Varsity Championship Tournament Results

JOY IN MUDVILLE -- Cambridge players and fans celebrate boys soccer victory.
Carlos Hugo Vaca, Cambridge

Cooperative, International and Cambridge triumph

Hail to the conquering heroes!

Cooperative won two championships Saturday in the 2009 SCISL Varsity Championship Tournament, one in boys volleyball and the other in girls soccer, but teams from other schools took the trophies in boys soccer and girls volleyball.
The Cambridge boys soccer team made its "Cinderella story" come true with an epic 3-2 win over Cooperative in the climactic final match of the Tournament.
And simultaneously the International girls volleyball team scored a dramatic straight sets victory over Cooperative to take that trophy.
It was as if Cooperative had been playing under a magic spell that somehow expired at noon. (The two championships the Jaguars lost started at 12:30 p.m.
The Cooperative girls soccer team had earlier finished its perfect season by whipping Christian Learning 9-0 in that championship game.
The Cooperative boys volleyball team had been similarly overwhelming in defeating International in straight sets to take that trophy. The Jaguar boys also compiled an unbeaten season.
In the consolation games, International secured third place in boys soccer, while Christian Learning took third place in both boys and girls volleyball.

Boys Soccer: Cambridge's Miracle
It could have been a movie plot. In fact it has been -- Bad News Bears, Rocky, Angels in the Outfield, Hoosiers, and many, many more.
After a regular season in which they won not a single game, the Cambridge boys varsity soccer team fought its way to the championship game against highly favored and undefeated Cooperative, then came from behind to win the trophy 3-2 with a gutsy, all-out effort that had almost everyone -- including even some Jaguar fans -- shaking their heads and saying simply, "What a great game!"
Cambridge was no doubt driven by a wide range of emotions. Revenge for the three defeats Cooperative had pinned on the Knights this year, including an 11-1 opening day thrashing. Redemption, perhaps, for an entire season in which there hasn't been much for Cambridge fans to cheer about.
And some very particular and personal reasons. "It's my birthday today," junior midfielder Matias Martinez told a teacher before the game. "I want to have something to celebrate."
Things did not start well for the Knights, as the Jaguars scored first when about midway through the first period their leading scorer Jose Manuel Vasquez received a pass on the left side of the goal and unleashed a shot that passed untouched into the corner of the net.
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MAN-TO-MAN DEFENSE --
The game was a sequence of duels between individual Knights and Jaguars,
Carlos Hugo Vaca, Cambridge, and Kelly Clark Boldt, Cooperative
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But that concluded the scoring for the half, which was played with intense fury on both sides, with each having its chances to score -- though the Jaguars probably had more.
Cambridge had started with their big star, Junior Sanchez, playing on defense, hoping to get a one-goal advantage as they had against Cooperative Friday and then holding onto it. After Vasquez' goal Sanchez moved to the offensive zone, but Cooperative's rough-and-tumble, double-teaming defense kept him largely in check. Cambridge did draw a half dozen or more free kicks, but the Cooperative defense (aided at times by a gusting crosswind that made precision kicking difficult) was up to the challenges presented.
Shortly into the second half, however, Sanchez was tripped up in the penalty area and made good on the rsulting point-blank penalty kick to knot the score at 1-1.
After several more minutes of rapid action with the ball seeming to ping-pong up and down the field, Cooperative got a corner kick that Jaguar Wilson Salvatierra, who played brilliantly throughout the Tournament, headed into the goal, making the score 2-1 for Cooperative.
At that point the mood in the stands seemed to be "Well, good for Cambridge. They put up a good fight."
Cambridge, however, was not quite through fighting. When, a shorty while later, they got a corner kick, fullback Kevin Pulis snuck up from his defensive position apparently posing as an innocent by-stander, then raced in to kick the ball into the goal and make it a 2-2 ballgame.
This triggered a crisis among the crew of younger boys manning the scoreboard, since they only had one "2." A Cooperative administrator raced over to find out why the score was not being correctly presented. One of the boys tried gamefully to solve the problem by leaning out the "Visitors" opening of the scoreboard and holding up a two-fingered "V" signal to indicate the 2-2 tie. Later the crew tried switching their only "2" back and forth from one side to the other.
Most in the crowd, though, knew very well what the score was, and within a few more minutes Cambridge would solve the scoreboard crew's dilemma by adding its third score on what may have been the most confusing and controversial play of the day.
It began with a long, booming punt by Cambridge goalie Jose Luis Ribera that came bounding down the field with Sanchez and others in hot pursuit. It bounded high, hit the crossbar and bounced directly downward. Jaguar goalie Eduardo Ribera, who had leapt high for it, lost his balance and was now lying in the ground, tried to slap it aside, but Sanchez immediately claimed -- and the referees confirmed, that the ball had broken the plane of the goal to become the third score.
Most of the players and fans could not tell immediately what had happened, but got the picture as the huge Cambridge cheering cheering section, packed into the area right next to the goal, exploded in exultation, and the Cambridge players down near the goal raised their arms in triumph.
Cooperative would get more opportunities, but not that many as Cambridge went into some artful strategies to run out the clock. They shifted into a defensive alignment and repeatedly "iced" the ball with long, high kicks into the Cooperative end.
On two corner kicks the ball was tapped in to Sanchez who dribbled back into the corner and, in effect, defied the Jaguars to take the ball away from him, On one of these occasions he was able to keep the ball bottled up for over 30 seconds as two, three, and then four Jaguar defenders tried to get it away from him. finally forcing him to pass to Martinez, who controlled it a while longer.
When the whistle sounded to end the game the players and fans converged on the field to form a joyous bouncing, hugging, largely shirtless agglomeration of humanity. The final handshake was delayed but finally took place with fitting formality.
While nothing can diminish the dimensions of ther Knights ascension from worst to first, it might be noted at least in passing that the Knight boys are no strangers to championship contests. They won the championship last year and three years ago. Two years ago they were runners-up.
And to conclude: Happy birthday, Matias.

