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2007 Prep Girls Water Polo
San Diego Section

Prep Previews/Reports

History-making season ends for Metro squads

Posted Feb. 21, 2008
With two Metro Conference teams in last Saturday’s San Diego Section Division I quarterfinal-round playoffs, it was a history-making moment for the area’s girls water polo programs. That both failed to advance should not diminish the significance of the achievement.

South County teams were blazing new trails, perhaps not in the level of competition but in number.
Bonita Vista, seeded 11th, dropped a competitive 16-7 match-up against third-seeded Granite Hills while Otay Ranch, seeded seventh, ended its season with an 11-2 setback against second-seeded Carlsbad in a pair of games played at La Jolla High School.

Carlsbad (22-8) defeated Granite Hills, 16-5, in Tuesday’s semifinals to advance to Saturday’s championship game against No. 1 Vista (28-3). Game time is 5 p.m. at LJHS.

Carly Hakes paced Metro champion Bonita Vista (18-12) with five goals against the Eagles, who finished their season 24-7. Lauren Skinker and Wesley Maddocks scored the Barons’ other two goals.
Granite Hills moved out to early leads of 5-1 and 9-3 before Bonita Vista rallied with five second-half goals.

Otay Ranch (22-9) completed a historic season after making it to the first round last season. Roni Coffer made personal history by finishing with 124 goals this season to place her name in the section record book among top 10 scorers for a single season. She also set records with 151 season steals (top five in the section record book), 22 five-meter penalty shots drawn (a new section record) and 57 ejections drawn in one season (top 10 in the section record book).

She totaled 317 career goals — a figure that would place her among the top 15 players in section history.

Mustang goalie Carolyn Lechner’s 275 saves place her in the section’s top 10 record book while setting a new section record with six shutouts.

Three South Bay teams qualified for this year’s Division I playoffs. Bonita Vista edged Torrey Pines, 11-10, in overtime in first-round action on Feb. 16 while Otay Ranch topped Fallbrook, 7-4, and Eastlake dropped a highly-competitive 9-4 contest against fourth-seeded Rancho Bernardo.

Eagles fly high into CIF semifinals

Posted Feb. 19, 2008
The Granite Hills High School girls water polo team won its opening two playoff games to advance to Tuesday’s San Diego Section Division I semifinals, needing just one more victory to qualify for Saturday’s championship game.

The third-seeded Eagles (24-6) were set to take on second-seeded Carlsbad (21-8) in Tuesday’s Division I “Final Four” after sinking Mesa League champion Bonita Vista, 16-7, in last Saturday’s quarterfinals at La Jolla High School.

River Croteau-Hanson paced the Granite Hills offense with seven goals and one assist in the quarterfinal win against the Barons (18-12). The Eagles jumped out to a 5-1 first-quarter lead and were up 9-3 at halftime. Sierra Hanson totaled four goals and three assists to help ignite the offensive sparks for Granite Hills, which also received four goals from Samii Blair.

The Eagles carried a 14-4 lead into the final quarter.

Carlsbad dispatched Mesa League runner-up Otay Ranch, 11-2, in its quarterfinal game to draw Granite Hills in Tuesday’s semifinals.

The Carlsbad-Granite Hills winner will play either top-seeded Vista (27-3) or fourth-seeded Rancho Bernardo (22-8).

Vista shaded Poway, 11-4, in last Saturday’s quarterfinals while Rancho Bernardo eliminated reigning Grossmont North League champion Grossmont by a 15-5 score. The Foothillers ended the season 19-7 after an 8-0 showing in league play.

The Eagles have won five consecutive Grossmont South League championships but remain an underdog in the playoffs. An appearance in this year’s final would go a long way to remedy that.

CIF notepad
Granite Hills, Grossmont and El Capitan all won opening-round games to advance to last Saturday’s section quarterfinals. El Capitan (21-10) bowed out of the playoffs following a 17-3 quarterfinal loss to second-seeded Bishop’s.

Granite Hills edged 14th-seeded Rancho Buena Vista, 11-9, in the first round of the playoffs while Grossmont, seeded 12th, pulled off the upset of the tournament by topping fifth-seeded Scripps Ranch (16-9) by a 6-5 score. El Capitan, the No. 7 seed in the Division II field, defeated 10th-seeded Cathedral Catholic (5-19) by a 6-4 score to advance to the quarterfinals.

Carlsbad eliminated West Hills by a 17-2 score in opening round play in the Division I field on Feb. 13.

Four Grossmont Conference teams ended their seasons in last Thursday's opening round of the Division II playoffs: Steele Canyon (5-4 loss to Serra), Santana (15-2 loss to Valley Center), Monte Vista (16-6 loss to University City) and Valhalla (18-1 loss to Bishop's).

Saturday’s section championship double-header at La Jolla High School will feature the Division I title game at 5 p.m., followed by the Division II final at 7:30 p.m.

