With a few league games to go, local scholastic soccer teams look to net league crowns and position themselves for the upcoming CIFs.
On the girls side, The Bishop’s School sported a record of 12-4-4 as play wound down last week. The Lady Knights entered a big contest with Horizon late last week in the midst of a nine-game streak of not having conceded a goal.
Goalkeepers Gabi Quart and Hannah Brown have been playing a half in every one of the games and keeping the net empty. Head coach Brian Quinn noted the defensive efforts of Laurel Casey, Bree Geary, Stevie Griglak, Elizabeth Mills and Emily Taylor.
On the offensive side, Sarah Bromley has been stellar and Annie Kadota has scored five goals over the last number of games. Bromley ended January with five goals and nine assists.
“It has been a season to remember for many reasons, and the girls have played consistently well from November to now,” Quinn noted.
At La Jolla High, head coach Kristin Jones and the Lady Vikings dropped a 1-0 decision last Monday to Christian. La Jolla got top performances from Dana Hoolko, Alisson Waggoner and Chelsea Raley.
La Jolla was sporting a 6-7-3 record late last week with six games left in the regular season.
“We are already at our win total from last year, which is exciting,” Jones said. “Our division is all over the place in terms of records, so we are sitting solidly in the playoff picture, which was our goal from the beginning of the season.”
La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) School and head coach Dave Jenkins are faced with a rebuilding year after losing 10 starting seniors to graduation.
LJCD entered action this week at 0-4-1 in Coastal League, with two losses to Bishop’s, one to Parker and a tie with Canyon Crest. Last week, the Lady Torreys lost to both Horizon and Parker (4-0, 6-0 respectively).
Jenkins noted the efforts to date of senior captains Lorin Jenkins and Kate Hummel returning for their fourth season on varsity.
Other returning starters seeing playing time are juniors Allison Dorr, Cody Saleh and Jessica Hershfield, along with sophomore Sierra Ferreira.
On the boys side, La Jolla High and head coach Dan Berthiaume carried a 6-4-4 into action late last week.
Glenn Bourgeois filled in at sweeper recently and did a great job, according to Berthiaume. The first-year head coach also said Lee Abelkop is starting to live up to his potential.
“We had a rough start in our league, but we are coming on strong and peaking at the right time,” Berthiaume said. “Hopefully, we can ride this momentum through the last four games of league and into the playoffs.”
At The Bishop’s School, the Knights are having a stellar season, sporting a 16-1-2 mark heading into late last week.
Brandon Busch has led the way with 25 goals to date, including four goals in two games in wins recently over Canyon Crest and Santa Fe Christian.
The Knights are looking toward league and CIF gold as the season winds down.
“With this group of players, with strong senior leadership, with Pete Semmer our outstanding goalkeeper and reigning league MVP, with a strong bench and with the positive vibe we have on the team, anything else will be a disappointment,” Bishop’s assistant coach Adam Ruderman noted.
At La Jolla Country Day School, the Torreys split a pair of games over the last week.
In a 4-1 win over Horizon, Tim Sedwitz contributed two assists and became the team’s all-time leading scorer with 149 points (55 goals, 39 assists). Zach Wolfenzen scored two goals (he now has 13 on the season), along with Taylor Sarkaria and Jake Eliasberg. Sarkaria also earned an assist, as did Mason Boxer-Capitano.
“It was a great game for the entire team, especially as far as the crisp passing was concerned,” LJCD head coach Jerry Fleischhacker said. “Individually, praise goes especially to Sedwitz, Wolfenzen, Boxer-Capitano, Darren Blake, Chris Birks, Alex Fleischhacker and goalkeeper Bobby Whitney.”
In other action, LJCD dropped a 3-1 decision to Francis Parker.
Wolfenzen scored his 14th goal of the season on a setup by Colin Young. Blake and Steven Migdal played strong games on defense, while Sedwitz and Alex Fleischhacker did a good job in midfield.