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.

Sophomore Kristen Rivera

Last Saturday, the girls cross country team rallied together to win the CIF Division III State Meet and Woodward Park in Fresno. This win marks the girls cross country seventh state title, and repeat win after winning state the previous year.

The girls finished the 5000 meter course (3.2 miles) with 76 points, ahead of rival Orange Lutheran by five points.

“This has been our dream since freshman year,” said team captains Sarah Keddington and Marissa Cummings, on winning the state meet.

Running against twenty two other teams, the girls were hungry for a win after taking second behind Orange Lutheran at the CIF Finals by three points.

“Both races were really close, the difference between those points can be a margin of one to two runners. And the course was freezing!” said team captains Sarah Keddington and Marissa Cummings.

Senior and team captain Melanie Powers lead the team with a time of 17:56 taking 3^rd. Seniors Kristina Funahashi and Ali Hummelberg ran pivotal times. Kristina Funahashi ran an incredibly fast race and was also able to beat her own PR, personal record. Ali Hummelberg saved some big points for the team by passing multiple runners on the last stretch to the finish line.

Due to their spectacular win at Fresno, the girl cross country team has been invited to run in Portland Oregon, at the Nike Cross Nationals. The girls will be competing against 22 other teams (154 athletes) at the Portland Meadows, a repurposed horse track. The man made 5k course features three loops and obstacles. Since it is in Portland, a city notorious for its rain fall, there is a possibility of adverse weather. The girls, however, have already taken this into account.

“We are expecting the course to be completely muddy, but we’re not quite so sure about the hay bales and other obstacles…” said Seniors Marissa Cummings and Sarah Keddington.

Their race is at 11:35 AM on Saturday, and they will be running as the Newport Beach XC Club of California. Click here to watch live streaming footage .

For more information visit Dystat or Nike Cross Nationals
Photo credit to Margaret Gallagher at Dyestat

CIF State Meet Results
Melanie Powers 17:56 3rd place
Kristina Funahashi 18:18 7th place
Marisa Cummings 18:27 13th place
Kristen Rivera 18:45 28th place
Ali Hummelberg 18:54 34th place
Ashlee Powers 19:00 43rd place
Sarah Keddington 19:22 72nd place

The stands were packed with fans from both Ventura High School and Corona del Mar High School.  Alumni, current students, and family were ready to cheer on their Varsity boys in the CIF Quarterfinals for waterpolo.

The game started off with the bagpiper that has appeared for several games.  Soon after he finished, the buzzer sounded and the boys were off.  Junior Chase Watson scored the first goal of the game in the first two minutes, giving CdM a  lead as he quickly scored two more goals, one off of a nice pass from senior Jim Krolopp.

In the second quarter, senior Max Bergeson scored two goals, and seniors Justin Papa and Blake Terry each scored one.  CdM held a lead all throughout the first half, with Ventura behind one or two points.  However, during the third quarter, the game got much tougher.  Bergeson scored another goal, as well as Papa.  Junior Evan Ramsey played a very good game.  He scored twice in the third quarter, and played well both offensively and defensively.  At the end of the quarter, CdM and Ventura were tied, 11 to 11.

The last quarter was nerve wracking.  CdM and Ventura scored one right after the other, keeping the fans keyed up and the score very close.  Watson and Ramsey each scored one goal, and Bergeson scored two.  Bergeson made the game winning goal with 4.87 seconds left in the game, winning the quarterfinals 15 to 14.

CdM was awarded two penalty shots, one from Watson and one from Emory Molnar.  Bergeson took both shots, but Ventura’s goalie blocked them, one of the few to do so.  Junior Bruce Bearer played a nice game in goal, blocking 13 goals throughout the night.

“I think the game was closer than it should have been,” said senior Katie McCormick.  “But the boys kept in control the whole time and [were] patient, especially in the last play.”

CdM plays rival Newport Harbor for the third time in the semifinals on Wednesday, November 18th at 7:00pm at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center.  The past two times they faced Harbor, CdM has played hard, but lost.