Metro sinks North County twice in CIF playoffs
Posted Feb. 15, 2008
The referee had to call for the ball before Jessie Yim and the rest of her Bonita Vista teammates realized Wednesday’s San Diego Section Division I first-round playoff game at Southwestern College against Torrey Pines was finally over. Yim had just scored on a breakaway after a clutch steal by teammate Carly Hakes. The game was in its third period of overtime — in this case, sudden death overtime.

Final score: Bonita Vista 11, Torrey Pines 10.

The marathon contest ended with Baron players celebrating in the pool.

“We were fired up for the playoffs,” BV coach Antonio Gallardo said. “When the girls saw the playoff bracket and that Bonita Vista was seeded 11th and Otay Ranch was seeded seventh, that was a big motivating factor. That pumped them up.”

Certainly, the Bonita Vista team that was in the water on Wednesday appeared to be one that was on a mission — determined, focused and not afraid to play from behind.

The Barons (18-11) scored the opening goal of the contest but trailed by as much as two goals for most of the first two quarters of play. But two goals by Hakes just before halftime seemed to give the reigning Metro Conference champions a renewed sense of hope as the hosts rallied to force a 6-6 standoff at halftime.

The Falcons (12-15) once again regained their two-goal lead in the opening stages of the second half but the Barons proved to be the more resilient squad in the waning minutes of the elimination contest. Yim tied the game at 9-9 on a half-tank shot with 3:32 left to play. The Barons then got the benefit of a six-on-five power play and, after a strategy timeout called by Gallardo, Hakes scored on a corner shot to put her team ahead, 10-9, with exactly three minutes remaining in regulation time.

Torrey Pines’ Anique Herman scored her sixth goal of the game with 1:19 left to knot the teams at 10-all; the Falcons had a chance to win the game when they received a six-on-five call with 32 seconds to play.

But BV goalie Emily Bowman (12 saves) came up big and the game went through two scoreless three-minute overtime periods before the game officials cued up the sudden-death period.

As in every prior period, Torrey Pines won the sprint but Hakes got physical with the ball-holder, ripping it away and firing it to Yim, who saw the steal in progress and had immediately broken down the tank alone. Yim pulled up and had the luxury to pick her spot against TP goalie Brittany Levenson just before Herman grabbed her arm from behind. After the ball hit the back of the canvas, Yim calmly turned around and began to swim back for an apparent restart at the center of the pool before the referee signaled the game was indeed over.

The playoff victory avenged an early season defeat to the Falcons.

“To get the opportunity to play Torrey Pines at Southwestern in the playoffs and knowing that Otay Ranch was seeded higher … the girls didn’t want the season to end,” Gallardo said. “I’m excited for the girls because they worked so hard.”

Hakes led the Barons with four goals to increase her season total to 112. Wesley Maddocks, whose muscle in the water continually proved to her team’s advantage, scored three times while Yim matched that. Jill Calvert scored once.

For Torrey Pines, Kirsty Avis scored twice while Alicia Wei and Stephanie Brenemann each had one goal.

Bowman provided numerous clutch saves, including at least two point-blank stops in the later going.
“She blocked a lot of shots, including some one-on-nobody shots,” Gallardo said in reference to Bowman. “The girls on the bench also came up big for us in overtime.”

The Barons advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals at La Jolla High School with an 11 a.m. game against third-seeded Granite Hills after the Eagles (10-0 in Grossmont South League, 23-6 overall) dispatched 14th-seeded Rancho Buena Vista (9-15) by an 11-9 score in Wednesday’s opening round.

#7 Otay Ranch 7, #10 Fallbrook 4
The Mustangs, the second-place finisher in the Metro Conference this season, became the second South County team to advance to Saturday's quarterfinals. Otay Ranch (22-8) will tangle with second-seeded Carlsbad (20-8) at 12:15 p.m. at LJHS after the Lancers pummeled 15th-seeded West Hills, 17-2, on Wednesday.

Roni Coffer keyed Otay Ranch with three goals and six steals while Christina Eaton matched Coffer with three goals and added four steals and one assist. Cecy Inzunza had one goal and Carolyn Lechner made a school record 18 goalie saves.

"This was a huge win for Otay Ranch and the Mesa League," Mustang coach Ernie Medina said. "Fallbrook has been a water polo powerhouse for years and for Otay to beat them is quite an accomplishment. The Mustang girls worked very hard to make it this far and look forward to the next round. Goalie Carolyn Lechner had a great game with some outstanding saves. Roni Coffer and Christina Eaton played playoff water polo at a high level."

#4 Rancho Bernardo 9, #13 Eastlake 4
The Titans ended their season at 21-10 while making their first post-season appearance. "We were down 4-0 after the first quarter and then played them 4-5 for the next three quarters," Eastlake coach Chris Barrick said. "They are a very talented team and took advantage of our weaker players. We played them tough for four quarters, but it's hard to climb out of a 4-0 hole against a solid team."
Heather Voigt scored two goals to key the Titans, who also received one goal each from Jacquie Kimmel and Daphnee Dion.