Cambridge line-up: Sanchez, Gonzalo Prudencio, Raul Prudencio, Martinez, Alvaro Lopez, Javier de las Heras, Jose Luis Rivero, Marilon Castillo, Fabricio Subirana, Facundo Rodriguez, Diego Bejar, and Federico Rocco. Coach: Carlos Euler.
For Cooperative: Milan Marinkovic, Alfonso Roca, Wilson Salvatierra, Juan Carlos Laguna, Esteban Sauto, Federico Sauto, Jean Bretel, Jorge Zankis, Jose Manuel Vasquez, Camilo Avila, Santiago Paz, Hyun Kim, Francisco Arioni, Juan Alfredo Abuawad, Jose Mozza, Eduardo Ribera, Jose David Sanchez, Josue Abuawad. Coach: Nicolas Mostert. Assistant coach: Dario Rojas.

DECIDING MOMENT -- The third Cambridge goal came on a confusing play. The ball bounced down from the crossbar (top) and Jaguar goalie Eduardo Ribera, lying on the ground, tried to slap it away while teammate Esteban Sauto pushed back Knight Junior Sanchez (6). Sanchez, having shed Sauto's cross-body block (middle), signals to the Cambridge fans that the ball is in the goal. Exultation quickly spreads (bottom). Jonatan Muñoz, International.

