YOUTH SCENE

SOCCER

AYSO Region 97

Games played Feb. 2

Girls under-10 Gold All-Stars

North Irvine 3, Newport Beach Golden Girls 2: The Golden Girls dominated the first quarter. Forwards Emily Fay, Jaci DeFeo and Emily Halphide kept the ball on the offensive side of the field for most of the quarter. North Irvine showed their speed with a quick counterattack goal to end the quarter. Down, 2-0, in the second quarter, the Golden Girls started their comeback. Peyton Groves lined up a free kick just outside North Irvine’s penalty area and made a nice pass to right forward Rylie Siegfried. Siegfried nailed a kick that was deflected back by a defender and then blasted the rebound into the back of the net.

The Golden Girls got aggressive in the third quarter with fullback Kelly McFetters pushing the ball upfield to forwards Reilly Cox and Bailey Scalzo. Scalzo found herself in a pinball match in front of the goal, where she finally snuck one by the goalkeeper to tie the game. Kate Hefner stayed in goal for the second half, and she delivered another outstanding performance, stopping numerous point-blank shots to keep the Golden Girls in the game. In the fourth quarter, the momentum went back and forth. Forward Jojo Stassel led the Golden Girls’ attacks, but North Irvine was able to capitalize on their home turf with a goal late in the game.

Girls under-9-10 Silver All-Stars

Newport Little Breakers 6, Newport Silver All Stars 1: The Little Breakers matched up against their sister girls’ under-10 Silver All-Star team in a make-up game. Siena Ward, center forward, was on fire in the first half, scoring four times. Jackie Singer and Haley Martinez each added one more. Grace Vandervort made several key saves in the goal in the first half. Zoe Conley and Destry Comp rotated in as keepers for the third and fourth quarters. Faith Harper, McKenzie Porteous, and Paige Fults led the defense for the Breakers, turning back several offensive runs.

Little Breakers 1, Irvine 1: Jackie Singer scored the game-tying goal for the Breakers in their second game, against the competition from Region 213. The game was very evenly matched with both defenses getting a workout. Mackenzie Porteous, Faith Harper, Zoe Conley, Paige Fults and Grace Vandervort held the opposition to one goal in the first half.

The Breaker offense of Siena Ward, Singer, Haley Martinez and Destry Comp kept bringing the ball downfield. Finally all the attempts paid off as Singer scored in the third quarter to make the score even, 1-1. Irvine scored again, but the goal was called back as one of their players was offside.

BASKETBALL

Newport-Mesa NJB

Boys’ eighth grade All-Net

NJB players earn honor: Connor Gaal and Kimo Wakim, two Newport Beach eighth-grade All-Net players, were among those selected to play on the all-star team representing the Newport-Mesa district. Gaal and Wakim helped the team win the championship for the boys’ eighth-grade Blue Division.

Boys’ seventh grade All-Net

Newport-Mesa Sailors 50, Aliso Niguel Sharp-Shooters 23: The Sailors won their eighth game of the season by defeating the Sharp-Shooters. Reid Meckler was on fire all game, heating up in the second quarter with eight points and finishing with a season-high 17. Blake Motal chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds, going six of nine from the free-throw line.

Jackson Pries and Drew Olson manned the paint and added 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Connor Kelly, Robbie Rettig and Nick Hannah played gritty defense against the Sharp-Shooters. Blake Grable grabbed five rebounds and tallied five steals in the big win.

Los Alamitos 66, Newport-Mesa Sailors 53: The Sailors (8-2) lost for only the second time this season in a tough battle against Los Alamitos, whom they had previously beaten early in the season. The game was close throughout, but the much taller Los Al team prevailed in the end. Connor Kelly had a strong game with 12 points and three steals, while Blake Motal added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Blake Grable and Reid Meckler combined for 17 points and four steals. Jackson Pries played well in the loss with six points, five rebounds and three steals. Robbie Rettig and Nick Hannah played quality minutes for the Sailors.

— From staff reports