A number of area scholastic soccer teams have gotten their seasons off on the right foot.
In girls play, Bishop’s School came into play last week for head coach Brian Quinn with a record of 5-2-1. Key players to date have included Lindsey Holman-Kelley, Stevie Griglak, Ashley Dominguez and Laurel Casey.
Bishop’s fell in the final of the Baron’sTournament to Horizon, 2-0. Players who made the All-Tournament team were Sarah Bromley, Chelsea Wilkerson and Annie Kadota.
“We have played three Division I schools ” Poway, RB and La Costa Canyon ” and the girls have played well to compete with these perennial powerhouses in Division I,” Quinn remarked. “I am pleased with how well they are adapting to a new system of play.”
Bishop’s starts league play on Jan. 3, 2007.
At La Jolla High, head coach Kristin Jones and the Lady Vikings came into last week at 4-2-1. La Jolla reached the semifinals of the Baron’s Tournament before losing to eventual winner University City High.
Key players in recent games have included Nihal Kayali (four goals and three assists), Dana Hoolko (four goals) and Simi Sharp (sweeper on defense).
“This season is already head and shoulders above last,” Jones noted. “We go into every game expecting to win and have the potential to be very successful in a difficult Western League. We’ll be trying to regroup after the break and get a few important wins during the beginning of league.”
On the boys side, La Jolla High came into action last week at 4-3-1 for new head coach Dan Berthiaume. Key players to date have included Joey Matibag, Trevor Fox and Eddy Efter.
“We started the season on fire, winning four of our first five games,” Berthiaume said. “Although losing three straight games was a slight setback for our team right before the winter break, I believe we will be a force in Western League this year. We have a great group of boys on this team that give everything they have every time they step on the field.”
At The Bishop’s School, the Knights followed their victory in the Coronado Tournament with a 1-0 victory over La Jolla High earlier this month.
“It was an excellent team performance, capped off with an unstoppable free kick by Brandon Busch to win the game,” Bishop’s head coach Malcolm Tovey noted.
This was the first time in over six years that the Knights had beaten the Vikings.
Bishop’s recently played defending CIF champion Francis Parker in the semifinal of the Parker Tournament. Parker had the better of the first half, while Bishop’s came back and dominated the second. The game went to penalties and Bishop’s goalie Pete Semmer pulled off a string of strong saves to ensure that Bishop’s prevailed and maintained its unbeaten record.
This set up the championship against La Jolla Country Day (LJCD). In heavy rain, LJCD took a well-deserved lead, but five minutes later, Scott Rogers scored for the Knights. Tim Costello and Brandon Busch (two goals) then scored to ice the win for the Knights.
“The team is very solid in all departments and has a squad of players that has more depth and talent than they have had in recent years,” Tovey noted.
La Jolla Country Day School has gotten off to a good start, scoring wins over Serra, San Marcos, Imperial, Canyon Crest and Mira Mesa.
Timmy Sedwitz leads the team with nine goals in seven games, even though he plays defense or midfield. The defense has been led by Daren Blake, Stephen Migdal and Chris Birks. Sophomores Kees Thompson and Alex Poyhonen have been playing well in midfield, while Zach Wolfenzen has been doing a good job filling in as an emergency goalkeeper for four games.
Adam Saven and Colin Young have been the playmakers in midfield, and Bobby Whitney has done a good job in goal as well as in midfield. Freshman Alex Fleischhacker has stepped in as a starter, while fellow frosh Antoine Lopez-Palm and sophomore Mason Boxer-Capitano have also seen considerable playing time.