Photo courtesy of Cheryl Baldridge
Girls Water Polo Seeks Third Title
Aria Fisher scored four goals and dished out three assists to lead Laguna to a 14-4 victory over Dos Pueblos this past Wednesday, Feb. 22, in Irvine and will meet San Marcos of Santa Barbara on Saturday, Feb. 25, for the title.
Also contributing for Laguna was Bella Baldridge with three goals and five assists while Sophia Lucas added three scores, Isabel Riches two and single scores by Alex Peros and Evan Tingler. Thea Walsh was brilliant in the cage with 10 saves including a penalty shot block.
Breakers held a 14-1 lead before sending in the bench.
Breakers advanced last Saturday, Feb. 18, with a 10-4 victory over Sunset League champion Los Alamitos in a contest played at the temporary outdoor Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach.
Aria Fischer scored quickly on Laguna’s first possession off an Alex Peros pass, but poor shooting on Laguna’s part — missing 22 shots — kept the usual high scoring Breakers to their lowest offensive output of the season.
Should the Breakers get by Dos Pueblos this past Wednesday, Feb. 22, the final will be on Saturday at Irvine’s Woollett Center. Match time will be confirmed on Thursday, Feb. 23, at www.CIFss.org .
Record watch: Junior Thea Walsh set the season saves record for a Laguna keeper with 277, breaking Lina Moor’s record of 263 set in 2001. Bella Baldrige has recorded 85 assists this season, tying her record set in 2015.
Baldridge has 315 career assists, believed to be a state record.
Girls Soccer Advances
Blake Turner scored off a pass by her sister Reilyn just over four minutes into the match against California High in Whittier Tuesday, Feb. 21, as Laguna (20-3-2) went on to win 3-0 in a second round Division 4 playoff game.
Breakers host Bloomington (15-2-4) Friday, Feb. 24, at 5 p.m. at Guyer Field in the quarterfinal contest. The winner will play Brentwood or Temescal Canyon next Tuesday, Feb. 28, at a site to be determined.
The Turner sisters teamed up on a second goal 35 minutes into the game and Reilyn added the final score in the closing minutes of the contest.
Breakers had a number of scoring opportunities and the final outcome could have been more lopsided.
Freshman keeper Cameron Russo had another outstanding day earning her 12th shutout of the season. Shanai Auguis, Lilli Cook, Emily Addis, Brynn Anderson, Christine Johnson, all contributed on defense.
The girls squad advanced to the second round as the Turner sisters wreaked havoc on visiting Fullerton last Thursday, Feb 16, as the Breakers scored three second half goals to take a 4-1 victory at home. Through 24 games this season, Laguna has scored 69 goals, one short of the record 70 set by the 1997 (12-10-2) squad also in 24 contests.
Boys Basketball (19-11, 7-3 – 2nd Place)
Breakers lost their second round Division 3 AA contest to second seed Crean Lutheran 54-49 in overtime on Friday, Feb. 16, at the Crean gym in Irvine.
Breakers almost overcame some self-imposed restrictions and some overlooked fouls in the contest, but could not secure the victory.
In the first period Laguna went down 5-2 before they rolled on all-cylinders to tie the contest at the half. In the third period, again they went down 22-18 to start the second half before a lineup change sparked the comeback rally. Breakers had a three-point lead with 43 seconds remaining in regulation but could not hold on after Adam Armstrong fouled out.
Girls Basketball (8-18, 4-6) Season Concluded
Boys Soccer (6-8-4, 4-4-1) Season Concluded
Spring Sports: Athletes skip the ski week break.
Baseball
Under Coach Jeff Sears, back at the helm after a five-season absence, baseball opens the season on Saturday, Feb. 25, with a double header at Laguna Hills. Games start at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Breakers won the Division 4 title last season and will be competing in Division 2 this year.
Next week the Breakers compete in the Newport Elks tournament in pool D of the Foothill Division along with Corona del Mar, Valencia and Santa Fe. Breakers will start with the Sea Kings on March 2, 3 p.m. at Corona del Mar. Tournament website: http://newportelks.usapremiersports.com/
Softball
The 33rd season of girls softball gets underway on Thursday, March 2, when Laguna hosts Dominguez at the Thurston Middle School field. New coach James Crawford is looking to get the program back to the success seen as recent as 2012 and 2013.
Boys Tennis
Tennis is underway under a new coach, Rick Conkey. Breakers had their scrimmage on Feb. 16 with Beckman and their opening match was on Feb. 21 with Laguna Hills. Laguna hosts San Juan Hills on Tuesday, Feb. 28, and Aliso Niguel on Thursday, March 2.
Boys Volleyball
The 46th varsity season gets underway on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at Newport Harbor in what should be a very difficult match for the Breakers. Laguna was 19-8 last season and will be in Southern Section CIF’s Division 1 this season.
