, you probably already know the Bruins are the nickname of the UCLA sports teams, ending that bit of intrigue as well. Sebenaler has excelled in the two sports for her four years at Coronado and was the leading scorer on the lacrosse squad last year.

Congratulations to all four athletes and best wishes on your intercollegiate sports careers.

Coronado Sailing Team Competes in Anteater Regatta

(Author’s Note: There will be a brief pause as Your Natterer contemplates the relative merits of being a Retriever, a Red Fox or an Anteater…which may be the modern day equivalent of the Gordian Knot.)

The Coronado High School Sailing Team under the direction of Jon Rogers had a strong finish in the SoCal Regatta held Nov. 15 at the Mission Bay Yacht Club. With 42 boats competing, Ryan Sullivan/Hayley Eyer placed third in the event, followed by Hans Henken/Kaitlin Dunphey in seventh; Pike Harris/Nick Gomez-Hall in eighth; Tom Ben-Kiki/Chloe Lozier in 12^th and Sally Harris/Brian Smith in 14^th.

This past weekend the Anteater Regatta, an event conducted by the UC Irvine Sailing Team, was held. The CHSST Gold (Varsity) A Team of Ryan Sullivan/Cragan Smith and the Gold B of Pike Harris/Karisa Chapa/Nick Gomez-Hall placed sixth overall out of 28 teams. This represents the best CHS finish in the past five years.

The Silver (JV) Team of Henken/Eyer/Chloe Lozier and Silver B of Philip Lozier/Dunphey placed third out of the 18 teams. This is the best Silver Division performance by the CHSST ever.

Also competing in the same event were Coronadoans representing Francis Parker High School, which finished in fourth place in the Gold Fleet. Coronado sailors included Cooper Dressler, Gia DeMichele and Robbi Robyn.

The Coronado sailors will practice this week with in-house races to choose the competitors for the Rose Bowl Regatta to be held in January by the USC Sailing Team.