Girls Soccer: Jaguars cruise
The Cooperative girls soccer team finished the season in the championship game Saturday as it had started with an overwhelming shutout victory defeating Christian Learning 9-0 with an impressive show of offensive firepower.
The Jaguars completed the season with a perfect 10-0 record.
The game had looked to be a closer match-up than it proved to be. The Eagles had erased the Jaguars' claim of being "unscored-upon" earlier in the Championship Tournament by scoring twice. Though they lost that game 5-2, the Eagles could certainly claim to have put up a respectable fight.
Moreover, the Eagles had put on their own display of scoring might when they had defeated Cambridge Friday night in the wind and rain 7-0. The field was still soft Saturday morning and there were those in the large crowd who thought the Christian Learning girls might prove to be "good mudders" as is said of horses that run well on a wet track.
However, as the game unfolded it was Cooperative that was hitting on all eight cylinders, while the Eagles seemed to have trouble getting traction. For the Jaguars, the game spotlighted the return to form of Fernanda Vaca Diez, a tenth grader who was out of action last year due to academic eligibility problems, and had not, until the Tournament, played up to the potential she had shown as a high scoring eighth grader two years ago.
Vaca Diez scored four times in the championship. Tania Landivar, who played the opposite wing, added two more goals, demonstrating the "double-barreled" nature of the Cooperative offense. (Both players will be back next year. In fact, they´ll probably be back for the next several years.)
Aldana Roda, Maria Paz Rivero, and Maria Fernanda Antelo also scored for the Jaguars, who led 3-0 at the half.

The line-up for the Jaguars: Tania Landivar, Maria Paz Rivero, Maria Jose Rivero, Florencia Arnera, Ludovica De Rosmini, Tali Rozenman, Carla Limpias, Ana Paola Peredo, Maria Fernanda Antelo, Estefania Sauto, Paola Querejazu, Cecelia Aponte, Camila Adriazola, Fernanda Vaca Diez, Alexia Dabdoiub, Sofia Sotelo, Aldana Roda, Roseleny Kefer.
For Christian Learning: Miranda Hosanna, Abby Philips, Jenny Zimmerman, Jessica Smith, Ae Lin Lim, Mariela Salinas, Rachel Kienzle, Ji Hea Ahn, Erica Kienzle, Kaylynn Lampen, Susan Pedraza, Laura Lindahl, Maryodette Ribeiro, Sandi Wilcke, Rebekah Kienzle, Samia Dajbura, Isabella Diaz, Emily Ordoñez.

POURING IT ON I -- Griffin Beatriz Nallar (3) served for 12 consecutive points in the deciding secon set. Jonatan Muñoz, International

Girls Volleyball: Griffins rise to the top
For sheer excitement that had the fans for both teams standing and screaming, there was no better contest in the Tournament than the first set played between the International and Cooperative girls volleyball teams, which International won 29-27.
For an example of the way the complexion of a volleyball contest can completely change complexion with one team becoming totally dominant, there was no better example than the second set of the same match, which International won 25-8.

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POURING IT ON II -- Griffin coach Eli Vilar gets an ice water shower after Griffin victory. Jonatan Muñoz, International

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And thus did the Griffin girls become the SCISL volleyball champions Saturday morning against a Jaguar team with which they had dueled evenly all season.
The match had seemed a toss-up at the start. Each team had won one of the two regular season games. International had won their first meeting in the Tournament, but it had been a knock-down, drag-out, three-set donnybrook. One of those games where you felt it was too bad that somebody was going to have to lose.
Further clouding the picture was the fact that International had lost to Christian Learning in the Tournament , a team that Cooperative had defeated with relative ease.
In the first set the two teams fought each other point-by-point. International appeared to be in the driver's seat when it fashioned a 23-20 advantage, but Cooperative surged to tie the game at 24-24.
Then things got really intense- The two teams traded points in rallies that saw the ball go back and forth 20 times or more with both sides firing slashing cross-court hits and digging out apparently lost balls.
The cheering sections of the two teams, seated at the two ends of the south stands in the Cooperative gym, took turns standing and exulting as their team made an amazing save or an astonishing hit. Sometimes the outstanding plays came in such rapid succession that both sides were up and screaming simultaneously.
In between points the two sides sat down and screamed to the point where play was delayed because the referees could not communicate with the players. (The noise did not appear to bother the players, who kept signalling to their fans to turn up the volume.)
The final tie was at 27-27, after which International outlasted Cooperative on two intensely contest points to win 29-27. It was the closest contest of the entire year, boys or girls, varsity or junior varsity.
The loss seemed to visibly deflate the Jaguars. Coach Misty Skidmore would say later that she could tell that her team had lost its equilibrium during the first several points.
Several Jaguar players had finished the championship soccer game only fifteen minutes before the start of the volleyball championship game, and the strain now started to really show. Several Griffin players had also, of course, played soccer earlier in the day, but had gotten more of a rest before the volleyball contest.
The rallies continued to be long and well played, but increasingly it was the Griffins who prevailed as they moved out to an 11-6 lead.
At that point Griffin star Beatriz Nallar went to the service line. Her strong and unerringly accurate serves seemed to strengthen her teammates even further, and she took the Griffins all the way to 23-6. The two teams then traded points until the Griffins won 25-8.

