As a sports term, the appellation ‘Dynasty’ shouldn’t be thrown around in a willy-nilly fashion. Based on Saturday evening’s 10-7 victory by the Coronado High School’s Girls Water Polo Team over their rivals from The Bishop’s School in the CIF Division II Finals, it may be time to hang that tag on the current Islander team.

A group of nine Islander senior girls, with a couple of additions sprinkled in over the years, has been playing together under Head Coach Dave Throop since middle school. The Nine are: Colleen Moore, Ashley Young, Maddie Murphy, Kelly Ronimus, Hillary Estrada, Sidney Hoshko, Natalie Stringer, Megan Meloche, and Kaylee Ginnane. Four years ago this group reached the CIF Finals. For the last three consecutive years they won the CIF Division II Championship. The Bishop’s Knights were the opponents for all four final games.

 The 2010 title game was played in blustery and wet conditions at the La Jolla High School Coggan Family Pool. Fans came adorned with long coats, fashionable footwear and in many cases, multiple blankets. The entire Coronado team decided to go through the five-minute period, which included the National Anthem and team introductions, attired in only their wet bathing suits and game caps. The Bishop’s squad was bundled up in long parkas. Intentionally or not, the Islanders were sending a message to the Knights even before the first whistle blew.

Then the unexpected happened. The first quarter was a scoreless draw. However, Coach Throop wasn’t worried. “In the first quarter, on our first four or five plays, we just missed our shots. From the first series we set the tone. We saw that come to fruition in the second quarter when we were clearly dominant.”

It took a little over two minutes in the second quarter for the scoring to get started, which came on a goal from Shelby Couture. Then the teams traded scores, with Young accounting for the Islanders second goal. Bishop’s answered again and then Coronado took over on tallies from Estrada on a Murphy assist, an unassisted goal by Estrada and then a second score from Young. Coronado was up 5-2 before the Knights scored with 1:13 left in the half. But Couture scored 16 seconds later on an assist from Young to make the halftime score 6-3.

In most games between these two teams, you have the feeling that impending doom is around the corner, but such was not the case Saturday night. The third quarter became much more physical and neither team scored in the first five and a half minutes of play. The Knights scored to make the score 6-4, but Ginnane scored on a man-up opportunity to push the score to 7-4. A subsequent Bishop’s goal was answered by Estrada with 20 seconds left in the period. The Islanders took an 8-5 advantage into the final frame.

Bishop’s scored three minutes in to the final quarter, but Murphy converted on another man-up on an assist from Ronimus. Less than a minute later, Murphy made one of the most athletic plays of the game, rising high out of the water with her left hand to reach across a Knights player, deflect and then control a Bishop’s pass into the post for an Islander possession. Seconds later Hoshko drew an exclusion and Young scored on another Ronimus assist to put the Islanders up 10-6. With 27 seconds left in the game, Bishop’s scored to make the final 10-7.

Coronado spent their last several possessions spread out over the entire pool, in the water polo version of the four-corner offense. The tactic was successful in its intent; running precious seconds off the clock and soon thereafter the Islander three-peat was complete. The obligatory ceremonial team swim with the coaching staff followed in short order.

A key to the game was man-advantage results for both squads. Coronado converted on three of their seven 6-on-5 chances, and held Bishop’s to one of seven. “That is indicative of our team defense,” Throop noted.

The title capped a strong Islander run through the top half of the CIF Division II bracket. Coronado dominated Monte Vista in the first round. Then they defeated three consecutive Western League opponents for the third time each, an extraordinarily difficult task. University City fell in the quarter-finals and Coronado dominated Cathedral Catholic in the semis 11-2, and it wasn’t that close. Ronimus lead the Islander scoring with three goals, followed by a pair each from Estrada, Murphy and Hoshko. Young and Couture had one goal each. Colleen Moore, Brooke Bernardy and Emma Renly shared time in goal.

Coronado defeated Bishop’s at home, on the road and at a neutral site. That pretty much says it all. Based on the fact that Coronado defeated Division I Champion Vista twice during the regular season, the Islanders are hereby declared to have won the Mythical San Diego County Championship. For years the power in both boys and girls water polo has come from Division II, which features schools with smaller enrollments.

“Our goal was to play our best game,” said Throop of his team. “The girls just played really well, with their ball control and passing. I’m proud of the group. It is, in some ways, the end of an era. These kids have been around so long. This is one of the more talented teams we have had and I am impressed with the kids that stuck with it. This program isn’t for everybody. We have a good group of juniors and underclassmen behind them, so it’s not the end. We’ll develop and be ok. This was a nice game for the seniors to finish with.”

Coronado finished its title run with an overall record of 24-8 and a perfect 6-0 mark in the Western League.

Islander Boys Soccer Advances to Division III Semi-Finals

Sometimes real life trumps sports and that is the case with CHS Head Boys Soccer Coach Brian-Hiatt-Aleu, who is of Chilean descent. The nation with a population of 17 million, located on the western coast of South America, experienced a magnitude-8.8 earthquake last week. The country is home to many Hiatt-Aleu’s close relatives and friends.

