February 8, 2007

SPORTS

Leland ends two-game slide with 58-43 win over Evergreen

Technical foul against Evergreen gives momentum back to Leland in fourth quarter

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Editor

The Leland girls’ basketball team snapped a modest two-game losing streak, posting a 58-43 win at home over Evergreen on Feb. 2.

Leland guard Kristen Yoshioka scored a team-high 16 points in a 58-43 win over Evergreen on Feb. 2. Photo by Dan Miranda

The win improved Leland’s record to a league best 8-2 in the Mt. Hamilton Division, two games ahead of both Santa Teresa and Piedmont Hills. Leland’s two-game skid consisted of losses to both second place teams.

Leading by just five points with 4:50 left, the Leland offense got new life when Evergreen head coach Dan Johnson was called for a technical foul for arguing with game officials, resulting in a pair of free-throws from Kristen Yoshioka. Leland followed up with back-to-back three-pointers in less than one minute of play from Kristen and Meggie Yoshioka, as part of a 12-0 scoring stretch to help seal the game.

“It got a little shaky there down the stretch, but we played hard,” Leland head coach Wade Nakamura said. “I thought we played hard from start to finish. We’re going to treat every game like it’s a league championship game. We kind of got away from that the last two games and let teams impose their will on us. We’ve been talking about refocusing our work ethic and efforts in practice and in games from start to finish.”

Despite leading Evergreen throughout the game, things got tight when the Cougars cut Leland’s 10-point lead to just five with 4:50 left on a 7-2 scoring stretch in the fourth quarter. That ‘s when Johnson was whistled for a technical foul, which, according to Nakamura, gave the Leland offense a spark and broke Evergreen’s momentum.

“It was crucial,” Nakamura said. “It was a tough call. I think (the technical foul) helped fuel us obviously. It gave us two free throws and the ball. We happened to hit two big shots back-to-back which gave us some cushion and some of the momentum that we had lost. It helped us refocus.”

Leland's Ana Castillo tosses a pass to a teammate during a 58-43 win at home over Evergreen on Feb. 2. Photo by Dan Miranda

The end result was a 12-0 scoring run by Leland that ran the clock down to just 39 seconds left, giving the Chargers a 58-41 lead before a layup by Evergreen’s Krista Frausto with 23 seconds to go set the final score at 58-43.

“We played really well for three-and-a-half quarters and then I got a technical (foul) and really cost us a whole lot of momentum,” Johnson said. “It was just a bad technical at the time that really hurt our momentum.”

Leland took a 29-20 lead at halftime and extended its lead to 10 at 44-34 at the end of the third quarter, getting an 11-4 scoring stretch midway through the quarter. Leland’s Ana Farrington scored six of her 12 total points during that stretch. All told, Leland had four scorers in double figures, led by Kristen Yoshioka’s 16 points, which included four three-pointers. Twin sister Meggie Yoshioka and Cobos each added 10 points in the win.

And while Nakamura said he was pleased with his team’s offensive effort, he was particularly happy with the Chargers’ defensive effort in the win. Leland’s trapping defense caused several turnovers and bad shots by Evergreen, especially at the end of the fourth quarter, Nakamura said. Coupled with the technical foul call against Johnson, Leland’s defensive effort allowed the offense to regain momentum, he added.

“Our defense is definitely something we focus on,” Nakamura said. “It’s a staple for us. We focus all the time (on it), every day, every day and every practice. It’s something we know we have to do if we’re going to compete with anybody, from the first place team to the last place team.”

Mustangs hold on for close 58-54 win over Evergreen

Late scoring runs by Evergreen not enough as Pioneer keeps pace in Mt. Hamilton Division

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Editor

Holding a double-digit lead at the end of the third quarter, the Pioneer boys’ basketball team hung on for a close 58-54 win at home over Evergreen on Jan. 31.

Pioneer’s Mike Beltramo goes up for a shot during a 58-54 win over Evergreen on Jan. 31. Photos by Dan Miranda

Leading the Cougars by 18 points with nearly seven minutes left to play in the game, the Mustangs endured a late push by Evergreen, including a 12-1 scoring run, that cut the lead to as little as three points with 46 seconds left before holding on for the win.

Pioneer’s Gilbert Mendoza led the Mustangs with 18 points, including 11 points during a three-minute stretch in the third quarter, while T.J. Watson added 16 points in the win. Following a 68-63 win over Leigh on Feb. 2, the Mustangs are 8-2 in league play, tied for second place with Piedmont Hills and just one game behind first place Oak Grove.

