Pool Polo Parity Perhaps ? [4 Dec]

Wednesday, 4 December 2013

Girls Water Polo

Just out of reach. Sam Wulfesteig and the Varsity Girls, came up a bit short.

Arroyo Grande vs Cabrillo
(at the City of Lompoc Aquatic Center)

Demi Ames was very aggressive in goal for Cabrillo with about a dozen steals. This was one of her easier stops.

Arroyo Grande 12, Cabrillo 9
[AG 4,3,4,1 - 12  Cabrillo 2,1,3,3 - 9]

This was a yo-yo game. AG would push out to a lead, and the Conqs would reel them back. Cabrillo also yo-yo-ed up and down in terms of their play. Mostly they did pretty well, and had some opportunities to take this game, but their relative inexperience showed. They were inconsistent, punctuating extended periods of quality polo with staccato bursts of "Yikes !! What was that ??" type polo.

Cabrillo, Ranked 7th in Division #5, seemed to start out a bit in awe of the Eagles, who were 25-8 last year and are currently ranked 5th in Division #3 by CIF-SS, giving up two quick goals (Rebeka Hernandez 6:24, Marcela Radke 4:47). They trailed 4-0 (Melanie Popovich 3:42 & 2:03) in the 1st period before the gals figured out that they could play with the visitors and netted 2 quick ones of their own (Tori Bray 0:57, Natalie Wilkie 0:09) in the final minute of the quarter. 

The Conqs also showed the effects of what happens when your star (Tancy Aldridge in this case) moves on - momentary hesitation and some reluctance to take the 'less-than-perfect' shot. 

They were outscored 3-1 in the 2nd period, with Sam Wulfestieg (6:19) answering an Isabella Manuelle goal (6:39). The two others were a Popovich 5-meter penalty shot (4:41) and one by Brooklyn VanderVeen (3:51).

Natalie Wilkie (L) races Rebeka Hernandez for the ball.

Cabrillo played better in the 2nd half, but was never able to completely erase the deficit created in the 1st period. In the initial few minutes of the 3rd Quarter, the Conqs traded goals by Tori Bray (5:54) and Sam Wulfestieg (4:57) for one by Brooklyn Vanderveen (5:12), climbing to within three (8-5). 

Unfortunately, the Eagles went on a tear, notching 3 goals in under 2 minutes and requiring a good save to stop a 4th. Cabrillo was able to staunch the bleeding somewhat with scores about 45 seconds on either side of the last break (Wulfestieg, Wilkie). AG struck for the last time some 40 seconds later with a Sara Wabby goal following a timeout. The Conqs would get the last two scores - a nice backscoop by Wilkie (2:06) and a truly excellent Bray pass to Sam Carroll with 47 seconds left.

In any event, the Conqs demonstrated that if they play well, they shouldn't be overwhelmed by any of the local squads - they find out how they stack up against the south coast and Ventura County this weekend at the Mistletoe Classic in Newbury Park. Note: Cabrillo was without the services of Sam Munoz, who is likely to be out 1-2 weeks due to illness. It's been a rough stretch for Sam, who before getting ill was recovering from a concussion sustained late in the volleyball season.

Conqs [0-1]: Goals - Natalie Wilkie 3, Sam Wulfestieg 3, Tori Bray 2, Sam Caroll. Goalkeeping - Demi Ames 28 Minutes, 6 saves, c. 12 steals.

Eagles [1-0]: Goals - Brooklyn Vanderveen 3, Melanie Popovich 3, Isabella Manuelle 2, Sara Wabby 2, Jordyn Dickens, Marcela Radke. Goalkeeping - Alana Benson 14 minutes, 1 Saves; Kayla Mankins 14 minutes, 2 Saves.
  
Junior Varsity

Cabrillo 5, Arroyo Grande 4
[Cabrillo 0,1,2,1 - 5   AG 2,0,1,1 - 4]

Sophomore Meagan Stephens fends off  the Eagles Elliana Bass late in the 4th Quarter.

This was an excellent example of the truism that the lower lever games are often better contests. Cabrillo prevailed after scoring the go-ahead goal with 17 seconds remaining and seeing the subsequent Eagle effort deflect off the cross-bar with almost no time on the clock.  Before that, however, there was a series of comebacks and momentum swings.

Like the varsity, the Conq JV got off to a slow start, surrendering 2 goals in the early part of the 1st period. (Both to Elliana Bass - 4:23, 2:55). At that point, though, the defense finally stiffened, holding AG scoreless the rest of the half, while the offense began to show signs of life. 

Meagan Vail, after being stopped on a pair of very good saves by Zoe Downer, was eventually rewarded with a goal on another nice shot at the 1:19 mark of the 2nd. The score would remain 2-1 Eagles at halftime.

It was a fired up Conq team that hit the pool after halftime. Vail would strike again just 37 seconds in, Ellery Wilkie tallied one 70 seconds later, and Michayla Owens registered another at the 3:26 mark to put Cabrillo 4-2. 

When that surge abated late in the 3rd, Bass secured her hat-trick with 1:08 left in the 3rd, and tied it with her fourth goal with 3:09 remaining in the 4th Quarter. The score stayed knotted until Camryn Ranney potted one to ignite the flurry at the end of the game.


Conqs [1-0]: Goals - Meagan Vail 2, Ellery Wilkie, Michayla Owens, Camryn Ranney. Goalkeeping - Rylan Scott 24 minutes, 4 saves.

Eagles [0-1]: Goals - Elliana Bass 4. Goalkeeping - Zoe Downer 24 Minutes, 2 saves.

Other LPL/Pac-7 Teams
Atascadero 12, Santa Ynez 6 



Boys Basketball

Nordhoff Tournament
(at Nordhoff HS, Ojai)

Cabrillo 77, Buena 71
[C: 25,10,25,17- 77 B: 21,11,13,26-71]

The Conqs overcame big surges at the start (12-2) and end (a 26 pt 4th qtr) by the Bulldogs

Cabrillo [1-0]: Chad Broadhead 28 (3x3), Josh Harris 16, Aaron Abayari 10, Oswaldo Zacharias 10.

Buena [0-1]: Jordan Starr 13, Benji Behrend 12.


Kilpatrick (1-1) 52, Nordhoff (0-1) 50
Pacifica (1-0) 65, Besant Hill (0-1 ?) 55 
St. Bonaventure (1-0) 70, Fillmore (0-1) 39

Cabrillo plays St. Bonaventure on Thursday, 5 Dec, 2013.

Harding Invitational Tournament
(at Morro Bay)

Arroyo Grande 52, Nevada Union 33 
Paso Robles 64, Nipomo 44   
Greenfield 50, Morro Bay 42 

Sierra Pacific Tournament 
(at Hanford)
Tranquility (1-1) 60, Coast Union 38