Fair Play Award

Christian Learning least penalized 

 The trophy for the school whose soccer teams accumulated the fewest penalty cards this season was awarded to Christian Learning during the medal ceremonies at the junior varsity championships held Thursday at International.
 Only eight yellow cards were given to players on the Eagles four teams -- boys varsity, girls varsity, boys junior varsity and girls junior varsity.
 Cambridge finished second with 12 yellow cards. International had 16 yellow cards. Cooperative received 14 yellow cards and two red cards.

JV Boys Soccer Championship Game

TOGETHERNESS -- Knights celebrate after nail-biting victory over Jaguars 

Jonatan Muñoz, International 

Knights triumph on penalty, 1-0 

By Trevor Reed
Christian Learning 
 The Cambridge Knights triumphed over the Cooperative Jaguars 1-0, winning first place in JV Boys Soccer in a fast paced game played at International on Thursday.
 Both teams were prepared and focused on the task at hand, and this was demonstrated through quick passes, ball control, and all-around smooth playing. Both teams sought to strike first, but the defenses were both playing superbly.
 The Jaguars appeared to have the momentum in the first half, with slightly more shots on goal, including one that bounced off the crossbar. The Knights also had their chances, including a free kick that was inches away from the goal.
 As the first half was about to end, the Knights were awarded another free kick, which turned out to be the best scoring opportunity of the half, but they were unable to finish it off as the ball hit the crossbar and the rebound was blocked again by the goalie. Despite all these close calls, the first half ended in a 0-0 tie.

 The Knights seemed to steal the momentum away from the Jaguars as the second half progressed. After a free kick that was barely blocked by the Jaguar goalie, the Knights were even more determined. 

 Finally the Knights got a chance as Juan Carlos Paniuague was tripped by the Jaguar goalie inside the  penalty box. The penalty shot by Gabriel Alonso went into the bottom right corner, inches away from being blocked by the Jaguar goalie. 

 This goal would be the only one scored in the entire game.

 The Knights were able to fend off the Jaguars for the rest of the game, keeping their 1-0 lead and winning the League JV championship. 

JV Girls Soccer Championship Game

BOTTOM TO THE TOP -- Fifth-grader Sophia Sciaroni (5, number partially obscured because it's tucked in pants) seems to have trouble finding a spot in pre-game huddle (left). After it's over she's the star of the show. (right).Jonatan Muñoz, International 

Griffin Girls defeat Jaguars 2-1

 Griffin fifth grader Sophia Sciaroni went on a late-game scoring spree that enabled the International junior varsity girls soccer team to defeat Cooperative 2-1 and take the soccer crown in a game played Thursday at International.
  It is widely believed that this is the first time any Cooperative girls soccer team, varsity or junior varsity, has lost a playoff game.
  The two teams were locked in a scorelesss tie late in the second half and the game appeared to be heading for Shootout City when Sciaroni, one of the smallest players on the field, apparently decided that something needed to be done. But it would take a few tries.
  Her first breakaway shot was blocked with a marvelous leg save by Jaguar goalie Sophia Gonzalez. But minutes -- maybe seconds -- later Sciaroni scooted loose with the ball again, and this time she was not to be denied. Firing at point blank range she didn't hit the ball squarely, but squirted it off the left side of her foot at an une4xpected angle that Gonzalez had no chance of blocking.
  A very short time later the Griffins unlimbered a complex corner kick tactic that resulted in a high, looping cross from the left-hand side of the goal. Sciaroni was ready for it on the opposite side of the net and tucked it in to make the score 2-0.
   That did not conclude the scoring action. Cooperative came storming down the field,  and after connecting a series of short passes, Christiani Zurita slammed the ball into the goal to cut the International advantage to 2-1. But time ran out before either side could launch another serious threat.

JV Boys Volleyball Championship Game

TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE --Griffin fires a kill on artful set-up by Hans Hoffman (1) but scoreboard shows Jaguars have decisive 19-10 lead in second set. Jonatan Munoz, International 

Jaguars break through to win 
 After fighting their way to a narrow victory in the opening set, the Cooperative boys junior varsity volleyball team seemed to get the wind at its back and defeated International going away in the second set to win the junior varsity championship Thursday evening in the International gym.
 The two closely matched teams battled mightily in the first set, which was marked by long rallies and tremendous defensive efforts. The Jaguars led in the early going, but the Griffins came back and had the lead at 18-17. After that the two teams moved in lock-step tying six times until at 26-all Cooperative finally put together two points in a row to win the set 28-26.
 Somehow seemed to break the Griffins spirit, and they seemed to lose focus at the start of the second set, allowing the Jaguars to sprint out to a 7-1 lead. The Griffins were unable to regain momentum and the score moved to 16-6  in favor of the Jaguars, then 20-11, and finally 25-14.
  The Jaguars got strong serving and almost flawless floor play from Luis Peredo and Agustine Velasquez. The Griffins were paced by the artful setting of Hans Hoffman and German Ferraris.

JV Girls Volleyball Championship Game

GLEE CLUB -- Victorious Griffins (including Coach Eli Vilar, center) embrace after taking final point. Jonatan Muñoz, International

Griffins outlast Jaguars, win 2-1

Sung Eun Song
International School
 The International girls varsity volleyball team snatched a dramatic victory over Cooperative, winning the championship of JV girls volleyball.
 It was a thrilling match from start to finish because nobody dared guess which team would be the winner. The two teams were almost evenly matched, but finally International won a come-from-behind victory. The game was played at the International gym which was heated up with the shouts of many spectators.