“The whole time in the back of my head I was thinking about Piedmont Hills, but the other way around,” Pioneer head coach Joe Berticevich said, eluding to Pioneer’s comeback win at home over the Pirates the week prior. “Obviously, they hit some tough shots. …We didn’t hit our shots and our time management at the end wasn’t very good.”

With the Mustangs up 49-31 in the early portion of the fourth quarter, Evergreen’s shooters got on a roll, beginning with center Derek Pauli’s free-throw and layup to start a 12-1 scoring run with 6:40 to go. Less than a minute later, after an Andrew Springer free throw set the score at 50-34, Evergreen’s Andrew Kim and Khoi Nguyen teamed up for three straight three-pointers, including two by Kim, in a one-minute span to cut Pioneer’s lead to just seven at 50-43.

Later in the fourth, with Pioneer back up by 10 points at 55-45, Kim started another Evergreen run, a 9-2 stretch, with his third three-pointer of the quarter with 2:28 left, followed shortly thereafter by a three-pointer from Domingo Candelas, a layup from Billy Miller and a free throw from Nguyen with 46 seconds left to cut Pioneer’s lead to three points at 57-54.

Evergreen head coach Dennis Fernandez said he was pleased with his team’s effort, and noted that Pioneer’s clock management strategy in the fourth quarter helped his team in creating turnovers and causing bad shots, allowing the Cougars to get back into the game. Despite the 18-point deficit to start the fourth, Fernandez said he told his players that the game was still there for the taking.

“I said, ‘listen it’s still there. If you guys want this, I know we’re down, but we can still pull this out,’” Fernandez said. “…Whether Joe (Berticevich) knows it or not, he helped me out, because he started massaging the ball and stopped playing the game that got them there.”

Despite the late scoring runs by Evergreen, Pioneer hung on for the win, reaching the free-throw line three times to end the game, shooting one of four from the line during that span and five of 12 as a team throughout the game. A last-ditch effort by Kim, who took a three-point attempt as time expired, bounced off the rim, sealing the win for the Mustangs.

“They’re a scrappy team,” Berticevich said of Evergreen. “…They’re a competitive team and they’ve been in a lot of games. We didn’t close the door like we should have.”

Earlier in the game, Pioneer appeared to take control of the game in the third quarter after taking a 27-23 lead at halftime. Mendoza started a 15-2 scoring run for the Mustangs with 7:11 left when a hit a three-pointer from the left corner, before adding three layups and a jumper in the key to help fuel Pioneer’s offense to a 42-25 lead with 3:18 to go in the period.

“Gil definitely had a good game,” Berticevich said of Mendoza. “The only thing he didn’t do was hit free-throws at the end, but he was doing that all year, so we can give him one game where he doesn’t do that.”

Sports Briefs

Editor’s note: Due to the high volume of requests, announcements in the Sports Briefs section will run for one issue only, effective immediately.

Announcements submitted to the Times must be 100 words or less and must be received by the Times no later than noon on Monday for that week’s issue. To submit announcements, please e-mail Almaden Times Weekly Sports Editor Diego Abeloos at diego@timesmediainc.com.

Almaden Pop Warner seeks football, cheer coaches
Volunteer coaching positions are available to all ages for cheerleading and football to those who are interested in being a part of Almaden Pop Warner and have experience. Almaden Pop Warner football and cheer is an organization that emphasizes self-confidence, self-esteem, teamwork, discipline, athleticism, and scholastics in its participants.

To find out more about cheer coaching, call Leay Heck, spirit athletic director, at (408) 836-8087. To find out more about football coaching, call Steve Dunne, football athletic director, at (650) 787-2807. For further information about Almaden Pop Warner, visit www.almadenpopwarner.com.

Almaden United PAC boys U14 holds soccer tryouts
The Almaden United, a reforming class 3 team (boys U14, born after 7/31/93) in Almaden/Cambrian area with a core group of competitive players, will hold tryouts at the soccer field at Dartmouth Middle School, 5575 Dartmouth Drive and Blossom Hill, Sunday, Feb. 11 and Saturday. Feb. 17 from 10 a.m. to noon. For more information, go to http://www.almadenunited.com/pac/youth.htm or contact Coach David Silva at (408) 316-8760 or DSilva@MVPArena.com.

Tryouts scheduled for Almaden Strikers U13 boys’ class 3 soccer
The Almaden Strikers, a U13, class 3 boys’ soccer team, will hold tryouts Feb. 11 from noon-1:30 p.m. at Steinbeck School. For more information, contact Jesse Saenz at (408) 997-3422.

