Costa Mesa owns Cup

 Submitted by Pam Garrett

It was a home region victory as Costa Mesa AYSO took home the trophy in the third annual AYSO Mayor’s Cup at the Costa Mesa Farm Complex.

Costa Mesa AYSO had three wins, Newport Beach two, and Corona del Mar one. Costa Mesa took the crown from last year’s victors, Corona del Mar. Corona del Mar had previously taken the cup from first-year winner Newport Beach.

Three years of competition have yielded three different winning regions. AYSO stresses balanced teams within a region, but it appears these neighboring regions enjoy a more widespread balance.

Regions 57, 97, and 120 provide an opportunity for over 5,000 youths to play soccer. The top-ranked recreational AYSO soccer teams in U10 through U14 divisions from Costa Mesa (Region 120), Newport Beach (Region 97) and Corona del Mar (Region 57) competed over two days. Saturday games were played on Region 97 and 57 fields. Sunday’s semifinal and final matches were played at the Farm in Region 120. Several dignitaries were in attendance, including Mayor Allan Mansoor of Costa Mesa and Mayor Ed Selich of Newport Beach. Councilwomen Wendy Leece and Katrina Foley of Costa Mesa also came out to show their support and took part in the awards ceremony.

Corona del Mar took home the boys’ U14 crown. Newport Beach finished first in boys’ U10 and girls’ U12. Costa Mesa won girls’ U10, boys’ U12 and girls’ U14. The tournament also established a second-, third-, and fourth-place team in each division.

The Mayor’s Cup is not only a great tournament in its own right, but it gives the top two teams a chance to tune up before the Area Q tournament Dec. 12-13. Area Q is comprised of seven local regions, including Corona del Mar, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, North Irvine, South Irvine, Tustin, and Yorba Linda/Placentia. These same teams will compete against surrounding regions for the right to represent Area Q in Section 11 play.

Championship Game

Green Hornets 5, Wonder Women 4: Carly Van Oostendorp, Chloe Hyde and Julianna Eifler scored goals in the shootout to lead the Green Hornets to a dramatic win.

Haley Datt, the Hornets’ goalkeeper during the shootout, blocked two shots. Carly Van Oostendorp scored with minutes left in the fourth quarter forcing an overtime. Neither team scored during overtime taking it to a shootout. Lani Kerrigan and Holly Halperin had several key saves as Hornet goalkeepers. Carly Van Oostendorp scored the Hornets’ first goal during the first quarter. The Wonder Women came back and scored two goals and the first half ended with the Hornets down, 2-1. In the third and fourth quarters the Hornets kept the pressure on the Wonder Women as Eifler and Ashley Obuljen had numerous shots on goal. Throughout the game Hyde, Lexi Van Oostendorp and Jessalyn Andres played exceptional defense. Olivia Blanda, Andres, Mackenzie Mowery, Breelyn Viloria, Kylee Seeber, Datt, Amanda Cox and Kailey Hambek each played the best game of the season.

Hornets Coach Damon Van Oostendorp and assistant Jim Eifler provided excellent coaching during the game and throughout the season. Players on both teams gave it their all and played another exciting final in the Mayor’s Cup.

Basketball

Newport-Mesa NJB

Boys’ Seventh Grade All-Net

 Reader submission

Newport-Mesa Tar Heels 50, Los Alamitos Griffins 35: The Tar Heels opened the season with a big win on the road in Huntington Beach against the Griffins. The game was close until the final period when the Tar Heels broke open the game with a 14-2 run to win going away. Cole Norris led all scorers with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Hagen Truninger chipped in seven rebounds and six points. Max Kline, Logan Miller and Max Stanley led a balanced three-guard defensive attack, while Charlie Evans and Kevin Fults combined for seven points and five rebounds. Grady Kimme and Brett Greenlee played key minutes in the big win.

Newport-Mesa NJB

Boys 7th & 8th Grade

Hawkeyes 53, Tigers 38: The Hawkeyes opened the season with a win over the Tigers. The Hawkeyes led coast to coast and featured a balanced attack led by Kavi Sakraney (12 points, five assists), Brian Wagner (12 points, 14 rebounds) and David Bruno (10 points, nine rebounds). The Tigers were led by the hustle of Alex Wilde, Ryan Cargile, Nick Ontiveros, Taylor Cortens, Jake Hastings, Jimmy Hamilton and Liam Bright.

Bulldogs 61 Blazers 49: Jay Damon led a strong defensive performance by the Dogs who had solid contributions from Michael Karamardian, Ryan Stone and David Karamardian. The Blazers were led by the solid play of Gannon Bond, Timmy Strader, Harrison Hewitt and Nick Whitelaw.

Bruins 37 Spartans 35: The Bruins were led by Tyler Lopp, Justin Hess, Trevor Schwartz and Jack Molnar, while the Spartans featured a balanced attack led by Robbie Bracho (seven points, six rebounds), Cameron Hook (six points) and Chad Redfearn (six points). Hook nailed a three-pointer to tie the game with less than a minute remaining, but the Spartans fouled to send the Bruins to the line for the game winning free-throws.

Blue Devils 48 Wildcats 36: Sam Younessi led all scorers with 14 points, while Quinn Bassler, Joey Cooper, Caleb O’Neil and Parker Chase led a balanced full-court attack. The Wildcats got down early, but clawed back into the game only to watch it slip away in the final period. They were led by the solid play of Kevin and Mark Manchester, Ryan Kleinman and Grant Nutt.