YOUTH SCENE

BREAKERS WIN GOLD

The Newport Mesa Breakers, a girls’ under-10 advanced play program soccer team, captured the gold medal in dramatic fashion at the Irvine Winter Classic that concluded Sunday at UC Irvine.

With less than a minute remaining in regulation, Kiana Ghamari scored on an assist from Faith Harper to send the game into a shootout against Westside of Los Angeles. Yartiza Garcia, Harper, Paige Fults and Zoe Conley scored goals that helped the Breakers lead, 4-3, in the shootout, then Newport Mesa goalkeeper Destry Comp secured the win with a big save.

The Breakers, representing Newport Mesa AYSO Region 97, trailed, 2-1, before Ghamari took a pass from Harper, beat the right marking back and put in a beautiful shot just inside the far post.

Earlier Sunday, the Breakers also faced a 2-1 deficit in the semifinals, but rallied for a 3-2 win over Fram Soccer Club. Ghamari and Garcia each scored in the second half to key the victory.

The Breakers opened pool play on Saturday with a lopsided 6-0 win over Crescenta Valley Soccer Club. They followed that win with an equally one-sided 5-1 victory over Chelsea Soccer Club.

Offensively the Breakers were led by Garcia, Ghamari, Siena Ward and Conley. The midfield was controlled by McKenzie Porteous and Megan Stevens. Jackie Singer, Fults, Grace Vandervort and Harper led the stingy defense. Comp played the entire tournament in goal and was outstanding.

The Breakers, who were 21-0-0 in AYSO play capturing the McMillian, Area Q Plus and Cerritos Thanksgiving titles, now have the title as a club soccer team. They will advance to play up in the under-12 division for spring select.

Newport Mesa NJB

Eighth-grade boys

All-Net

Newport Mesa Lightning 47, El Modena Hills Diablos 45: James Newman hit a runner in the key for the game-winning shot with 7.6 seconds remaining. For the fourth game in a row, the Lightning overcame a fourth-quarter deficit and battled back to win from a six-point deficit with two minutes left.

Max Stone and Andy Doka lead the team in scoring with 14 and 11 points, respectively. James Newman scored seven points, all in the fourth quarter. Troy Reese (six points), Kris Picarelli (three), John Pagliassotti (two) and Chris Okey (one) also contributed to the win.

Newport-Mesa Sailors 56, Whittier Surfriders 46: Blake Motal had a season-high 14 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks dominating the Wolfpack inside. John Harzan also had a season-high 10 points and added five rebounds and three assists, while Derek Kula keyed a 6-1 run in the first period and finished with 11 points, five rebounds and two steals. Nick Hanna (five points) hit some key free throws in the final period and Connor Kelly (four steals) led the team down the stretch with his strong defensive effort. Blake Grable, Drew Olson, Diego Morales, Robbie Rettig and Reid Meckler all played key minutes for the Sailors.

Seventh- and eighth-grade

boys’ Division I

Hornets 48, Pistons 41: Kavi Sakraney led the way with 15 points and four assists, while Timmy Strader added 13 points and six rebounds for the undefeated Hornets. Micah Cox, Gannon Bond, Quinn Bassler, Garrett Post and Kevin Moattari all played well in the win. The Pistons kept the game close throughout and were paced by Trent Dill’s double-double (12 rebounds and 11 points).

Clippers 41, Celtics 30: The Clippers beat the Celtics to win their first game of the season and were led by eighth-grader Paul MacCabe’s 16 points and 10 rebounds. Michael Karamardian played in his first game of the season and was hot from the outside adding 14 points and six assists. Steven Barela (five points), Grant Morris (four) and Kyle Morris (two) all contributed in the big win. The Celtics were led by the strong play of Matt Hurst and Chase McElroy.

Lakers 48, Wizards 40: The Lakers improved to 4-1 with a win over the short-handed Wizards. Kevin and Mark Manchester, Robbier Farber, Will Van Daslem, Cameron Hall, Tyler Lopp and Niki Luna all contributed in the win for the Lakers. The Wizards were paced by Shane Silver (14 points) and Ryan Cargile (13), while David Bruno and Areya Aresh played key minutes in the game.