Almaden Elite soccer tryouts set for this weekend
The Almaden Elite, a girls class 1, U14 soccer team, will hold tryouts Feb 10 and 11 from 10 a.m.- noon at Stratford School, 6670 San Anselmo Way, San Jose, for players born after 8/1/1992. For more information, go to www.almadenelite.com/soccer or e-mail rzuvella@sbcglobal.net.

Almaden United BU16 team needs players
The Almaden United BU16 team (fall) is looking for a few players to round out its fall roster. The team needs boys with advanced skills who are willing to work hard and take direction from the coach. Interested players should have a lot of heart, mental toughness, and a good work ethic. Attendance at two weekly practices is mandatory to develop the player’s skills and foster teamwork. Players should be born after July 31, 1991. For more information, contact Dawn Gerdt at dlgerdt@yahoo.com or Joe Escobedo at shard316@yahoo.com.

High School Sports Schedule

Leland High School
Friday – Boys’ basketball vs. Silver Creek, F/S 6 p.m. and varsity 7:30 p.m.
Friday – Girls’ basketball at Leigh, JV 5:30 p.m. and varsity 7 p.m.

Tuesday – Boys’ basketball vs. Overfelt, F/S 5:30 p.m. and varsity 7 p.m.

Saturday – Wrestling varsity league finals at Oak Grove, times TBA*

Tuesday – Girls’ soccer CCS playoffs begin, times and dates TBA*
Tuesday – Boys’ soccer CCS playoffs begin, times and dates TBA*

Wednesday – Girls’ basketball vs. Westmont, JV 5:30 p.m. and varsity 7 p.m.

Pioneer High School
Friday – Boys’ basketball vs. Westmont, F/S 6 p.m. and varsity 7:30 p.m.
Friday – Girls’ basketball at Westmont, JV 5:30 p.m. and varsity 7 p.m.

Saturday – Wrestling varsity league finals at Oak Grove, times TBA*

Tuesday – Girls’ soccer CCS playoffs begin, times and dates TBA*
Tuesday – Boys’ soccer CCS playoffs begin, times and dates TBA*

Wednesday –Boys’ basketball at Prospect, F/S 5:30 p.m. and varsity 7 p.m.
Wednesday –Girls’ basketball vs. Gunderson, JV 5:30 p.m. and varsity 7 p.m.

*Note: Game site listed is for varsity only. JV and/or frosh/soph soccer team plays at the opposite site of varsity, at the same time, unless otherwise noted.

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

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

High School Scoreboard

Jan. 30
Leland boys’ basketball 53-41 win vs. Andrew Hill
Leland boys’ soccer 4-1 win vs. Yerba Buena

Pioneer boys’ soccer 2-0 loss at Live Oak

Jan. 31
Leland girls’ basketball 52-43 win vs. Santa Teresa
Leland girls’ soccer 2-0 win vs. Live Oak

Pioneer girls’ soccer 3-0 win vs. Branham
Pioneer girls’ basketball 64-62 loss at Evergreen

Feb. 1
Leland boys’ soccer 1-0 win at Lincoln
Leland wrestling 69-12 win vs. San Jose

Pioneer boys’ soccer 3-2 loss at Yerba Buena

Feb. 2
Leland girls’ soccer 0-0 tie vs. Santa Teresa

Pioneer girls’ basketball 62-43 win at Leigh
Pioneer boys’ basketball 68-63 win vs. Leigh
Pioneer girls’ soccer 1-0 win at Live Oak

Late run by Sobrato sinks Leland

Bulldogs take 48-47 win over Leland with 8-0 run to end the game;
Chargers drop from second to fourth place with loss

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Editor

The Leland boys’ basketball team missed out on a chance to gain ground in the Santa Teresa Division as an 8-0 scoring run by Sobrato to end the game resulted in a 48-47 home loss for the Chargers on Feb. 2.

The loss dropped Leland (6-4) from a two-way tie for second place with Silver Creek all the way down to fourth place. Silver Creek defeated Willow Glen 53-47 on the same night as Leland’s loss, resulting in the Raiders taking over sole possession of third place, while Willow Glen, which entered the night tied for first with Sobrato, slipped to second place in the Santa Teresa Division.

Leland's Ryan Selness tries to get past a Sobrato defender in a 48-47 loss to the Bulldogs on Feb. 2. Photo by Dan Miranda

“We still don’t know how to stay poised in the last two or three minutes of a basketball game,” Leland head coach Ed Campbell said. “I think we probably have to be in a few more of these games to just learn how to be a little bit more poised, and how to have a little bit more control, particularly on the offensive end.”

