January 29, 2009

SPORTS

Lady Charger soccer players oppose strong teams

By Coach Jody Washington
Special to the Times

Last week, the Leland varsity girls’ soccer team (4-0-2) kicked off the second half of the season against two very strong teams. On Wednesday, the Chargers visited the defending league champion Leigh Longhorns (4-2) and on Friday, the Chargers faced off against the Pioneer Mustangs (2-2-1).

Andrea Buckley, senior, is a big part of Leland's defensive line. She is currently playing with an injury, showing true team spirit.

Leland vs. Leigh
Rainy, slick, gloomy and cold are the only words to describe the conditions the Chargers took to the field under against the hosting Leigh Longhorns. The game started slowly for Leland with the Chargers unable to adjust fast enough to the slick surface. Within 15 minutes, the Longhorns took a one-goal lead scored off of a nicely played corner kick. Minutes later Leland found themselves down by two when the Longhorns found the net yet again.

Minutes into the second half, Leland had a great opportunity when senior Serena Powery connected with senior Jenna Todd on the outside. Todd played a beautiful cross into the goal mouth that the Leigh goalkeeper got to easily. “Leigh played a very tight, controlled game. We just couldn’t penetrate through their midfield to get many chances on goal. We only had a few good chances and just couldn’t find the back of the net.”

Leland vs. Pioneer
In Friday’s match the Chargers returned to their old form starting strong against a solid Pioneer team. From the kick-off, the Chargers possessed the ball well out of the back connecting through center mids junior Brooke Beytin and senior Olivia Mangin to combine with the forwards. Within the first six minutes of the match there was chaos in the Longhorn box. Senior Maggie Nguyen continued to press the Mustang defensive line leading to Leland’s first goal of the match. Minutes later, junior Cristina Farrington was able to connect off a cross from the right side of the field with sophomore Katherine Mirassou who nailed a one time shot in the back of the net. Leland led at the half 2-0.

The first 15 minutes of the second half, Pioneer began to gain momentum working the ball up the middle extremely well. The Chargers senior only defensive line anchored by junior goalkeeper Megan Panek and seniors Andrea Buckley and Megan Unger, stepped up to the challenge by holding off the Pioneer attack.

Minutes later Mirassou connected with Farrington for Leland’s third goal of the game. Within what seemed like seconds Beytin received a misplayed ball about 35 yards out, catching the Pioneer goalkeeper out of position with a long shot, for Leland’s fourth goal of the game.

This week the Chargers (4-1-2) are home against the Evergreen Valley Cougars Wednesday and Piedmont Pirates Friday.

High School Sports Schedule Jan. 30 – Feb. 5

Leland

Friday—Boys basketball vs. Leigh at Leland; JV at 6; Varsity at 8 p.m.
Friday—Girls’ soccer vs. Piedmont Hills at Leland at 3:15 p.m.

Tuesday—Girls’ basketball vs. Mount Pleasant at Leland; JV at 5:30 and Varsity at 7
Tuesday—Boys’ soccer vs. Westmont at Leland: at 3:15

Wednesday—Boys’ basketball vs. Oak Grove at Leland; JV at 5:30 and Varsity at 7
Wednesday—Girls’ soccer vs. Sobrato at Leland at 3:15
Wednesday—Wrestling vs. Branham at Branham at 6:30

Thursday—Girls’ basketball vs. Branham at Branham; JV at 5:30 and Varsity at 7
Thursday—Boys’ soccer vs. Live Oak at Live Oak at 3:15

Pioneer

Friday—Boys’ basketball vs. Oak Grove at Oak Grove; JV at 5:30 and Varsity at 7 p.m.
Friday—Girls’ soccer vs. Branham at Pioneer at 3:15

Tuesday—Girls’ basketball vs. Yerba Buena at Yerba Buena: JV at 5:30, Varsity at 7
Tuesday—Boys’ soccer vs. Willow Glen at Pioneer at 3:15

Wednesday—Boys’ basketball vs. Westmont at Pioneer; JV at 5:30, Varsity at 7 p.m.
Wednesday—Girls’ soccer vs. Leigh at Leigh at 3:15

Thursday—Girls’ basketball vs. Andrew Hill at Andrew Hill; JV at 5:30, Varsity at 7 p.m.
Thursday—Boys’ soccer vs. Westmont at Westmont at 3:15
Thursday—Wrestling vs. Yerba Buena and Del Mar at Pioneer at 6:30

For more information about Leland and Pioneer sporting events, go to:

Pioneer Athletics: www.phsathletics.com
Leland Athletics: www.lelandathletics.com
Blossom Valley Athletic League: www.bval.org

Sports Briefs

AVYSL 4v4 MicroSoccer Registration now open
Take advantage of one of the best sports deals in town, Almaden Valley Youth Soccer League’s Spring Recreational 4v4 MicroSoccer. Registration is now open from Jan. 8 through Feb. 27 for players aged U5 through U18 (teams are forming now). For more information and to register, visit WWW.ALMADENSOCCER.ORG.