The line-up for the Griffins: Ana Laura Gurierrez, Ciara Harriague, Laura Adriazola, Beatriz Nallar, Inez Fernandez De Cordova, Noelia Quinteros, Maria Rita Velasco, Diana Melgar, Maria Victoria Gutierrez, Flavia Nostas, Adriana Ocampo, Maria Paola Acosta. Coach: Eli Vilar.For the Jaguars: Karla Flores, Aldana Roda, Carla Limpias, Ana Paola Peredo, Ana Paola Justiniano, Sofia Sotelo, Luciana Adriazola, Veronica Richter, Tania Landivar, Vivian Froelhe, Ximena Guzman. Coach: Misty Skidmore.

Boys Volleyball: Cooperative rules!
The Cooperative boys volleyball team has dominated its opponents all season long, losing only a single set and no matches, and they continued that dominance in the championship game by beating International 2-0.
The Jaguars led virtually all the way as they took the first set 25-11, and the second 25-10. The Jaguars never gave the Griffins a chance to get rolling, as they had in the round-robin game played Friday night. Cooperative had won that match in straight sets too, but had been pushed hard in the opening set, which the Jaguars won 28-26. The result indicated vast improvement for International, which had been 1-5 during the regular season.
The Jaguar victory represented the first time that a Cooperative boys team has won a championship since 2006, when the boys track team turned the trick.

The line-up for the Jaguars: Juan Alfredo Abuawad, Juan Pablo Roda, Jorge Melgar, Milan Marinkovic, Wilson Salvatierra, Mateus De Carvalho, Josué Abuawad, Eduardo Ribera, Jose Miguel Gutierrez, Sebastian Kyllman, Alejandro Rosas. Coach: Jesus Flores.
For International: Eric Takayama, Juan Sebastian Narvaez, Francisco Gonzalez, Mauricio Nostas, Marco Parada, Johann Voss, Julio Ribeiro, Maycol Villavicencio, Andres Estenssoro, Daniel Roempler, Renato Guzman, Santiago Maldonado. Coach: Eli Vilar.

Knowledge Bowl: Jaguars edge Eagles
In a new competition for the SCISL added this year, Cooperative managed a narrow and exciting 40-38 win over Christian Learning in the finals of "Knowledge Bowl" Friday afternoon in the Cooperative cafeteria. before a large crowd.
In it, five-person teams took turns answering "toss-up" questions on general knowledge about geography, history, science, literature and other fields. If a player knew the answerr he or she pressed a buzzer. The first person to hit the buzzer got the chance to offer an answer. If correct, the team then had a chance to answer a follow-up "bonus" question in the same field.
Cooperative and Christian Learning had won the right to play in the finals in the preliminary round Thursday afternoon, during which the team from International School was eliminated. Cambridge did not field a team.
The big gun f0r Cooperative, and high scorer in the tournament, was tenth grader Sebastian Kyllman, who provided perhaps two-thirds of his team´s correct answers. The others on the Jaguar team were Maria Cristina Espinoza, Jonathan Reichsfeld, Augustina Rodriguez, and Gustavo Vaca Diez.
The Eagle team was comprised of Andrew Burgin, Kiuchi Hiromi, Carlos Sandoval, Sarah Miura, and Steven Hause.
The International School team was Maria Rita Velasco, Jorge Harriague, Andre Estatuti, Marco Parada, and Brenda Lee.

