Chaos ensued last Friday when CdM’s soccer boys made CdM history and won CIF finals.  The Sea Kings played La Mirada in Mission Viejo.  Students disregarded the short distance and turned out in fine form.  Hundreds of supporters came to cheer on the boys.  CdM had the distinction of being the school with the biggest turnout.  Senior Chris Burke liked the turnout.  “It was really nice to know that the school cared about our team.”

Students wait anxiously for the game to be over

The game, with a score of 2-0, was nerve-wracking, to say the least.  A goal was not scored until the middle of the second half by senior Ali Sadri, which meant that the entire first half was punctuated by spurts of screaming and groaning as CdM missed goal after goal.

Junior Kjell Wolker was down with a dislocated shoulder, but got it popped back in and went back into the game.  Shortly after he went back in, he was taken down, and dislocated his shoulder again.  He was then out for the rest of the game.  Senior Paul Zubatov was also injured.  After going for a header against a La Mirada player, he was elbowed in the head, then fell to the ground, hitting his head again.  A player then tripped over him.  Zubatov stayed down, but eventually got up and kept on playing.  He finished the half, but Coach Greg Larssen sidelined him after Zubatov couldn’t remember anything during halftime.  “He was like, did I play well?  Coach, you gotta tell me if I played well.  We’re playing in the finals, right?” said Sadri. 

Zubatov went to the ER and was diagnosed with a concussion.  He was released and ready to celebrate with his team the next day though.

Burke commented on his teammates injuries.  [Zubatov] and [Wolker] are both key players to our team.  Having them hurt was something that scared our team.  Luckily, everyone stepped up and did what they had to win the game.”

La Mirada went into the game undefeated.  But Burke wasn’t too worried.  “I was a little nervous, but I was confident that if we played our game then we could win.”

About 20 minutes into the second half, senior Reed Williams was tripped, but the ref failed to call a foul.  Angered, senior Alex Mainthow tripped a La Mirada player hard, and got a yellow card.  Temporarily benched, Coach Larssen had to find a replacement, and chose Sadri.  When asked how he felt when he got to go in, Sadri replied, “Finally!  I wanted to go in so bad.  We lost Kjell [Wolker] and Paul [Zubatov], and I felt the game slipping in [La Mirada's] favor.  I knew it would come down to the final moments.” 

Sadri waves to the fans

However, after Sadri kicked the goal, he did not think it was going to go in.  “It was a bad shot, but the turf field let it skip.  I was thinking, did I actually do this?  It’s a dream come true.  I’ve had this dream since I first found out what CIF was.  When Reed [Williams] scored, I knew the dream was coming true.”

“Words cannot describe [Sadri's goal," said Burke.

After his goal, the excitement was almost tangible.  Sadri's grin threatened to split his face, and as he was tackled by his teammates, Sadri was all but jumping up and down.  "I'm super excited," said Sadri.  "I've gotten hugs, congratulations from people I don't even know.  I was in Pavilions, and some adults came up and congratulated me.  It's the best feeling."

Fans storm the field

After Williams scored his goal, he ran around the field, making his teammates catch him.  He was also tackled to the ground, and this time, CdM students rushed to the fence.  At this point, there was about ten minutes left in the game, and CdM knew they had it in the bag.  Students chanted down the last tweleve seconds of the game, and, regardless of the security guards and announcements over the loud speaker, stormed the field.  Sadri and Williams were the first to celebrate on the team, but the rest of the boys quickly made their way over to form a giant dogpile.  Players were put up onto shoulders as students rushed to join the boys, and the security guards just watched as hundreds of screaming teenagers jumped the fence.

The boys played their first state game on Tuesday against Castle Park.  They were tied 2-2 at the end of the game, and ended up battling in penalty kicks.  The score ended up 5-4, CdM, with sophomore goalie Connor Gaal saving two goals and junior Brian Ford making the winning penalty kick.  Congratulations CdM!  The boys are scheduled to play on Thursday, time and place to be determined.

A national tragedy comparable to the Tsunami of ‘10 occurred on February 28th 2010. When Sidney Crosby slipped a wrist shot under the pads of Ryan Miller, my soul was crushed. Even realizing that Canada was an inferior nation did not alleviate my distress.

