St. Mary's Athletics

Saturday, November 5, 2011

BREAKING NEWS: 7th/8th grade soccer team advances to championship

St. Mary's 7th graders, Daniel, Brendan Quock, Brandon Khuu and Hunter played three years of soccer coming into this season. They all never officially won a game.

Now, the four boys are one win away from winning a soccer championship.

By no means was this the best game the 7th/8th grade boys have played this year, but it was enough, a 2-1 victory that puts them on the doorstep of a title.

Eloy broke a 1-1 tie early in the fourth when he placed a ball into the back of the net off of a pretty feed from Sebastian.

The play started at mid-field when Pablo and Sebastian played give and go down the left wing. Sebastian took a turn towards the middle, waited for Eloy to break and put the ball right where Eloy needed it in order to score the goal.

It did get a little dicey at the end when the other team had a shot right in front of an empty net, but luckily they pushed it wide.

Julio was racing back to retrieve a ball and instead of taking the sideline, which was clear, he turned and didn't get all of a kick. The ball fell right into the lap of the opposing player who did not connect for a score.

The defense had their poorest showing in a few games, but were bailed out by goalie Anthony, who played the best game of his career.

Off of a free kick in the third, Anthony had to leap high and tap the ball over the net to prevent a goal.

However, it was revealed after the game, the goal wouldn't have counted anyways since a free kick from that far could not be scored on a direct kick (one touch).

His best save came in the third to preserve a 1-1 tie when he slid to the turf, swallowing a shot from inside the box off an opposing player who was racing in.

The 7th/8th grade got on the scoreboard first with seconds left in the first half. Eloy kicked a ball towards the top of the box, and Jon Jett was there to squib the ball in front of Pablo, who was coming down the left wing.

Pablo took his time and finessed it by the other team's goalie to make it 1-0 going into the break.

In the third quarter, the 7th/8th graders were not sharp, and were being pressured in their zone time and time again. The other team finally got through the defense when most of the team's defenders clogged one side of the field.

The poor spacing resulted in a ball rolling from the left wing to the front of the net where there were two blue jerseys ready to tuck the ball into the goal.

That made the score 1-1.

Minutes later, Eloy sent a ball towards the net that hit the top of the crossbar. And then with a 2-1 lead late in the game, Eloy beat everyone to a loose ball in the box, centered it to Sebastian who back heeled it a foot over the net.

With the win, the 7th/8th grade will play for the championship next Saturday at West Sunset with kickoff scheduled at 9:45 a.m.

They will face SVDP who they played to a 1-1 draw earlier this season.

For a school that has been blown out in soccer and borderline embarrassed in the last three years, playing in a championship is nothing short of remarkable.

7th/8th grade girls roll Saturday morning

The 7th/8th grade girls assured themselves a playoff spot with a win last night, but who they would play would be determined by their game this morning at CYO Serramonte.

Up against a team with a (5-2) record coming into the game, the 7th/8th grade girls took on the challenge and played their best game of the year in a dominating 25-16, 25-10 performance.

Unlike their game Friday night, the team they played actually had a pulse and had an idea of what they were doing out on a volleyball court.

The girls took notice and then took it to the other team, executing several bump, set and spikes, and limiting their errors to a minimum.

Right now the girls are peaking at the right time as they will play in their first volleyball playoff game, the school's first in two years.

The returning girls Cynthia and Isabella have been the best they have in their three years of volleyball and all the new 8th graders are peaking at the right time.

Sabrina, the lone St. Mary's girl left on the team since the departure of Belin to Southern California, consistently serves the ball over the net with ease.

Jocelyn has really come around in the last few games, with punishing serves and spikes.

The girls are starting to build the team chemistry that was lacking even in a few weeks ago, and they picked a good time to start gelling with the playoffs right around the corner.

With the win today, they wrap up the season with a (6-2) record, losing only to the top two teams in the division. They lost to both of those teams in the beginning of the year as well, so things could be very different when the teams meet again.

The six wins in a season are also the most for a St. Mary's volleyball team in modern day history.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Volleyball teams dominate Friday night

Highlights for these games are in the Saturday 8th grade volleyball recap

It took less than half an hour for both St. Mary's volleyball teams to dispose of their opponents tonight as the 5th/6th graders and 7th/8th graders won their matches in straight sets.

The 7th/8th graders clinched a playoff spot with their 25-5, 25-15 win. They are now (5-2) and depending on their game tomorrow morning, they can clinch as high as a second seed and as low as a fourth seed.

In tonight's contest, the other team clearly was not interested in playing, and it was evident from the start. That led to a 25-5 first set thrashing that saw the girls barely break a sweat.

The second set was a little more competitive early on until the 7th/8th graders pull away for the win.

Jocelyn had some great overhand serves, and the rest of the team followed suit.

Cynthia was at her best returning some really difficult serves, getting the ball up in the air, so her teammates could get it over the net.

The five wins in the regular season is the most by a St. Mary's volleyball team in modern history.

The 5th/6th grade girls finished their season at .500 with a 25-15, 25-11 straight set victory, finishing one game behind the final playoff spot.

At (4-4), they needed one more win to tie for the last spot, but unfortunately they lost to all four of the playoff teams.

With a team half of 5th graders, this team made a lot of progress in a few months.

Exhibit "A" was Ivy who served several balls over to win the first set for the girls, and then she followed it up by getting the girls out to an early lead in the second set. Ivy was by far the most improved volleyball player on the team.

The girls even did a bump, set and spike in the second set, when a ball was set up nicely to Fiona, who spiked it over for a point. In another nice rally, Kaela was able to bump the ball over her head, over the net, and then onto the floor.

Edwena, Victoria and Fiona all played last year and won only twice. The year before that, they won only once. This year, four times.

So as the years go on, these girls multiply their victories. So all they have to do next year is go undefeated and win eight games in the regular season.

Highlights will be packed with tomorrow's games. Check back tomorrow night for more.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Congratulations to Marissa

Marissa made the Sacred Heart basketball team earlier today, so congratulations to her. And any reason to re-rack an Epic Video I will. This is Marissa's exclusive interview from earlier this year where she talks about her life and basketball.

AND...her birthday video...