Holding its largest lead of the night since the first quarter at 47-40, Leland’s defense could not stop a late surge by the Bulldogs, starting with a layup from Marqus Crawford with 3:09 left in the game to cut the lead to five. A little more than a minute later, Sobrato’s Malcolm Halcrombe dropped in another layup, cutting Leland’s lead to just three at 47-44 with 1:51 to go.

In the final minute of play, with Leland in foul trouble, Halcrombe reached the free-throw line, sinking one of two shots, followed by a jumper from Robert Mercado with 20 seconds left to even the score at 47-47. Finally, on Sobrato’s last offensive possession of the night, Leland’s Greg Hipwell was whistled for a reach-in foul on Crawford with just 3.1 seconds left. The foul call resulted in Crawford hitting one of two shots from the line, giving Sobrato a one-point win over the Chargers.

Although he didn’t fault Hipwell for the play, Campbell said his team must learn to play better in close situations to be successful.

“It’s real disappointing because we were very, very close to beating a good team,” Campbell said. “I thought we played well enough. I thought the kids gave it enough effort that they deserved to win, but we just haven’t quite learned how to handle last-minute situations with a little bit more poise and control. Once we get there though, we’re going to be a pretty hard team to beat.”

The fourth quarter run by Sobrato came after Leland stormed back from a nine-point deficit in the third quarter, only to take a small 40-38 lead at the end of the period on a 13-2 scoring run led by Drew Marino’s eight points during that stretch. Marino, along with Hipwell, led the Chargers with 13 points each.

Leland then extended its lead, going on a 7-2 scoring stretch in nearly four minutes of play during the fourth quarter to take a sevenpoint lead, before the Bulldogs made their comeback-scoring run.

“We had the game kind of in control,” Campbell said of the last stretch in the fourth. “…We didn’t handle the basketball on our end of the floor enough to be able to secure the win. I’ll stew on this game for the weekend and everything, but we’re still close to accomplishing a lot of goals that we wanted, so we just have to try and learn from this and hopefully it’ll help us in the remaining games.”

On a brighter note, Campbell and the rest of the team took time prior to the start of the game to honor former boys’ basketball coach Dave Frandsen for his 20 years of coaching at the school. Frandsen, who retired from coaching at the end of last season, was presented with a plaque for his service to the program and the school.

“He’s done a lot for the school, he’s done a lot for players that he coached, and it was a real privilege to honor him tonight and to have worked with him the past couple of years,” Campbell said of Frandsen.

Leland girls’ JV soccer team dominant in undefeated season

Chargers beat Santa Teresa 4-1 in season finale to finish up perfect season

By Eric Zimmerling
Times Intern

The Leland JV girls’ soccer team capped off a dominating undefeated season with a 4-1 win over Santa Teresa on Friday, Feb. 2.

Leland’s Lexi Cavanna hustles for the ball in a 4-1 win over Santa Teresa High School on Feb. 1.

The Chargers won all 12 regular season games in commanding fashion, outscoring their opponents 92 to 2 during the season.

“What can I say?” said first year JV head coach Jodi Washington. “We have a great group of girls that have a lot of fun together, the chemistry is great. The season has been a lot of fun.”

All 16 girls on the roster scored a goal, including the team’s goalkeeper.

“We would change up the lineup so that everyone had a chance to succeed at a different position on the field,” said Washington. “I would give the girls Starbucks’ gift cards if they scored on cross-field headers.”

The Chargers overwhelmed their opponents with efficient offense, relentless defense, and great team chemistry, said Washington, who added that sophomore co-captain Andrea Buckley led the Chargers on the field with her strong defense.

“We kept our feet on the ground all year,” said Buckley. “Even though we were having success, we kept working hard.”

The Leland JV soccer team racked up impressive wins all season long, including wins over Evergreen (11-0), Live Oak (13-0), Branham (8-0), and Pioneer (7-0) before topping off a perfect season with a 4-1 win over Santa Teresa in the season finale.

With an undefeated season under her belt, Washington jokingly said she felt “nervous” about her future seasons as the JV head coach.

“The pressure is on now,” she said with a smile. “This is my first year and the bar is set pretty high. Expectations are going to be great in the future. I just hope we can continue to have success.”

Despite a great end to the undefeated season, co-captain Stephanie Spindler said she was sad to see it come to an end.

“It’s bittersweet,” said Spindler. “We had a lot of fun as a team, we wanted to come out and get a win. We wanted to go out on a good note.”

The sophomore midfielder said she knows the season may be done, but her soccer career will reach another milestone next year, when she advances to the varsity ranks.

“Everyone says that junior varsity is just preparation for varsity,” said Spindler. “We wanted to come out here and show them we’re ready (for varsity) by winning.”