Notepad
The Metro Conference had the opportunity for a fourth playoff entrant but Mar Vista failed to submit the proper paperwork in advance of Monday’s seeding meeting. Instead, Valhalla (7-18) gained entry into the Division II field.

Vista (Division I) and Coronado (Division II) received the top two seeds in this year’s playoffs, with Carlsbad (Division I) and Bishop’s (Division II) each receiving No. 2 seeds.

San Diego Section Playoffs
Division I
First-round
Wednesday, Feb. 13
(1) Vista (26-3) 20, (16) Patrick Henry (14-15) 1
(2) Carlsbad (20-8) 17, (15) West Hills (16-14) 2
(3) Granite Hills (23-6) 11, (14) Rancho Buena Vista (9-15) 9
(4) Rancho Bernardo (21-8) 9, (13) Eastlake (21-10) 4
(12) Grossmont (19-6) 6, (5) Scripps Ranch (16-9) 5
(11) Bonita Vista (17-11) 11, (6) Torrey Pines (12-14) 10 (overtime)
(7) Otay Ranch (22-8) 7, (10) Fallbrook (9-19) 4
(8) Poway (13-16) 13, (9) El Camino (18-9) 7

Eight East County teams ride wave to CIF girls water polo playoffs

Posted Feb. 11, 2008
A total of eight Grossmont Conference teams qualified for this year’s San Diego Section girls water polo playoffs to show the strength of East County programs.

Grossmont South League champion Granite Hills highlighted the eight East County entries by drawing the No. 3 seed in the Division I playoffs.

A total of 16 teams qualified each for the Division I and Division II playoffs.

The Eagles went undefeated in league play with a 10-0 record and finished regular season play 22-6 overall.

Granite Hills was seeded behind the top two teams from the Avocado League: No. 1 Vista (10-0, 25-3) and No. 2 Carlsbad (8-2, 19-8).

The Eagles drew an opening-round assignment Wednesday against 14th-seeded Rancho Buena Vista (2-8 in Avocado League play, 9-14 overall).

The winner of Wednesday’s opening-round match-up advances to Saturday’s CIF quarterfinal-round quadruple header at La Jolla High School against either No. 6 Torrey Pines (5-5 in Palomar League play, 12-14) or No. 11 Bonita Vista (11-1 in Metro Conference play, 17-11).

The section semifinals are scheduled Feb. 19-20 and the finals Feb. 23, also at La Jolla High School.

Granite Hills capped an unbeaten league campaign with lopsided victories against every league rival except Steele Canyon and Helix. The Eagles sank arch rival Valhalla by scores of 16-0 and 19-3 and defeated Monte Vista 18-8 and 17-9. Granite Hills swept its two games against Mt. Miguel by scores of 13-2 and 14-1.

The Eagles secured their perfect10-0 league record with last Friday's 10-4 win against Steele Canyon after previously defeating the Cougars 9-7 in first-round play.

Monte Vista and Helix followed runner-up Steele Canyon in the league standings while Valhalla (2-8) and Mt. Miguel (0-10) brought up the rear.

The Eagles’ lone Division I loss this season has been against Poway, which received the No. 8 seed (at 12-16 overall with a third-place showing in the Palomar League) and a first-round playoff match-up against No. 9 El Camino (18-8). However, the Grossmont South League champions went on to place higher in this year's San Diego Open tournament than the Titans, placing third among 50 teams.

Granite Hills is led in the pool by six seniors, four juniors and two sophomores. Impact players include goalie Kate Carpenter, junior River Croteau-Hanson and primary set Samii Blair.

Croteau-Hanson had three goals in last Friday's league title-clinching win against Steele Canyon.

Three East County teams qualified for the Division I playoffs. Joining Granite Hills were 12th-seeded Grossmont (18-6) and 15th-seeded West Hills (16-13).

Grossmont captured this year’s Grossmont North League title with an 8-0 record, finishing ahead of runner-up El Capitan (6-2), third-place West Hills (4-4) and fourth-place Santana (2-6) in the league standings.

The Foothillers took an 18-6 overall record into Wednesday’s opening-round playoff game against fifth-seeded Scripps Ranch, the defending Eastern League champion (8-0 in league, 16-8). The winner advances to Saturday’s quarterfinals against either No. 4 Rancho Bernardo (8-2 in Palomar League, 20-8) or 13th-seeded Eastlake (8-4 in Metro Conference play, 21-9).

West Hills (16-13) drew a tough opening-round assignment against No. 2 Carlsbad, with the winner to advance against either No. 7 Otay Ranch (10-2 in Metro Conference, 21-8) or No. 10 Fallbrook (4-6 in Avocado League, 9-18).

The Wolf Pack finished 4-1 in this year’s East County Invitational with a runner-up finish to Otay Ranch. West Hills defeated Monte Vista (7-5), Santa Fe Christian (8-2), Ramona (7-6) and St. Joseph’s (6-3) to advance to the championship game.