Thus, with great sadness, I must write my review of the gold medal game, and of USA’s olympic performance overall.

The team began in the storm of controversy and media attention which very so often follows Toronto Maple Leafs’ general manager Brian Burke. Chosen to pick the Olympic team, Burke turned many heads with his selections. It was clear that the team did not follow the traditional mold. But what was also clear was the truculence and pugnacity of the players picked.

What was created was a team with clear top lines of skilled players, and effective role-players to fill the rest of the team. The epitome of this attitude is NEw Jersey’s Zach Parise, who may not be the most talented player on team USA, but is certainly the most effective. The defense was a unique combination of defensive grit and offensive talent. Clearly the leader amongst the blue-liners, and team USA’s main defensive weapon, is Nashville’s Ryan Suter, who consistently was USA’s top defensive player. Certainly, the goal position was pretty cut and dry – Buffalo’s Ryan Miller was the designated starter from the beginning, and gave little to the other hopeful goaltenders.

Criticism rained on the team, be it from despondent fans who had their American players uninvited to the snooty critics who lambasted Burke for creating a team more suited for a WWE brawl than an international tournament. To be fair, for a team that was expected to be young and inexperienced anyway, there were quite a few question marks. Players like Ryan Callahan and Chris Drury, who were consistently ignored in the pre-tournament rosters of arm-chair GM’s, were acclaimed as integral parts of the team.

Typically, the international teams pick the best players from their country; the top-line players in the NHL as well as those of scattered professional clubs across Europe. Than, either 4 offensive lines are rolled or the star players are pigeonholed into defensive roles.

Players like Ryan Callahan, Chris Drury, and Dustin Brown are certainly not the best players on their team. In fact, there are more skilled Americans across the NHL who could have potentially made the team. But team USA’s leadership made the critical (and controversial) decision to forsake this route in order to create a proper team. This philosophy was the one famously espoused by legendary coach Herb Brooks, who said something to the effect of “I didn’t pick the best players, I picked the right ones.”

Wise words indeed. The United States’ team, after a mediocre round robin, cemented their place as a premier hockey nation when they defeated Canada 5-3 in one of the most intense games of the tournament. Brian Rafalski scored 2 goals and, along with stand-out Ryan Miller, lead the Americans to a rare victory over the powerhouse Canadians.

People across the nation celebrated the victory, hailing it as a triumph of the underdogs (one of the only times we can see ourselves as such) against the powerful Canadian team. CIF Soccer superstar Ali Sadri said, “I was super proud of the American team. Yeah, it was pretty nice to see them win.”

It was certainly a great victory for morale – America had gone over 50 years winless against the Canadiens in Olympic competition. But the round robin simply doesn’t matter. It’s all about the medal rounds.

But America didn’t fail to impress. Other than a slip-up against a defensively minded Swiss team, America cruised to the gold medal game, crushing Germany and especially Finland (against whom the Americans scored 6 goals in the first period).

But Canada was coming around as well. No one presented any real threat to them in the medal rounds, a fact especially illustrated by Canada’s 7-3 thrashing of the talented Russian team.

Thus, the stage was set for an epic clash between the United States, a team based on physical domination and a powerful for-check, and the Canadians, who could roll 4 lines and 3 pairings of elite players, outscoring and out-defending anyone unfortunate enough to cross their path.

A veritable war between American and Canadian fans exploded across Hockeydom. Questions of defensive depth became questions of national pride, and soon the theatre of war expanded to all fronts. Canadians were made fun of for purchasing milk in bags, respecting people like Don Cherry, and being generally inferior to the United States.

The Canadians seemed to have the last laugh. Halfway through the game, the Americans found themselves down by 2 goals with their offense stymied by the elite defensive depth of the Canadians. However, Ryan Kesler tipped a shot from Patrick Kane which fluttered by goaltender Roberto Luongo to cut the lead in half. But the Canadians kept coming – only the fantastic play of Ryan Miller gave the Americans a chance to win.

With a minute left to go, the Canadians seemed to have victory in the palm of their hands. USA, in full desperation, pulled the goalie to bring an extra-attacker onto the ice. It was do or die, now or never. The clock ticked down to forty seconds, but the Americans couldn’t get anything started. Deep in the zone, Patrick Kane took control of a lose puck, and flung a shot at the net. An entire nation collectively held their breath.