DAY TWO -- Varsity Championship Tournament Results

Match-ups set for championship round

Cooperative qualified all four of its teams for the finals of the SCISL Varsity Championship Tournament, which it will host beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday morning, raising the possibility that the Jaguars could become the first "quadri-champions¨in League history. (For times see schedule at right.)
International can boast that both its boys and girls volleyball teams will be in Saturday's championship contests, and Christian Learning will have its championship hopes hopes pinned to its girls soccer team.
But perhaps the biggest story of the Tournament is the ascension of the Cambridge boys soccer team to the championship game. The Knights, who were winless during the regular season, will have the chance to become the year's "Cinderella team" as they go up against the undefeated Jaguars Saturday.
Were they to win it will be a classic "worst to first" situation, but the odds faced by the Knights are long indeed. They have been beaten three times this year by the Jaguars, starting with an 11-1 humiliation on opening day, and continuing through a 4-1 loss to Cooperative in the opening round of the Tournament.
Still Cambridge displayed a startling new offensive explosiveness by scoring three times in the final five minutes of its game with Christian Learning to come from behind and win 4-2 Thursday night.
They then put on an impressive display of strategic cunning Friday to beat International 1-0. The Knights scored early, then switched all their emphasis to defense to shut down the Griffin offense.
There was plenty of other exciting action on Day Two of the tournament. Here are the scoring summaries:
In boys soccer, Cooperative defeated Christian Learning 6-0, getting three goals from Juan Manuel Vasquez, and single markers from Santiago Paz, Bryan Moore, and Hyum Kim.
In girls volleyball, International defeated Cambridge, and Cooperative won over Christian Learning, both in straight sets.
In girls soccer, Christian Learning won twice. In the afternoon the Eagle girls beat International 2-1, getting two goals from Abby Phillips. Beatriz Nallar scored for International. At night, with rain falling and high winds, the Eagles defeated Cambridge 6-0.
Cooperative also won twice in girls soccer, and by decisive margins. The Jaguars beat Cambridge 7-0, then in the nightcap defeated International 6-0.
In boys volleyball, International won a thrilling three-set contest against Christian Learning, losing the first set 10-25, then rallying to take the next two 25-23 and 15-13.
The Griffins lost an almost equally exciting match to Cooperative. The Griffins lost in straight sets but in the opening set showed for the first time this year that they can play the Jaguars on an even basis, finally succumbing by a score of 28-26. The two teams meet in Saturday's championship game.
Christian Learning got back on a winning track with a straight sets win over Cambridge, who they play in the consolation game Saturday.
The Cambridge boys also lost in straight sets to Cooperative.

DAY ONE -- Championship Tournament

Suspicions confirmed, but surprises too

"It was a fruitful day," noted SCISL Commissioner Alvaro Ludueño in his after-action report on Thursday's thrill-packed first day of activity in the first-ever SCISL Varsity Championship Tournament, which comprised the first half of round robin play.

It was just that some of the fruits came out in unexpected and unusual shapes.

The rest of the round robin competition is slated for today (Friday), weather permitting, with the championship and consolation contests coming Saturday morning. (See schedule in right-hand column.

Girls Volleyball

The marathon, three-set victory by the International girls varsity volleyball team in the final contest of the day, combined with Christian Learning's almost equally as drawn-out three-set victory over International, threw the standings in girls volleyball into a cocked hat.

Any one of the three teams could wind up in the championship game, and, by the same token, any could wind up in the consolation game.

Cambridge had an excellent chance to mess things up even further, and to also be in championship contention, in its match against christian Learning. The Knights won the first set handily, and were up by eight points in the second, before undergoing a mysterious psychological collapse that enabled them to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

The scores:
Cooperative d. Cambridge 2-0 (25-19, 25-16)
Christian Learning d. International 2-1 (19-25, 25-21, 15-11
Christian Learning d. Cambridge 2-1 (13-25, 25-23. 15-8)
International d. Cooperative 2-1 (27-25, 22-25, 15-8)

Boys Soccer

The Cooperative boys varsity soccer team steamed on its undefeated way, though it faced a strong challenge from International, and got more than token opposition from Cambridge.