A total of five East County teams qualified for Thursday’s opening round of the Division II playoffs.

El Capitan (20-9 overall) drew the seventh seed in the Division II playoffs, while Steele Canyon (19-6) was seeded ninth and Santana (9-17) was seeded 12th. Monte Vista (11-14) was seeded 14th in the field while Valhalla (7-18) was the fifth East County team to qualify in the Division II field, drawing the No. 15-seeded position.

The Vaqueros, who finished third in the East County Invitational, open the Division II playoffs with a first-round game against 10th-seeded Cathedral Catholic (0-8 in Western League, 5-18) on Thursday. The winner will play either No. 2 Bishop’s (6-2 in Western League, 22-7) or No. 15 Valhalla in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

Steele Canyon was set to play eighth-seeded Serra (6-2 in Eastern League, 13-9) in Thursday’s opening round, with the winner advancing against either No. 1 Coronado (8-0 in Western League play, 18-7) or No. 16 Mission Bay (4-0 in Central League, 10-10 overall).

Santana opens the playoffs against fifth-seeded Valley Center (8-0 in Valley League, 18-4) on Thursday, with the winner advancing against either No. 4 La Jolla (2-6 in Western League play, 12-15) or No. 13 Ramona (3-5 in Valley League play, 14-15) in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

Monte Vista draws No. 3-seeded University City (15-3) from the Western League, the section’s top playing circuit. The winner advances against either Palomar League champion Mt. Carmel (10-0 in league, 12-11) or Point Loma (2-6 in Eastern League, 12-11).

Notepad
The City Conference had 10 qualifiers, including all five teams from the powerful Western League (top four teams in the Division II field).

The North County Conference totaled 11 qualifiers, including the top five teams from the Avocado League and the top four teams from the Palomar League.

Metro teams make strong bid for CIF playoffs

Posted Feb. 7, 2008
When the San Diego Section girls water polo playoff committee meets on Monday, it will have to deal with a rather thorny issue: where to seed the Metro Conference’s three likely qualifiers. Unlike past years, when qualified South Bay teams were placed almost at the bottom of the list, perhaps deservedly so, the committee will be faced with the prospect of seeding them — gasp! — in the middle of the pack.

There’s no question that league champion Bonita Vista, runner-up Otay Ranch and third-place Eastlake — the order of the latter two was determined by the Mustangs’ 8-4 win Wednesday at the Southwestern College pool — deserve to be included in this year’s Division I playoff field. It’s just a matter of where.

In fact, the three Metro leaders appear to be peaking at the right time. Otay Ranch, which split its two games with Bonita Vista this season, sent shockwaves throughout the section by placing sixth at in the finals of last weekend’s 50-team San Diego Open tournament. Included in the Mustangs’ run to the highlight finish was last Friday’s 7-6 overtime win against defending division champion Poway.
Eastlake and Bonita Vista both managed top 16 finishes.

“Because of how well Eastlake played at the San Diego Open and lately (in other games), this will help us in the seeding,” Otay Ranch coach Ernie Medina said. “Because of our places in the last two tournaments — winning the East County Invitational and playing in the fifth-place game at the San Diego Open — we have the possibility of getting a top eight seed which would give us a better chance of getting to the second round.”

Bonita Vista secured sole possession of this year’s Metro title by defeating Mar Vista, 9-4, on Wednesday. The Barons finished league play 11-1, 16-11 overall, after previously defeating Hilltop and Chula Vista in runaway fashion.

Carly Hakes and Jessie Yim each scored three goals in Wednesday’s game. Bonita Vista finished the San Diego Open with a 14-5 loss to eventual tourney champion Bishop’s last Friday, a 12-5 win against El Dorado and a 13-6 loss to Poway on Saturday.

As Metro champions, the Barons will receive automatic entry into the playoffs, likely earning a home game. The Division I playoffs start Wednesday, Feb. 13. The Division II playoffs start Thursday, Feb. 14. With the win against Otay Ranch, Mar Vista has an outside shot of also qualifying for postseason play.

“Bonita Vista is a strong team. Eastlake is a strong team. On any given day, all three teams are right there,” said Medina, whose team closes out league play Friday with a game against Hilltop at the Parkway pool. “I’m not making any excuses. Mar Vista was the better team when we faced them the first time, so Mar Vista deserves some props as well.”

Roni Coffer, who seems destined to enter her name in the San Diego Section record book in several categories, led the Mustangs (9-2 in league play, 20-8 overall) with three goals and nine steals in Wednesday’s game against the Titans (who finish with four losses in league play, two each against Bonita Vista and Otay Ranch). Christina Eaton added admirable support with three goals, two assists and five steals while Leslie Rodriguez contributed two goals and one assist. Carolyn Lechner recorded 11 goalie saves. She made two point-blank blocks in the pivotal fourth quarter to blunt Eastlake’s spirited comeback bid.