“It’s the end of the vacation season before the start of school in March,” said Hiatt-Aleu of Chile. “People were taking the whole week off from work and there was hardly anybody in Santiago (Chile’s capital). My family is ok. I talked to one of my cousins and they talked to another cousin up north. My aunts are ok. A couple of families went south for vacation and we haven’t heard from them.

I talked to one cousin and she woke up at 3:30 am. She went to the room where her kids, a four-year-old and a five-year-old were. They just stared at each other for a minute. The house looked like a hurricane went through it. The furniture was moved like somebody came in and remodeled. I hadn’t heard anything (about my family) through the phone, internet or anything for a couple of days. My friends and family and everybody have kids now. I have older aunts and uncles on both my Mom and Dad’s side. I am worried about them also.”

Now, on to cheerier matters. Hiatt-Aleu’s sixth-seeded CHS Boys Soccer Team marched into the desert last week and returned with a 2-0 victory over Central Union High School of El Centro. To review the action from last week’s column, Central was the No. 11 seed, but by virtue of their Desert League championship, was guaranteed a home game. An added factor to hitting the road for a game in the desert is that game officiating is, uh, somewhat suspect in all sports.

“For the first 20 minutes the referee did a great job,” said Hiatt-Aleu. It was at about that time that Coronado took a 2-0 lead on goals from Connor Marcone and Jacob Lujan. Coincidentally, the officiating took a turn at that same point, according to Hiatt-Aleu. “After that, we didn’t get one call. It got crazy. They started pulling yellow cards on the boys. In the second half, we made a ton of substitutions and we held on. It wasn’t pretty. The boys kept their composure at the end.” Goalie Patrick Toomey earned the shutout.

The road warriors were at it again Saturday. This time the destination was Montgomery High School, which now features an artificial turf field. Although the weather was bad, the turf drained well and the game was able to be played. “There was still wind and rain and the ball was skipping on the turf, but it wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be,” said Hiatt-Aleu. “The game against Montgomery was really intense and we were evenly matched. Individually they have a lot of skill. We wanted to pressure them and not let them have time on the ball.”

The wind made the game a tale of two halves, with a plot twist. “The first half we were against the wind and we defended really well,” Hiatt-Aleu said. “Marcone, Tommy Hart and Sergio Flores minimized the scoring opportunities for Montgomery. In the second half with the wind, we pushed things a little bit more. Paul Romero had his best game of the year, which was really important for us. Nate Hoffman did a really nice job marking their best player.

We took two or three shots in the first 15 minutes. We got the ball wide to Sean MacKenzie who crossed to Lujan and he scored on a great diving header. Things looked pretty safe, then the wind and rain died down. I turned to Kiko Medina (CHS Girls head coach) and said, ‘This is not good.’ Two minutes later Montgomery scored. We didn’t get rattled. In the last five to eight minutes of regulation we took over. They got frustrated and got four yellow cards in the past few minutes.”

The regulation portion of the game ended in a 1-1 tie, but Coronado won the toss for the first possession in overtime. Seth Willey hit a 33-yarder to win the game. Seth and Sean were our offensive threats. Seth’s work rate and Sean’s ability to create kept their midfield from attacking. Seth was an animal the whole entire game.”

The victory earns a trip for Coronado to the CIF semi-finals for the fifth consecutive year, a feat only matched by their opponents Wednesday evening, the No. 2 seeds from Cathedral Catholic. Game time is 7 pm.

Cathedral and Coronado have not played this season, but Hiatt-Aleu knows the Dons are a formidable foe. “All of the Cathedral players play at the premiere club level year around. We’ll see how it goes. Our boys are playing with a lot of confidence right now, so it doesn’t matter who we play.”

If the boys get past Cathedral, they play in the CIF Finals. The game is scheduled for Valhalla High School Sat., March 6 at 4 pm.

Islander Girls Soccer Hosts Division III Semi-Final With Mission Bay

Compared to the travails of the Boys Soccer Team, the CHS Girls Soccer Team had a walk on the beach. After earning the No. 1 seed in CIF Division III, the Islanders earned a first round bye and then hosted fellow Western League member the Academy of Our Lady of Peace Friday night.

Although Coronado had handled OLP handily in their two prior meetings, this marked the third time in three weeks the teams would face each other. Coronado was up to the task.

“It took us a while to get going, which says a lot about OLP” said Head Coach Kiko Medina. “It frustrated our girls a little bit, but our fitness and talent level showed in the end. “Stephanie Hamilton was the MVP of the game. She had a part in all three goals. She scored twice and assisted on a goal by Ali Culora. Stephanie Hamilton always works hard and her work ethic is never an issue. Stephanie Pietkiewicz is a quiet, consistent player. She handles her role very well and she did that again Friday night. Cory De Marco had the shutout.”

The victory means Coronado will host Mission Bay Tuesday evening at 7 pm. The Buccaneers upset University City in the quarter-finals to earn the semi-final berth against the Islanders. “We haven’t played Mission Bay, which is kind of nice,” said Medina. “It’s nice to get someone other than a Western League team for a while.” Should Coronado get past Mission Bay, they will play in the Division III Finals, also at Valhalla High School March 6, at 6:30 pm.

