Mission Bay athletes made the CIF playoffs in four winter sports, including boys basketball, girls soccer, girls water polo and boys soccer. After each program enjoyed great seasons and success in the playoffs, the boys soccer squad is the only team still standing.
The boys basketball squad lost by one point to Saint Augustine in January, then defeated them 76-62 two weeks ago. But in the second round of playoffs the Buccaneers again came up one point short when they lost to the Saints 51-50 Friday, Feb. 22.
The final game of the season saw the Bucs’ leading scorer Esaias Tsegai plagued with foul trouble early in the game, including three in the first quarter. He eventually fouled out with nearly five minutes left in the game after adding only 7 points. The offense struggled throughout the game.
Tsegai will be back next year along with four other varsity players, but the squad will be losing nine seniors. The Bucs finished with a 16-8 record.
An unranked University City team went on to defeat the Saints and will face La Jolla in the CIF Div III basketball finals Friday.
The girls soccer team took an 18-4 record into the playoffs, where they defeated Central Union in double overtime Feb. 19. They were taken out by the No. 2 seed La Jolla team 3-0 Jan. 22.
The girls water polo team achieved stunning success this season with a 10-0 overall record and 4-0 in league competition. But they were thrown into the playoffs against one of the top teams in the county.
The Lady Bucs challenged Coronado in the Lady Islanders’ pool Feb. 14. Mission Bay earned five goals in the showdown before being eliminated 16-5. The Lady Islanders shut out Serra 17-0 and defeated La Jolla 13-3 in the semi-finals. Coronado went on to defeat Bishops 8-6 for the championship.
The Buccaneers boys soccer squad took a 10-6-1 (7″”2-1) record into the CIF Division III playoffs. They had earned second place in the Western League behind Cathedral Catholic.
After a first-round playoff bye, the No. 3 seed Bucs defeated Castle Park 4-1 to advance to the semi-finals against No. 2 seed Southwest High. Juan Nogales scored two goals while Alexis Guzman and Mauricio Flores added one each for coach Joe Panian during the playoff win.
Next up in spring sports is baseball, where the Bucs are ranked in the top 10 in the county, plus there is softball, track, badminton, boys volleyball, boys tennis, swimming and golf.
Mission Bay sports information is available from the school at (858) 273-1313 or online at www.missionbayhigh.com.