Coffer, with 120 goals this season, earned honors as the MVP of the East County Invitational and also was named to the San Diego Open all-tournament team.
The scoring in Wednesday’s game was spread among five Titans. Meghann Argo had two goals and one assist while Heather Voigt had one goal and one assist, Jacquie Kimmel had one goal and three steals, Daphnee Dion had one assist and three steals and Angelina Browning had one assist. Goalie Laura Barrick had four saves.

Voigt earned a berth on the East County Invitational all-tournament team.
Eastlake closed out play in the San Diego Open with a 7-3 loss to Valley Center (eventual third place team) last Friday, a 9-5 loss to Poway and 5-3 win over El Dorado on Saturday.

“We played tight games in both our losses and didn’t get blown out,” said Titan coach Chris Barrick, whose team went 4-2 in the tourney. “Our girls are getting better by the day and should scare some people come CIF time. I’ve been looking at Division I teams and see us around 10 or 11 (out of the 16 qualifiers).”
Bonita Vista made a statement for supremacy in South County waters with its 9-6 win against Otay Ranch on Jan. 30. The Mustangs responded by delivering a statement to the rest of the section the following weekend at the San Diego Open. There is the possibility that three Metro teams could end up in the final regular season top 10 county poll next week.

That would be a first for the Metro Conference.

“It was a huge challenge for the Lady Mustangs to go to back-to-back tournaments playing 14 games in two weeks, including regular season games, but the girls handled it well,” Medina said. “Although we did not have our best game, which we needed to beat Bonita again, we have had a great season. With only two returning varsity starters, we have put together a strong team ... I could not be prouder of the whole team that made this season thus far.”

Barons sink Mustangs, zero in on Metro repeat

Posted Jan. 31, 2008
Parity may not have arrived yet throughout the entire Metro Conference but it’s getting closer to becoming a reality, especially among the seven-team circuit’s top three teams. Bonita Vista, Otay Ranch, Eastlake … as the 2007-08 high school girls water polo season rapidly heads to a close, it seems to be a game of pick ’em as to which team may be the best on any given day.

Bonita Vista appears to hold the upper hand in the conference standings as the waves get set to part for the San Diego Section divisional playoffs after turning back Otay Ranch by a 9-6 score in front of a large and spirited crowd Wednesday at the Southwestern College pool.

The Mustangs, defending league co-champions with the Barons, appear ready to take on another elite challenger in Eastlake after the Titans topped Otay Ranch, 3-2, in an East County Invitational tournament game last Friday. The Mustangs went on to claim the tourney title but the Titans’ tourney victory made up for a 9-7 league loss to Otay Ranch at midseason.

The teams rematch Wednesday at Southwestern College in a game to likely determine second place in the conference standings.

An unbeaten run in their last three games will hand the conference title to the Barons and an automatic berth in the Division I playoffs. Because of good tournament showings this season, Eastlake and Otay Ranch — regardless of which team finishes in second place — are both expected to receive at-large playoff berths.

A playoff appearance would be the first in school history for Eastlake, according to Titans coach Chris Barrick, who was in attendance to watch Wednesday’s showdown for first place.

“I think this year that three teams from Metro deserve to go to the CIF playoffs. CIF is going to have to take them,” Barrick said. “We just won our bracket in the San Diego Open by winning three games on Monday. We’re playing the best right now that we have all season.”

Bonita Vista and Otay Ranch also won their brackets in opening-round play of this year’s San Diego Open — likely a first for the Metro Conference in girls water polo history. The Barons and Mustangs traded wins last season to tie for the Mesa League championship. With the elimination of the South Bay League this season, with all South Bay teams grouped into one playing circuit, it appears there will be only one champion this season: Bonita Vista.

“This year the South Bay has a lot of stronger teams than in the past,” BV coach Antonio Gallardo said. “Eastlake, Bonita Vista and Otay Ranch all won their brackets in the San Diego Open. That means there’s a lot of good teams this year in the South Bay. It’s nice to have tough games down here now.”
When it counts most, Gallardo’s team might be the best — barely.

The Mustangs took a 2-1 lead on the scoreboard at the end of the first quarter and nursed a 4-3 lead into the final seconds of the second quarter before Bonita Vista’s Wesley Maddocks roped in a post-hugger with three seconds left before halftime to knot the teams into a 4-4 tie.

The Barons took control of the game in the third quarter by racking up a 4-1 edge in goals to lead 8-5 heading into the final quarter. Maddocks had two of the pivotal four goals while Jessie Yim and Carly Hakes each scored once. Two of the goals came on Bonita Vista power plays.

A goal by Otay Ranch’s Cecy Inzunza narrowed the gap to two goals with 2:19 left but the Mustangs were thwarted at getting any closer on the scoreboard thanks mostly to excellent work by the Barons’ defenders and BV goalie Emily Bowman, who made five of her 10 saves in the final quarter.

Maddocks led Bonita Vista with four goals while Hakes scored three times. Hakes entered the game with 82 goals on the season.