Nine sophomores from the JV squad will make the jump to the varsity level next year.

California State Short Track Speedskating championships set for San Jose this weekend

If you were one of the millions of viewers who watched U.S. short track speedskater Apolo Ohno and his teammates in their thrilling competition at the winter Olympics, you might be interested to know that San Jose has its own short track speedskating competition, the 2007 California State Short Track Speedskating Championships, which will be held Feb. 10 and 11. The sponsor of the event, Northern California Speedskating Association, invites anyone who enjoyed the excitement of the Olympic Short Track racing on TV to come to San Jose and see it live.

The state championships have been held for 18 years, switching between Northern California one year and Southern California the next. This event has always been used as a tune-up for the U.S. national championships, which will be held in Cleveland, Ohio Feb. 22-25 this year.

The races will be structured in the same format as U.S. Speedskating organizes its national championships. There are 11 age classes for both men and women, starting with a demo race for Pony, which is 10 years or younger, up thru Master, which is 70+. All competitors race in four distances depending on their age group.

Visit the group’s Web site: http://www.socalspeedskating.org/scssa.htm for more information. Logitech Ice is located at 1500 S. Tenth St., San Jose, Calif., 95112. Phone: (408) 279-6000.

Pioneer wins three straight en route to the CCS Playoffs

Mustangs’ 1-0 triumph at Live Oak secures postseason slot

By Justin Petersen
Staff Writer

The Pioneer girls’ soccer team produced a 1-0 victory at Live Oak on Feb. 2, capping a three–game win streak that will catapult the club into the playoffs this season.

The win marked the conclusion of an about-face by the Mustangs, who were uncertain of their destiny just two weeks ago, after losing a third straight game at Leland on Jan. 24, and falling to fifth place in the Mount Hamilton Division.

Pioneer head coach Randy Worthington said that the change in the Mustangs’ approach came on Jan. 17, when the two-time reigning league champions lost 2-1 at Piedmont Hills. Piedmont, Leland, Evergreen, Leigh and the Mustangs were all in contention for the division’s four automatic playoff berths, and chasing first-place Santa Teresa.

“After we got beat at Piedmont, we had a sit down on the field and we found out that we weren’t practicing hard enough,” said Worthington. “The girls decided that they were willing to come back and focus on the little things, and I attribute the success to them.”

Worthington then told his players to be honest about their games and take a look at where the team was, given the talent present.

Apparently, the pep talk sparked play in individual performances, and not just in terms of overall effort.

Senior Stephanie Righetti, the 2005-2006 MHAL Junior of the Year, has led by relinquishing some scoring duties to set up plays for others. She is still capable of scoring at any moment, however, Worthington noted.

“I tend not to praise just one player in particular, but Stephanie has done an outstanding job for us for four years and running,” he said.

Worthington called Righetti the complete package, and said that without taking anything away from anybody at powerhouse private schools, Righetti can mark up any high school soccer player out there.

Versus Live Oak, Righetti enabled the game’s only score. With the score tied 0-0 in the second half, Righetti quickly countered the ball away from an Acorn scoring attempt. She then crossed the ball to the top of the 18-yard mark in the corner to a cutting Britney Rivas.

The Acorn goalkeeper charged toward Rivas, but stumbled, and Rivas passed a sure thing across the box to junior Sami Vega, who tapped the ball into an empty net for the game’s lone goal.

“Sami is explosive,” said Worthington. “She can go from a nice jog to full speed in about four steps. I think fullbacks underestimate her speed.”

Utilizing her own speed and a physical presence, according to Worthington, Rivas has performed well of late also, spelling Vega and senior Giana Flores at midfield.

Worthington also noted that Vega has come on strong since a midseason lull.

“It was a good game,” said Worthington. “Live Oak came out strong on senior night.”

In short, Pioneer ended its’ internal struggles, and secured second place in the Mount Hamilton Division.

“Since the meeting at Piedmont, the girls have been playing well,” said Worthington. “We haven’t taken any major injuries, and now they are coming on. If we hit a hot streak, I think we have the opportunity to go deep into the playoffs.”

Worthington said that if he’d been asked two weeks ago, he would have produced a different answer regarding the team’s potential in postseason. However, the club is currently playing near the top of its ability, he said.

“It’s cliché in sports, but we don’t want to look too far ahead,” said Worthington. “We got here by looking at one game directly in front of the other. First it was Evergreen, then Branham and then Live Oak.”

Amidst the league’s dash for playoff spots, in fact, Righetti committed to San Jose State University, where she will begin next fall. Righetti will sign her letter of intent Thursday, Feb. 8, at Pioneer.

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