CHS Girls Basketball Reaches Quarter-Finals

Since the Natter Daughter played three years of club basketball, the athletic fashion statement employed by the Bishop’s Girls Basketball Team Saturday evening had a familiar look. Let’s just say that when the opposing team wears black high top basketball shoes and looks like they know their collective way around the weight room, you’re in trouble.

Such was the case for the Islanders in their Division IV quarter-final game against the Knights, ranked No. 6 in Division IV in the state. Mix in the fact that Knights players were consistently hitting step-back three-pointers in the early going and you have the makings of a one-sided game. Bishop’s prevailed 72-16.

To their credit the Islanders played hard until the end. Coronado Head Coach Toler Goodwin discussed the game from his team’s perspective. “Bishop’s is a very good team. We played a little intimidated and we gave a talented team the extra factor of not being physical right away. They came out and pressed and made us back up. You have to play teams like that to see what the competition is like. We needed to see what the next level is like.”

Goodwin’s starting lineup, after the season-ending complete ACL tear suffered by senior Co-Captain Maggie Harris, has consisted of four sophomores and a freshman. Only Harris and Katiani Lynch graduate from this year’s club.

The Islanders first round game against Escondido Charter was more egalitarian and the Islanders won 51-39. “It was a hard-fought game,” Goodwin said. “They were an aggressive, physical team. They had one girl who could score. We had to make a consistent effort to stop the ball and pick her up in transition.”

Several Islanders turned up impressive stats. Peri Curtis scored 25 points, and added 12 rebounds and three assists. Cory De Marco didn’t score, but had seven rebounds and seven assists from her point guard position. Alex Evans had five points and 13 rebounds. Nicollette Abrantes scored nine points.

“Lynch was the player of the game,” Goodwin said. “She had seven points and 15 rebounds in 14 or 15 minutes of play. She was all over the place. Katiani said ‘the hell with being soft.’ She had a really big game.” In total, the Islanders had 27 offensive rebounds and 29 defensive rebounds.

“We have a good number of young players coming back,” said Goodwin of his team. “We have good, young players who are still learning the game. The more they can play between now and next season, the better it will be.”

Coronado Loses Close Game to LJCD in Quarter-Finals

Friday evening Your Natterer hopped into my stylish ride and headed for La Jolla Country Day and the CIF Division IV quarter-finals game between the Islanders and the Torreys. At this point in the season, you normally have general feeling regarding the outcome of the game in advance, but that was not the case with this contest.

The two teams met in Coronado’s second game of the year, with the Torreys prevailing 46-26. The final score in this one was LJCD 50, Coronado 45. The sad part of the contest from a Coronado perspective is that it was a winnable game for the Islanders. Trailing 42-40 with 4:06 remaining in the game, the Islanders didn’t score for the next three and one-half minutes. For the game, Coronado was 5-17 from the line. La Jolla Country Day went 8-10 from the line in the fourth quarter.  

The loss did not diminish a superb 26-point, six-rebound and four-steal effort from sophomore guard Danny Hebert. None of the other eight Islanders who competed in the game scored more than four points.

As spotty as the offense was, the defensive effort Coronado put forth was outstanding. “The defense was exactly what we wanted it to be,” said first-year Head Coach J.D. Laaperi. “LJCD was out of sorts all night. We thought they would try to attack our middle and we worked on that all week in practice. We buckled down and played team defense. Defensively we played well enough to win. Offensively, we didn’t shoot the ball well from the floor or the free throw line. Both teams played well enough to win, but they just outscored us. We had a great effort from Danny and he gave it everything he had. He was beat in the locker room after the game.”

Laaperi also noted the contribution of Chris Banks, who played well in limited minutes. “I told Chris that tonight he became a varsity player. I thought he handled himself particularly well.”

The first round game was a 69-57 home win over Mater Dei, which featured the return of Coach Ken Caesar, who helmed the Islander program for two seasons. Hebert was again the star of the show, this time with 25 points, 10 assists and four rebounds. Senior Chris Maskevich played his final home game with a purpose, scoring 18 points and snaring 10 rebounds.

Laaperi elaborated on the game. “We were struggling to score points, but our defense was ok. Then Danny put the team on his shoulders. I have to give (CHS assistant coach) Brett Milke some credit. He got in my ear in the second quarter and told me to run an isolation play for Danny. He didn’t think their defender could stop Danny and their center couldn’t get over in time to help out. Danny got four layups off of that play.”

Maskevich also earned praise from Laaperi. “In addition to the scoring and the rebounds, Chris stepped out on their point guard when Mater Dei was running high double screens. Chris helped Danny to get back to his man and allowed us to play honest defense. All four coaches were in agreement that Chris had his best game ever against Mater Dei.”

The Islanders finished the season 22-7 and were Co-champions of the Central League. The team graduates eight seniors, but the top three scorers (Hebert plus juniors Justin Hebner and Billy Schmitt) for the team return, as does Harley Ralph, who started his sophomore season with an injury and had to work hard to return to form.