Wednesday’s morale-lifting win raised the Barons’ seasonal record to 12-9, 8-1 in league play.

Gallardo credited the Barons’ toughness to playing in the recent Tyr Cup in Tustin. “Granite Hills and Bishop’s were there representing the top teams from San Diego County. We had some good games up there,” he said. “Usually teams up in L.A. are more aggressive and faster than in San Diego. It was good preparation for the San Diego Open and our game against Otay Ranch.”

Bonita Vista draws Bishop’s when play resumes Friday in the 50-team SD Open tournament.

As for his team’s turnaround showing in Wednesday’s rematch against Otay Ranch, Gallardo pointed to improved defensive play as the difference.

“In the first game, they scored on four five-meter (penalty) shots. They didn’t get one five-meter shot in the second game,” Gallardo said. “We played much better six-on-five defense. There were a lot of kick-outs (minor foul ejections) in this game.”

The Barons also were without the services of Yim, one of their co-captains, for much of the second half of the teams’ first encounter. Maddocks fouled out in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s game but without disastrous effect.

“Wesley majored out in the fourth quarter but it didn’t end up affecting us like it did in the first game,” Gallardo said.

Christina Eaton led Otay Ranch (7-2 in league, 18-6 overall) with three goals.

East County Invitational
Otay Ranch finished 4-1 in this year’s East County Invitational that concluded with medal-round games last Saturday at El Capitan High School. The Mustangs captured first place in bracket play based on more goals against a common opponent after Eastlake also posted a 2-1 showing in the bracket.

The Titans, who beat Otay Ranch on a goal by Andrea Voigt with 13 seconds to play, went on to place fifth.

Otay Ranch topped tourney-host El Capitan, 6-4, and then bested West Hills by an 8-2 score in the championship game. Coffer received the tournament’s team MVP award while Carolyn Lechner was named the all-tournament goalie. Coffer finished the tourney with 21 goals, 17 steals and five assists.
and three five-meters drawn while Lechner had 44 saves and one shutout (allowing only eight goals in five games).

Coffer entered Wednesday’s game against the Barons with 105 goals on the season. She is on pace to best last season’s mark of 120.

Medina noted this was the first time in the Mustangs’ four-year existence that his team had beaten El Capitan (ranked eighth among the section’s Division II teams) and West Hills (a top 10 Division I team). As a matter of reference, Otay Ranch placed fourth at last year’s East County Invitational.

In last Friday’s tourney match-up between Eastlake and Otay Ranch, the Titans received goals from Heather Voigt, Angelina Browning and Andrea Voigt. Andrea Voigt scored the game-winning goal with 13 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Otay Ranch will resume play in the San Diego Open with a game Friday at Bishop’s against either Poway or Valley Center. Tournament play continues through Saturday.

The section playoffs face off Feb. 13.

Mustangs continue to splash to success

Posted Jan. 24, 2008
The San Diego Section girls water polo playoffs are rapidly approaching and the Otay Ranch Mustangs look to be a part of post-season competition once again after zooming past Hilltop and Chula Vista by respective scores of 19-0 and 15-0 in their most recent Metro Conference games.

The Mustangs, who shared last year’s Mesa League title with Bonita Vista, are competing in the East County Invitational this week, opening with a pair of victories. The outcome of Saturday’s finals should give coach Ernie Medina’s team (now 14-4 overall, 8-1 in league play) a better idea of just where it stacks up in San Diego County competition.

Otay Ranch resumes Metro play Wednesday, Jan. 30, with a key rematch against Bonita Vista at Southwestern College. Game time is 5:45 p.m.
That marquee game will determine just how the Mustangs continue to stack up among South County teams.

Roni Coffer, who appears destined to leave her name in the San Diego Section record book, entered Wednesday’s game against Chula Vista at National City’s Las Palmas pool with 69 goals, 76 steals and 15 assists, while Mustang goalie Carolyn Lechner had amassed 122 saves and four shutouts.

Otay Ranch led 10-0 after the opening period in its Jan. 16 game against Hilltop and sported a 19-0 halftime lead. Coffer led the Mustangs in scoring with six goals, a school- and section-record 12 steals, and three assists while earning one five-meter penalty shot and drawing two ejections in nothing short of a blockbuster performance.

Christina Eaton followed on the Otay Ranch scoresheet with five goals and two steals while Abby Wirsching had three goals and three steals and Alex Sanchez had two goals, three steals and one assist. Cecy Inzunza had two goals and four steals.

Lechner had two saves in the game to notch her fourth shutout of the season to tie a section record. She set a new section record with her fifth shutout of the season in Wednesday’s game against the Spartans.

Otay Ranch was coming off a key 12-9 victory the day before against Mar Vista — the only team to hand the Mustangs a league loss so far this season. Eaton led the Mustangs in that game with six goals and four steals while Coffer had five goals, five steals and one assist while earning three five-meter penalty shots and drawing one ejection.