The surprise was that Christian Learning, which finished second in the regular season, lost to both International and Cambridge. The Cambridge game was perhaps the most exciting of the day, with the Knights scoring three times in the last five minutes to win 4-2 in a superbly played match.

To qualify for the championship game the Eagles must defeat the unbeaten Jaguars in their game today, and even that might not be enough.

The match to watch will be International against Cambridge. Cambridge, which hasn't won a game all year (though it tied International once) could make the championship game by winning.

The scores:
International 3, Christian Learning 0
Cooperative 4, Cambridge 1
Cooperative 2, International 1
Cambridge 4, Christian Learning 2

Boys Volleyball

No surprises in the early skirmishing in this division. The unbeaten Cooperative boys volleyball team easily defeated Christian Learning in straight sets.

The International-Cambridge three-set donnybrook was a most entertaining match, with the Griffins rallying nobly to win by the narrowest of margins, but it remains to be seen whether either of these two also-rans (who nonetheless played exceeding well against each other) can give Cooperative any trouble today.

If Christian Learning can beat both of these two opponents they will most likely earn the coveted rematch with Cooperative.

The scores:
Cooperative d. Christian Learning 2-0 (25-13, 25-11)
International d. Cambridge 2-1 (22-25, 25-15, 15-13)

Girls Soccer
The big news in girls soccer is that the Cooperative girls varsity soccer team can no longer claim in its list of sobriquets "unscored-upon." Christian Learning put the ball into the Jaguars heretofore chaste goal twice during their game.

It wasn't enough, however, The Jaguars still prevailed 5-2, and still claim to be "unbeaten and untied."

International defeated Cambridge 1-0 in a defensive battle, the only other content played Thursday.

The scores:

International 1, Cambridge 0
Cooperative 5, Christian Learning 2

DAY ONE -- Photo Album

Let the games begin . . . .

Varsity Tournament Rules

"Regular season" winners have edge in Tourney

Teams that did well during the regular season start the Varsity Championship Tournament with an advantage, according to an explanation of the somewhat complex tournament scoring rules recently put out by the League.
A team that, for instance, finished in first place in the regular season starts the Tournament with points already credited to it equal to the points it would receive for a game won in the tournament. Teams that finished second and third also will start the Tournament with points already on the scoreboard in their favor.
The idea is to reward teams for doing well during the regular season, while at the same time allowing other teams a chance to reach the championship round.
The scoring for soccer and volleyball is slightly different.
To understand how this system works it may help to start with an explanation of how points are awarded in the tournament. In soccer, a team gets three points for winning a game, none for a loss during the opening "round robin" phase on Thursday and Friday during which in which each team plays every other team. The two teams with the best records, including points for the regular season finish, then meet in the championship round on Saturday. The other two teams play the "consolation" game for third place.
Ties are handled the same as during the regular season during the round robin. There is a five-shot penalty shoot-out in the event of a tie. The winner of the shootout gets two points; the loser gets one. If the championship game is a tie at the end of regulation time, a ten-minute sudden death overtime period will be played. If the score is still tied, there will be a penalty shot shootout.
In addition to points garnered for wins in the tournament, the team that finished first during the regular season starts out with three points in its favor in the standings even before the first tournament game is played. The team that finished second has two points, and the team that finished third has one.
The fourth-place finisher has no points to start with, but could still qualify for the finals in the tournament. To do so it would probably have to win all three of its games in the "round robin" phase of the tournament, though because of the way ties are scored the fourth-place team could conceivably also get to the finals and have a chance to win the championship with two wins and a tie, or even two wins and a loss.
In volleyball, two points are awarded in the tournament for a win. and one for a loss. (No points are awarded to a team that forfeits.)
As in soccer, in addition to points earned in the tournament, the team that "won" the regular season starts with two points to its credit, and the team that finished second has one point. The teams that finished third and fourth get no points.
Once again in volleyball, the teams that did well during the regular season are rewarded, but any team can make the finals and win the championship.