Girls’ U13 Almaden Fusion Tryouts
Almaden Fusion, a class 1 (select) girls’ soccer team, is holding tryouts Feb. 7 (mandatory) and Feb. 8 (if needed) from 12 noon to 2 p.m. at Bret Harte MS.

Team Fusion hires a professional coaching staff. Coach Adam Whaley received his college degree in Sports Coaching while living in England. He holds a B level coaching license. Coach Kendra Sato is a former DeAnza college player and holds an E level coaching license. We are looking for dedicated, competitive girls who like to play hard and have fun. Players must have birthdates after 7/31/96. Contact Carey Lisowski, Mgr. for more information and to pre-register: 408-316-3954 or dflaadmin@att.net. Website: http://www.almadenfusion.com.

SSJ Xtreme Girls’ U13 Soccer Tryouts
Established in 2003, we are a Class 3 competitive soccer team comprised of girls from the Almaden Valley and the Blossom Hill / Santa Teresa areas. If you are an experienced player born after July 31, 1995, you are welcome to join.

When: Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009 10 a.m. – noon

Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.

Where: Herman Intermediate School, 5955 Blossom Ave. San Jose.

Players should plan on attending both sessions. For more information, contact Nigel Cooper at 408-202-2058 or Email: nwcooper@yahoo.com.

Almaden FC Boys’ U16, U17, U18 Class 1 & 3 Soccer holds tryouts
The Almaden FC – Boys’ U16, U17 and U18 Class 1 & 3 - are looking for highly competitive soccer players with birthdates between Aug. 1, 1993 and July 31, 1991. We are a year round, competitive team based in Almaden Valley and coached by Alex Saunders (Leland HS JV Coach).  Winners of four regional tournaments in 2008 and looking to increase our record this coming season, we believe in development play to give our players a chance to compete in high school and college. We are holding tryouts at the following date and time:

Saturday, Jan. 24, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon at Pioneer High School’s natural grass fields.

Tryouts will continue through the end of February at times to be determined.

For more information, please contact our team manager, Alex Saunders 650-644-6507 or by email at alexandersaunders@hotmail.com.

Almaden Celtics soccer team tryouts:  Boys U13 Division 3 “Comp”
The Almaden Celtics, a U13 Boys “comp” soccer team in AVYSL (www.almadensoccer.org), is holding tryouts for the 2009 season. Players born on or after 8/1/1996 are eligible to play. The tryouts will be at the Leland High School West Turf Field on Jan. 25 from 1-2:30 p.m. and Jan. 31 from 10:30 a.m. to noon (rain or shine). Please arrive 15 minutes prior to Session Time with water, shin guards, and rubber cleats.  A parent/guardian needs to remain at the tryout. Our team has a paid trainer/head coach (Adam Coulter) and two parent assistant coaches (Lincoln Bejan and Dominic Rancadore) that enjoy working with the boys on soccer and bring a lot of enthusiasm to the game.  We will offer the opportunity to play spring and fall soccer, including tournaments.  Feel free to e-mail Frank Torres (team manager) at frank.home@sbcglobal.net if you have any questions.

AVYSL hosts tryouts for the U9 thru U12 age groups
Participants are encouraged to attend all tryout days to increase their opportunities to make the teams. Tryouts will be held at the Tillman Stadium at Leland High School, and the “West” field next to the softball diamond. Evaluations will be run by an independent team and will give every child the opportunity to succeed.

U9 age group eligibility birth dates: 8/1/00 thru 7/31/01
U10 - 8/1/99 thru 7/1/00
U11 – 8/1/98 thru 7/31/99
U12 – 8/1/97 thru 7/31/98

The tryout schedule is below – please arrive early to sign in. To save time in the registration process, download and bring the 1601 form (CYSA link provided). For more information, visit www.almadensoccer.org or contact Neil Diaz, coach@almadensoccer.org.

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