Inzunza had one goal in the game against Mar Vista while Lechner collected 10 goalie saves.

Otay Ranch opened play in this week’s East County Invitational with commanding victories over El Cajon Valley (16-2) and Mission Bay (12-3) on Monday. Tournament play resumes Friday, with finals scheduled on Saturday.

Eastlake, which topped Mar Vista by a 15-4 score in a Metro game last Friday, opened play in the East County Invitational with a 1-1 split, dropping a 9-7 contest to Mission Bay while defeating El Cajon Valley by an 11-2 score. Jacquie Kimmel led the Titans against the Mariners with seven goals.

Bonita Vista kept pace with Otay Ranch after edging Eastlake, 8-7, on Wednesday. The Barons trailed 5-4 through three periods. The Mustangs and Titans pair up in an East County Invitational meeting on Friday.

Mustangs water polo team floating to the top
Posted Jan. 17, 2008
The opening round of Metro Conference girls water polo play is coming to a close and the Otay Ranch Mustangs appear to be floating to the top of the standings. The Mustangs improved to 4-1 in league play following last Friday’s 9-7 victory against Eastlake at the Loma Verde pool. The key win kept Otay Ranch (8-4 overall) in contention with Bonita Vista for possession of first place in the standings.

The Barons, who lost in overtime to the Mustangs prior to the holiday break, topped Mar Vista, 14-8, last Friday to keep pace with Otay Ranch.
Both Bonita Vista and Otay Ranch shared last season’s league title. The teams meet in second-round action Jan. 30 at Southwestern College.

Both the Barons and Mustangs could make some noise in the upcoming playoffs, and by the look of last Friday’s game at Loma Verde, no one should count out Eastlake from having an impact on the final order of the Metro standings.

In last Friday’s match-up against the Titans (3-2, 8-4), Roni Coffer led the Otay Ranch offense with three goals, three steals, one five-meter and four ejections drawn while Christina Eaton had three goals, three steals and one assist, Cecy Inzunza contributed two key goals and one steal and Abby Wirsching scored once. Carolyn Lechner had a personal-best 15 goalie saves.

The Mustangs moved out to an early 3-1 lead and were seriously challenged from there. Eastlake reeled off four of the game’s next six goals to tie the game 5-5 to open the third quarter before Otay Ranch went on a four-goal spree to go up 9-5 with 6:15 to play in the game.

Meghan Argo paced the Titans with three goals while Jacquie Kimmel scored two goals and Heather Voigt scored once.

“The girls are progressing each game,” Medina said. “Every game someone different is stepping it up. One game it may be Coffer and Eaton, the next game it is Inzunza and Lechner, the next it is Sanchez and Wirsching. At this point in the season, I believe we have had some tough losses that we should have won. Our four losses have been by one point and two games in overtime, but we are still focused on winning the Mesa League and CIF playoffs.”

Eastlake coach Chris Barrick termed the result against Otay Ranch “a tough loss.”

“It was a close game wire-to-wire with us out-shooting them 24-14,” Barrick said. “We out-swam and out-played them, but couldn’t put the ball in the cage. We lost by two goals and missed a five-meter penalty shot and numerous open cage and man-advantage opportunities.”

The Mustangs would be in sole possession of the league lead had it not been for a 9-8 loss to Mar Vista on Dec. 19 in which Otay Ranch was missing two starters due to illness.

Bonita Vista topped Eastlake by a 10-5 score on Dec. 7. Bonita Vista and Eastlake have recorded wins against Mar Vista this season.

In the battle between the four teams, Bonita Vista and Otay Ranch own 2-1 records while Eastlake and Mar Vista are 1-2 in common games.

Barrick said his squad is “still coming along and improving every game.”

Kimmel leads the team in scoring with 23 goals, 11 assists and 44 steals while Voigt had 29 goals, nine assists and 23 steals, Argo has 21 goals, six assists and 18 steals. Other key contributors include Andrea Voigt (11 goals, eight assists, seven steals), Elena Lindsey (four goals, two assists, 15 steals) and Daphnee Dion (three goals, 12 assists, 20 steals) while goalie Laura Barrick had 54 blocks in 10 games (48 goals allowed).

“We have speed, but a real lack of experienced players,” the elder Barrick said. “Heather Voigt, Meghan Argo and Jacquie Kimmel are our impact players in the field. They lead the team in all statistical categories. Laura Barrick is having a solid year in the goal and has developed into a leader in the pool directing the defense. She has the most water polo experience on our team. We have the physical ability to play with just about anyone. The game situation awareness is lacking, but continues to improve. We lost to Bonita 10-5, but were down 5-0 after the first quarter, Heather Voigt fouled out in the beginning of the second quarter and we played them even 5-5 for the next three quarters. We played a couple of teams from Los Angeles that were very good and played them very tough. We took apart Mar Vista and they beat Otay Ranch, go figure. We’ll just keep practicing and keep getting better and hopefully do some damage towards the end of the season.”

