By Frank Aronoff
Girls Water Polo (9-1)
Foothill Upsets Laguna 7-8
Foothill Knights (9-3) blocked a close-range Breaker shot with three seconds left to hold on to an 8-7 upset win over Laguna at the Laguna Community Pool last Friday, Jan. 10. Laguna had the opportunity in their 10th six-on-five power play of the match but failed to avoid the block of Kenzi Snyder, the Knight’s goalie.
Overall Laguna only converted on four of Foothill’s 10 player exclusions on fouls, but three Breaker goal shots were disallowed as the officials ruled the entire ball had not crossed into the Foothill cage.
At first it looked easy as Makenzie Fischer opened the scoring on the first possession with a shot off a Bella Baldridge pass at the 6:42 mark in the first period. The game soon settled into a defensive battle with Foothill scoring on the two shots they could get off in the initial period while the Breakers were successful on only one of six attempts. This pattern would hold throughout the match as Laguna struggled to score while Foothill did on limited opportunities. The final minutes of the game were similar to the Breaker comeback over Mater Dei as Laguna scored on consecutive possessions and appeared to be on the verge of a third when the shot was blocked and time ran out.
Makenzie Fischer had three goals and three assists, Aria Fisher two scores, two assists, and single scores by Bella Baldridge and Brighid Burnes. Makenzie also had seven of the team’s 14 steals from the Knights. The tight confines of the undersized Laguna pond gave the edge to Foothill but the Breakers will have the advantage at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions this weekend with the games played on Santa Barbara’s 50-meter pool. If the seeding holds, Laguna would face Santa Barbara in the semifinals on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 11:10 a.m. The top nine Orange County teams are among the 16 entries in the tournament.
Next Friday, Jan. 24, Laguna travels to Newport Harbor for a 3:15 p.m. showdown with the Sailors in a non-league match.
Boys Basketball (11-5)
Laguna opened their 80th league campaign this past week facing Saddleback (6-10) on Wednesday, Jan. 15, and hosting Estancia (5-11) on Friday, Jan. 17 at Dugger Gym. Next week Laguna hosts Calvary Chapel (6-9) on Wednesday, Jan. 22, and travel to Godinez (13-4) on Friday, Jan. 24 in a key league showdown. Tipoff for all games is 7 p.m.
Senior Alec Wulff has scored 41 three-point shots so far this season and now has 92 in his career, good for 10th on the all-time Laguna list. Alec is the leading scorer on the team averaging 16.8 points per game.
Laguna continues to be the highest ranked public school in their CIF division. SSCIF D-4AA Poll for Jan 13: 1 – Bishop Montgomery, 2 – Serra, 3 – Crespi, 4 – Oaks Christian, 5 – J Serra, 6 – Buckley, 7 – Mission Prep, 8 – Harvard-Westlake, 9 – Laguna Beach, 10 – Pacific Hills, 11 – Notre Dame/SO, 12 – Costa Mesa, 13 – Paraclete, 14 – Maranatha, 15 – Centennial/Compton, 16 – Whittier Christian
Girls Basketball (10-6)
Breakers won a key divisional contest completing their non-league schedule with a 52-38 victory over No. 14 St. Margaret’s in a contest played on Friday, Jan. 10 at Dugger Gym. Laguna controlled the game early and never looked back. Jackie Cenan hit for 16 points, Jane Wallin added 11 points and recorded six blocked shots on defense. This week Laguna traveled to Saddleback (4-10) on Tuesday, Jan. 14, and hosted league favorite Estancia (14-2) on Thursday, Jan. 16. Next week Laguna will meet Calvary Chapel (2-13) and Godinez (3-13).
Like the boys – the Breaker girls are also the highest ranked public school in their division.
SSCIF D-4A Poll for Jan 13: 1 – Sierra Canyon, 2 – Brentwood, 3 – Fairmont Prep, 4 – Cantwell Sacred Heart, 5 – St Joseph/Sta Maria, 6 – Maranatha, 7 – Campbell Hall, 8 – St Monica, 9 – Providence, 10 – St Bonaventure, 11 – Flintridge Prep, 12 – Crossroads, 13 – La Reina, 14 – St Margaret’s, 15 – Loma Linda Academy, 16 – Laguna Beach
Boys Soccer (3-4-3)
Breakers completed their non-league schedule with a 5-0 victory over Saddleback Valley Christian last Wednesday, Jan. 8 at Guyer Field. Rory Saunders started the scoring in the first period followed by Zach Jacobs before the intermission. In the second half, Willy Wheeler scored on a header followed by Edward Willette and Jake Hexberg.
League play opened this week with defending D-5 champion Saddleback and a match on Friday, Jan. 17, with Estancia at Guyer Field. Next week Laguna travels to Calvary Chapel on Wednesday and top-ranked Godinez on Friday. Both matches will be at Centennial Park in Santa Ana.
SSCIF D-5 Poll for Jan 13: 1 – Godinez 2 – Silverado, 3 – San Luis Obispo, 4 – Los Amigos, 5 – Marshall, 6 – South Pasadena, 7 – El Monte, 8 – La Canada, 9 – Estancia, 10 – Victor Valley, Tahquitz (tie).
Girls Soccer (6-4-2, 1-0-0)
Laguna opened league play with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Saddleback in the wind on Tuesday, Jan. 14, at the Roadrunner campus.
Breakers got an early goal in the opening minutes from Paige Vitolo and completely shut down the Saddleback attack for the first 15 minutes. The Roadrunners caught a break with a free-kick call in mid-field and were able to use the wind advantage to score. Saddleback (6-4-1) scored their final goal off a direct free kick four minutes into the second half. Breakers finally picked up the pace in the final twenty minutes when Audrey Pillsbury scored off a great pass by Tessa Hopper with 16:25 remaining.
Breakers got their final score off a corner kick by Katelyn Carballo that Janie Crawford sent into the Saddleback cage with only eight minutes left. Laguna controlled the tempo the rest of the match until the final seconds of added time when the hosts were awarded a corner kick. The Roadrunners tried a number of shots but time finally expired to the relief of the visiting team. Overall, Audrey Pillsbury was a force, Johana Abarca played well in the field and Kylie George was solid in goal for Laguna. The results showed a real team effort for Laguna.
Last week the Breakers tuned up for league play with a pair of wins. Audrey Pillsbury had an unassisted goal to lead the Breakers to a 1-0 victory at Woodbridge on Jan. 7 and Laguna followed the win with a 2-0 conquest of Ocean View on Jan. 9 at Guyer Field. Against the Sea Hawks, Amy Hewlett and Katelyn Carballo scored for the Breakers.
Laguna will close out league play this week hosting Estancia (4-4-3) on Thursday, Jan. 16, and will face a tough Calvary Chapel (5-4-3) on Tuesday at Centennial Park.