But everyone knew a goal was coming. Luongo was unable to hold on to the puck, and Zach Parise pushed it home between the pads, tying the game at 2-2. Across the United States, viewers celebrated as loudly and any sports game could engender.

It was going to overtime.

It became clear that Canada was the better team from the moment the puck dropped. The Americans were unable to generate any pressure in the Canadians’ zone, and while the Canadians failed to generate good chances, they clearly controlled the flow of the game.

In the American’s zone, with a little over halfway to play in the overtime session, Brian Rafalski was unable to handle a Canadian turnover. Jarome Iginla quickly slid the puck to Sidney Crosby, who after a quiet game, whipped a shot through Ryan Miller’s pads.

The arena roared. It was over. Canada won.

We can analyze and over analyze the game to death. We can talk about how Rafalski’s poor defensive play cost the USA too many chances. We can discuss Phil Kessel essentially being a no-show for the game, if not the tournament. We can even fault Miller for letting in a save-able goal at such a crucial time.

But at the end of the day, when the analysts have found a new team to harass, and the media personalities have another soap box to occupy, and even the fans and players have gone back to their respective franchises, there is still one nation that got a gold medal, and another who got a silver medal. Players win as a team, and lose as a nation.

There is no tomorrow for Olympians. There is no learning process at this stage. This is do or die.

But the Americans have a lot to be proud of. They showed that, despite not having as much talent as the Russians or the Swedes perhaps, they are the second best hockey playing nation out there. And they did it without the old guard, without the Modano’s or the Tkachuk’s.

The ultimate tragedy may end up being this American story-line. Whereas almost every other team had players shooting for one last chance at the gold, the United States was a young team, with more first time Olympians than anyone else. They would be posed to have a dominant tournament in 2014 in Moscow. But the future of the Olympics for NHL players is in doubt, at least based on comments from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

Ignoring this, however, all I, and USA hockey, and you, and the players, can think about now is Moscow.

Congratulations are due to the boys varsity soccer team who won, for the first time in CdM’s history, the semi-final game for CIF on March 2.  The boys played North Torrance, and beat them, 3-0, with goals by freshman Jack McBean, junior Brian Ford, and senior Chris Burke.

The game started early, and so did the fouls.  Both teams played aggresively, each wanting the win.  McBean was yellow-carded twice throughout the game.  Two yellow cards is equal to one red card, so he was kicked out for the rest of the game.  Ford took several tumbles, as did senior Reed Williams, but the real showstopper was sophomore goalie Connor Gaal.

A one-on-one penalty kick between a North Torrance player and Gaal had everyone holding their breaths.  At this point in the game, McBean and Ford had already scored, and the Seakings wanted to keep their shutout.  North Torrance had a hard ball into the bottom right corner of the goal, but Gaal stopped it, to the obvious delight of his teammates and the fans rooting on the sidelines.

During the second half, Williams labourisly worked his way up the field time and time again.  He faced tough opposition; at times two or more players dogged his steps.  North Torrance was not about to give Williams an inch.  Instead, Williams crossed the ball, and Burke kicked it in.

Comedy was provided during the game when junior Nick Rich got hit by a wayward ball when on the sidelines, which caused a bloody nose.  Williams careened into the sidelines and fell.  Senior Paul Zubatov ran over and asked the spectators if they were okay before helping Williams up and running back into the game.  Perhaps the most interesting was sophomore Matt Francini’s jersey, which was missing a rather large portion of material under one of his arms.

One of the highlights from the sidelines was seeing some of the players excited smiles.  Seniors Ali Sadri, Ryan Kontra, and Elliot Waniek all had big grins before running onto the field.  Waniek was especially happy as he has been sidelined for most of the season due to an injury.

The boys are scheduled to play in the finals against La Mirada in Mission Viejo on Friday, March 5, at 7pm.  Good luck Seakings!