“Eastlake played well and should be a good opponent in the future,” Medina said succinctly.

The teams rematch Feb. 6 at Southwestern College.


Making waves
Otay Ranch’s Coffer (SDSU) and Eaton (UCSD) are both looking to continue their water polo careers at local colleges.

Inzunza lead Otay Ranch with five goals, two steals and one assist in a 20-0 win against Southwest on Jan. 9.

The Mustangs started the season with a narrow 6-5 loss to Division II power Cathedral Catholic in the Draz Classic, the defeated La Costa Canyon (15-4) and Mira Mesa (20-0) in a pair of scrimmage contests. Otay Ranch then participated in the Bronco Invitational, going 2-3 with victories against Valhalla (8-1) and La Jolla Country Day (16-2).

Prior to starting Metro play, the Mustangs topped Point Loma (16-7) and Patrick Henry (14-5) in non-league match-ups.

Otay Ranch defeated Chula Vista, 19-0, to open league play, then followed with the one-goal loss to Mar Vista.

After opening league play with the five-goal setback to Bonita Vista, Eastlake defeated Mar Vista (13-6), Southwest (13-2) and Hilltop (15-1) leading up to last Friday’s game against Otay Ranch.

Carly Hakes keyed Bonita Vista with five goals in last Friday’s key victory against Mar Vista while Wesley Maddox had three goals and Emily Bowman made 15 saves.


Mustangs sink Mariners, Raiders
Otay Ranch gained revenge for its early season loss to Mar Vista by defeating the Mariners, 12-9, on Tuesday. Christina Eaton had six goals and four steals and Roni Coffer had five goals and five steals to lead the Mustangs, who also recorded a 17-0 win against Southwest last Saturday to improve to 6-1 in league play, 10-4 overall.

Otay Ranch tips Bonita Vista in OT

Posted Dec. 26, 2007
Last year’s Mesa League championship came down to a pair of tight games, including the finale that was settled in overtime. This year’s battle between Otay Ranch and Bonita Vista for supremacy in the expanded Metro Conference appears headed for a dramatic replay after the Mustangs claimed the teams’ opening match-up by a 7-6 overtime score on Dec. 21.

Roni Coffer had thee goals, four assists and one steal to key victorious Otay Ranch. She drew three ejections and five five-meter penalty shots in the game — a section consideration record, according to Mustang coach Ernie Medina.

Christina Eaton had three goals and two steals while Abby Wirsching contributed one goal and two steals. Cecy Inzuna had five steals while goalie Carolyn Lechner had 11 saves and two steals.

Otay Ranch defeated Chula Vista, 19-0, on Dec. 14 to open conference play. Eaton had seven goals in that game.

Otay Ranch on a tear to start girls water polo season
Posted Dec.20, 2007
The Otay Ranch High School girls water polo team has certainly made a splash to start the 2007-08 winter sports season. The Mustangs defeated Chula Vista, 19-0, last Friday after topping Patrick Henry, 15-4, three days prior.

Roni Coffer led the Mustangs with five goals, five steals and one assist in the win against Patrick Henry while Abby Wirsching contributed three goals, two steals and one assist and Cristina Eaton had three goals, four steals and one assist.

Otay Ranch, which tied Bonita Vista for last year’s Mesa League title, has equally high hopes for this season. The Mustangs faced off the current campaign with a 20-0 scrimmage win over Mira Mesa as Eaton racked up six goals, Coffer had four goals and Alex Sanchez had four goals. Carolyn Lechner made seven saves and had two steals from her goalie position.

Otay Ranch returns five varsity players: Coffer (last season’s league MVP), Eaton, Lechner, Wirsching and Sanchez. Eaton garnered first team all-league honors last season while Lecher won second team all-league accolades and Wirsching received honorable mention recognition.

Impact newcomers, according to coach Ernie Medina, include juniors Elise Prado and Leslie Rodriguez and sophomore Cecy Inzunza.

Medina is highly optimistic about this year’s team after recording a 6-5 loss to Division II power Cathedral Catholic in the Draz Classic on Nov. 19. “Cathedral came in fifth last year in Division II, so this is a good marker for Otay Ranch (16th last season in Division I),” he said.

The Mustangs appear to be making good on their coach’s words after topping La Costa Canyon, 15-4, in another high profile scrimmage contest on Nov. 27. Coffer had eight goals in that game while Eaton scored four goals.

Otay Ranch jumped into tournament play to start regular season play, dropping contests to West Hills (8-7), Beckman Irvine (5-4) and El Camino (8-7) in the Bronco Invitational while defeating Valhalla and La Jolla Country Day by scores of 7-1 and 15-1, respectively. Medina noted the victory over Valhalla was the first in school history.

The Mustangs took leads into the final minute against both West Hills and El Camino, losing in the last six seconds to West Hills and the last 40 seconds to El Camino.

“Otay had three very competitive and heart-breaking losses but learned a lot and will stay focused,” Medina said.