High School Roundup: Edison, HB hold early lead in league race

Edison and Huntington Beach both have hold of the early lead in the Sunset League girls’ soccer race after both the Charger and Oilers earned victories Tuesday.

Edison has won its first two league contests by shutout. Tuesday at Marina, the Chargers scored twice in the second half to pick up a 2-0 win over the Vikings. Amy Feinstein and Amanda Erickson scored goals and Maddy Macias had two assists as the Chargers, ranked second in CIF Southern Section Division 1, ran their overall record to 11-3.

“The seniors were trying to erase the curse of the Marina field where we have often tied or lost on in the last few years,” Edison Coach Kerry Crooks said.

Edison also was on the road Jan. 7 for its Sunset opener, and the Chargers returned home with a hard-fought, 1-0 victory over Los Alamitos. Macias scored the winning goal off a deflected shot by Feinstein. Jessica Neighbors had six saves for the Chargers.

The outcome of Tuesday’s Sunset match between host Huntington and Newport Harbor was decided in two overtimes, and it was the Oilers who took a 3-2 victory.

Darcy Weiser scored Huntington’s first goal off an assist from Jocelyn Ceccarelli, and Olivia Covert’s goal, off an assist from Sarah Steinhaus, tied the score. Alijah Oliver, set up by Covert, scored the winning goal in the second overtime.

Goalies Rachel Harris (four) and Adelaine Petermann (three) combined for seven saves for Huntington which out-shot the Sailors, 14-7.

Huntington needed no such dramatics in its league opener Jan. 7 against Marina as the Oilers won by a 5-0 score. Steinhaus, Ceccarelli, Yvonne Martinez, Sidney Beale and Diana Sanchez scored goals, and Hannah Wilson had two assists and Weiser, Covert and Lauren Burokas an assist each. Harris (four) and Petermann each had two saves.

Ocean View launched its Golden West League season Tuesday and defeated host Santa Ana, 2-1, in overtime.

Scoreless through regulation, the Seahawks (6-2-4 overall) overcame a 1-0 deficit in halftime when Madi White scored off a free kick assist from Cintia Ruiz. The win came when Hannah Messina converted a penalty kick.

Ocean View goalie Emma Malsy had eight saves.

“It was a tough game where both teams had goal scoring chances,” said Ocean View Coach Jose Sanchez who said White was his team’s “player of the game. “We dominated most of the game but were unlucky on the final third.”

Ocean View continues league play with a 3 p.m. match Thursday at Westminster.

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Boys’ Soccer

Edison won its first two Sunset League games last week. In their opener Jan. 6, the Chargers shut down host Newport Harbor, 4-0. Dom Bair scored twice and Sam Kemper and Jeff Wood both scored once.

The Chargers went to Los Alamitos — then ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division 1, Friday and pinned a 3-0 shutout on the Griffins. Bair again scored twice and Kobe Wood scored once.

The two wins put Edison at 9-3-2 overall.

“This was a very important win versus a fantastic opponent [Los Alamitos],” Edison Coach Charlie Breneman said. “Our team put in a complete performance and really played well. The team aspect is really strong at the moment and there is a lot of belief within the squad.”

Fountain Valley also won its first two Sunset contests by shutout. The Barons (11-2-1) opened with a 2-0 win Jan. 6 over visiting Huntington Beach, getting goals from David Volkert and Chico Cardenas. Volkert also had a goal and Trae Davis scored twice in the opening half of Friday’s game with visiting Newport Harbor which ended in a 3-1 win for the Barons. Slater Kucera had three saves in each win.

Huntington (7-3-5) rebounded from its league-opening loss to take a 5-0 win Friday from Marina (3-9-3).

“The boys have been training hard in preparation for league,” Huntington Coach Sean Dick said. “Fountain Valley took advantage of two mistakes and we could not finish what we created. Against Marina, we did finish what we created and we were able to get everybody minutes in that match.”

“We did come out to play the first half of the game, and Huntington Beach took advantage of that, credit to them on making us pay,” Marina Coach Gabriel Lucatero said.

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Girls’ Water Polo

The Sunset League season got underway Jan. 6 with a tripleheader at Newport Harbor High.

Huntington Beach began its title quest with a 19-2 win over Marina. Lauren Smith led the scoring with five goals, Julia Rozolis-Hill scored four times, Kalista Hyham three times, and Ally Long and Isabella Vucerevic both twice for the Oilers. Marina Hyham had 12 saves.

Shanna Zuanich and Katie Finney scored for the Vikings.

In other league openers: Julie Harrison scored twice for Edison was upended by Los Alamitos, 8-2, and Fountain Valley fell to Newport Harbor, 19-1.

Sunset League teams were back in the pool Wednesday but scores from those league games weren’t available at press time.

Ocean View, with seven sophomores, two juniors and only two seniors in its lineup, began its Golden West League season Friday and lost 8-0 to visiting Santa Ana.

“We played our worst game of the year,” said Ocean View Coach Jose Camey whose team fell to 1-4-3. “Key players were on vacation during the holiday break, and it showed during our first game against the top-seed team in our league.”

The Seahawks are home Thursday for a 3:15 p.m. league game against Westminster.

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Baseball

Defending CIF Southern Section Division 1 champion Huntington Beach will make a return trip in March to the National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. to compete in the 2016 USA Baseball National High School Invitational (NHSI). USA Baseball announced on Jan. 7 that the Oilers were one of 16 teams nationwide selected to participate in the fifth annual extravaganza, a single-elimination championship tournament where teams are guaranteed to play four games between March 23-26.

Huntington is one of three teams from Southern California selected for the single-elimination championship tournament, joining Mater Dei (2013 NHSI champion) and West Hills Chaminade. The other 13 participants are: host school Topsail High (Hampstead, N.C.); 2014 NHSI champion The First Academy (Orlando, Fla.); Bingham High (South Jordan, UT.); Charles W. Flanagan High (Pebroke Pines, Fla.); North Broward Preparatory School (Pompano Beach, Fla.); Trinity Christian Academy (Jacksonville, Fla.); Liberty Christian Academy (Lynchburg, Va.); Allatoona High (Ackworth, Ga.), Houston High (Germantown, Tenn.), Florence High (Florence, Ala.); Poly Prep Country Day School (Brooklyn, N.Y.); Rocky Mountain High (Fort Collins, Colo.), and Walton High (Marietta, Ga.).

San Clemente won the 2015 NHSI tournament title.

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Special Event

The Sunset vs Trinity League Baseball Challenge will be played during the prep baseball season, and to kick off the event, “A Night of Baseball Tales and Champions” will be held Jan. 30 at the Newport Harbor Elks Lodge (3456 Via Oporto, Newport Beach).

The night includes a cocktail hour (6:15 p.m.) with dinner to follow at 7 p.m. Commissioner of Ceremonies of television broadcaster Ed Arnold. Guest speakers will include head baseball coaches John Altobelli (Orange Coast College), John Savage (UCLA) and Dan Hubbs (USC). Diamond Club honorees include David Huff (Edison High), Ron LaRuffa (former Edison/Fountain Valley head baseball coach, current Cypress College assistant coach), and Bob Ickes (Mater Dei High coach).

The cost for the event is $75 per person, or $650 for a table of 10. Reservations will be accepted until Jan. 23. More information can be found through email at sunsettrinitychallenge@yahoo.com, or at twitter:@stlchallenge.

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CIF Weekly Rankings

Girls’ Soccer: Edison (No. 2, Division 1).

Girls’ Water Polo: Ocean View (No. 1, Division 6).

Wrestling: Fountain Valley (No. 8, Coastal Division).