Boys join the fans in cheering

Corona del Mar’s esteemed Academic Decathlon team returned victorious from their annual competition on Febuary 6, 2010 at Westminster Highschool . Their 5 teams of A, B and C students of 29 members won 27 individual awards. Academic Decathlon awards are based on individual effort excluding super quiz. Jack Mulcaire received the 4th place award in the overall individual category, placing highly among all Orange County scholars. Juniors who scored include Tara Armand in interview, Lyssa Aruda in science, interview, and literature, Bryce Bastien in science, essay, and economics, Kelsey Johnston in economics and math, Morgan McVey in essay, Cameron Moattari in science , Dylan Salisbury in math and literature, Akie Tomiyama in science, Raku Watari in math, science, and art.

Seniors who placed in the competition include Corey Cano in economics, Gillian Lau in music, Morgan Low in science and math, and Jack Mulcaire in literature, economics, history, art and essay.

This 2010 season, Boy’s Varsity Basketball is bringing the heat.

“We are definitely improved from last year,” said junior Chris Freeman about his team. As proof of this, the boys have been exceedingly successful this season.

The Sea Kings began their triumphant season by winning the Sand Dune Classic, a pre-season tournament that took place in San Francisco over Winter Break.

“The tournament we won in San Francisco was a great way for us to start off our season. It was the kind of momentum we needed to have a winning season,” said Freeman.

After the tournament, CdM lost one game to Foothill; however, that was the end of their losing. The Sea Kings went on to win 17 games in a row, and are still going strong. The Sea Kings remained undefeated in league (record of 10-0).

“I knew we would do really well in league, and I hope the same goes for CIF,” said junior point guard Cay Ragsdale. They players believe that they connect better as a team than last year’s team, who lost in the first round of CIF.

Sea King All-Stars that have played a major role in CdM’s success include junior point guard Clay Ragsdale, junior shooting guards Danny Cheek and Ramin Meija, and senior small forward Parker Stone.

CdM plays Gahr High School in the Quarter-Finals of CIF tonight at home. Garr is seeded 4 in CIF, and CdM is seeded 5.

“It will be a really fast-paced game. I’m really excited,” said Cheek. Many fans are confident that the Sea Kings will triumph; tickets are speculated to sell out, meaning that many students and family members want to show their support for the Sea Kings.

Everyone loves a good Alumni game. This year’s CdM Baseball Alumni Game features 40 Alumni and it’s going to be a good one.

The date has been scheduled for Saturday, February 20th. The umpires have been called. The teams have been decided. Bill MacDonald will be broadcasting.  Have you made sure you’re going to be there? If not, it’s time to clear your calendar.

The game is scheduled to begin at 1:00, but get there earlier for good seats and watch the players warm up with batting practice at noon. The teams have been split according to graduating years. Alumni who graduated in 1999 or earlier will be playing Alumni who graduated from 2000 to last year. Some speculate as to how fair the division was, seeing as it was based solely on age.

To get further updates, join the Corona del Mar High School Baseball Alumni/Foundation group on Facebook. Don’t have a Facebook? Check in with Coach Emme at jemme@nmusd.us

With a final score of 38-39 against Beckman High School, CdM’s varsity girls’ basketball put in their best efforts in this close game. This was also the final Pacific Coast League game before CdM enters CIF.

Junior Gabby Rapp scored a total of eleven points and eight rebounds. Junior Ellie Nadal also played well, scoring seven points along with five steals in the game. Beckman came back in the end, scoring their final points in the last five seconds of the game.

“The game was mostly in favor of us,” said sophomore player Melanie de Arakal. “But after the first half I feel like we sort of gave up and let them think that they had a chance.”

However, the Sea Queens aren’t about to let one close defeat get in their way for they are currently 14-12, 4-6 in league and finished fourth in league. The girls are also about to enter the CIF championship games and hope for undefeated success.

The senior boys on the varsity soccer team celebrated their last year of soccer on Monday’s Senior Game.  CdM played San Juan Hills, and, as fitting for a senior game, won 4-0.

Senior Ryan Kontra is escorted by his parents.

All the seniors, except for Anthony Andry who was home due to illness, were in full force, including Reed Williams who had been sidelined due to a pulled muscle, and Elliot Waniek who had previously hurt his knee during a preseason game and had been out for most of the season.  Paul Zubatov, Sebastien Welch, Ali Sadri, Ryan Kontra, Alex Mainthow, and Parsa Rahmatpanah, along with Williams and Waniek, were recognized by their coach Greg Larsen and escorted down a balloon-lined pathway by their parents.

Offsides kept the boys frustrated in the first half, especially  Williams who’s goal was invalidated due to offsides.  However, he proved once again to be a valuable player, popping up all over the field, aiding the defenders and offenders.

Senior Reed Williams is everywhere.

All eyes were trained on Williams who had dribbled his way up and was sure to score a goal.  However, he hit the crossbar, starting the chain of events that would eventually lead to freshman Jack Gorab’s goal.  Once Williams shot the ball, everything fell apart.  San Juan Hills’ goalie came out of the box, but the CdM boys just could not score.  San Juan Hills eventually cleared the ball, leaving CdM supporters asking “did that just really happen?”  However, Williams got the ball back, and once again faced the goal.  This time, he crossed it to Gorab, who dived, headed, and scored.

Junior Brian Ford tries to score.

Sadri also had a header.  After missing a shot, Sadri was upset.  ”My coach was kind of teasing me,” said Sadri.  ”I felt obligated to score.”  His obligation lasted for most of the second half.  Near the end, Williams once again dribbled the ball up the field, and crossed it to Sadri, who headed it in.  ”I was so excited,” said Sadri.

Besides Williams, junior Brian Ford was a valuable player, scoring two goals.  He sped up and down the field, stealing the ball and passing it to his teammates, but underplayed his contribution to Trident.  ”It was fun to be able to just go out and play,” said Ford.

The boys won Pacific Coast League two weeks ago after a game-winning goal by freshman Jack McBean.

In the pouring rain and hail, the girls varsity soccer team played an outrageous and wet soccer game today at home. The Sea Kings ended up tying Beckman, with a score 0f 1 to 1.

The first half of the game was unsuccessful for the Sea Kings as well as Beckman. While the ball was constantly going back and forth across the field, no goals were scored. Although the girls didn’t score during the first half, freshman Karsten Sigband and senior Paige Sigband both played outstanding defense as they saved numerous goals from being scored.

“The Sigband girls were on fire at todays game! They didn’t let the ball go near our goal, and played great defense,” said junior Kaylee O’Connor.

Right as the whistle blew to start off the second half, the girls retaliated, and sophomore Ally Brahs quickly scored the first goal of the game. Senior Hayley Raguse dribbled the ball up the right side of the field and crossed the ball across the goal. Brahs came from the left side of the the field and simply tapped the ball in.

“She made scoring look so easy! Ally is so good at scoring and is a very important member on this team,” said sophomore Sarah Cox.

Quickly after Brah’s scored, Beckman had a breakaway and scored. With the final score of 1 to 1, the Sea Kings pulled out a tie against Beckman.

Recently, the boys soccer team has taken the stage as one of Orange County’s top performing teams. Currently, the boys are ranked fourth in county, and 19^th in the nation. Corona del Mar is led by Reed Williams, a senior who has already committed to playing at UCLA in his future. Williams leads the team with 23 goals, an astonishing amount, considering that he has been out for the last five league games due to an injury with his hamstring. Along with Williams, Jack McBean and Brian Ford have contributed big to Corona’s success with goals and defense. Ford, a junior midfielder, has scored seven times this season, and provides many assists, mostly to Williams. Ford has struggled the last few games with a sprained ankle, but continues to play on it.  McBean has been gone for the last two games with training in Arizona with the Jr. national boys soccer team. McBean is currently a freshman and continues to carry Corona with stellar shots and amazing plays. McBean is one of the more physical players on the team, usually in a conflict with a player on the other team.

But, as of last week, all three were back on the field and in top condition, ready to take on their league and regain control. During their period of weakness, Corona suffered its first loss to University high school in an upsetting overtime loss. Corona had tied three times, and one once, tying them for second in league. In his first game back, Williams scored both goals for Corona, beating Laguna Hills 2-0. Just two days later, Williams was back at it, scoring the only goal against Irvine to win another league game for Corona and put them tied for first in the Pacific Coast League.

This week, Corona faces its toughest competitor, University high school. The past few years have always had University come out on top in league, but this year Corona has all intentions of stopping it, especially with this trio at full health.