   The first set was full of dramatic snapshots. At the beginning, International took the lead by 6-1. Ciara . Harriague of Griffins stood out for her brilliant serving skill. Renata  Maggi was also an outstanding player who received the ball with stability and attacked with great tactical skill. The Jaguars star was Maria Paola Aquirre, who hit the ball hard and accurately, taking full advantage of her height. She was a big factor enabling the  Jaguars to catch up with the Griffins in the middle of the first set, when the Jaguars tied the score by 10-10.
    From that moment, the long, emotionally intense rallies began. There was one breathtaking moment performed by the Jaguar girls. Harriague of International lightly hit a ball that slipped off to the Cooperative side of the net. The ball nearly hit the ground for a Griffin point, but Aquirre narrowly kept  the ball alive, falling to the floor in her effort to reach it.
     Then, Griffin Fernanda Gutierrez hit a slashing cross-court return, heading directly at Aquirre who was still  on the floor. Dramatically, from her fallen position, Aguirre set the ball up to Tamara Paz in the middle and Paz spiked the ball hard, gaining the point for the Jaguars. The audience applauded both teams for their passionate play as they continued to trade points in long rallies. However, International girls made several mistakes in the last minutes and Jaguars won the first set by 25-23.

 The second set was close as well, but this time the Griffins took control. The score was tied until 3-3, but soon, Griffins built an eight-point margin 12-4, and that difference lasted until 16-8. Pamela Suarez was the biggest contributor to the the Griffins dominance, showing a lot of different moves. She seemed to know when to fire strong spikes, and when to just lightly hit the ball. With her great help, the Griffin girls widened the gap to 10 points at 21-11.
 However the Cooperative girls began to catch up frightfully. Fabiana Andrade of Cooperative was a great attacker who spiked the ball non-stop. The Jaguar girls pulled up the score to 16-21, but the difference was too big to cover. The Griffins won the second set 25-17.

The third set was very intense.  Both teams made the best of themselves showing skilled techniques and great teamwork, battling each other point-by-point, with neither of them being able to forge a lead. As time passed, however, the situation seemed to turn into Griffins’ favor. After many turnovers, Griffin girls triumphed over Jaguars by 15-10, winning the championship title.

JV Boys Soccer Consolation Game

Griffins shut out Eagles, win 5-0

The International boys junior varsity soccer team scored early and often in defeating Christian Learning 5-0 to gain third-place in a game played Thursday afternoon at International.
 The Griffins tallied three time in the first half on goals by Simon Maron, Joaquin Blasco and Samir Nostas. They added a fourth goal in the second half when Danny Hanley connected on a crossing pass by Jacob Hloldversson, and then a few seconds later Blasco connected for his second goal of the afternoon.  

JV Girls Soccer Consolation Game

Eaglettes 4-0 victors over Knights

By Trevor Reed 
Christian Learning 

The Christian Learning Eagles defeated the Cambridge Knights in a 4-0 shutout at International on Thursday to give the Eagles third place in junior varsity soccer. 

  The game started out evenly with good playing by both teams, but the Knights quickly tired, and soon could not keep up with the Eagles. Eagle Emily Ordoñez seized an opportunity to score the first goal of the game on a kick into the top left corner of the goal after a quick pass from Eva Brown set her up. 

 The Eagles maintained control for the rest of the half with good ball control and many shots, including one that hit the right post of the Knights' goal, but there was no  further scoring and the half ended 1-0.

 The second half started very similarly to the first. Both teams were revitalized from halftime and playing at full potential. Ordoñez nearly scored twice more on two breakaways, but the Knights had their own chances as well. 

There was plenty of action for both goalies as the ball went back and forth across the field. Later in the second half, Ordoñez carried the ball from the middle of the field all the way to the goal to make the score 2-0. Ordoñez soon scored a third goal, completing a hat trick, and making the score 3-0 in the Eagles' favor. As the game drew to a close, Eagle Samia Dajbura added another goal to bring the final score to 4-0.

 The result was all the more impressive in that the Eagles were playing with only ten players.  

JV Boys Volleyball Consolation Game

Little Knights rally to beat Eagles

By Sung Eun Song
International School

 The Cambridge boys junior varsity volleyball team came from behind to win over Christian Learning in the consolation game played at International gym Thursday.

 After losing the first set by 17 points, the Cambridge boys snatched a dramatic victory by winning the next two sets 22-25 and 15-9.  Through the victory, Cambridge gained the title of third place in JV volleyball.

 At the beginning of the first set, the Christian Learning boys seized the initiative, leading the game by 8-0. Those eight points were decided by Jorge Avila, whose serves were so powerful that they were barely blockable. He used his height to put power into his serves, but finally hit one too far. However, the Eagles soon made the score 12-1.

 Nathan Brown, Luke Phillips and Avila, using their height advantage, were the main attackers for the Eagles. They showed a perfect teamwork in cooperating with each other; one fielded the ball,  another bounced the ball high, and then the third other spiked it. 

 With this attack the Eagles made it to 21-1. However, as soon as the Eagles scored its twenty-second point, the situation reversed in Knights’ favor. The Knights got 7 points straight making the score 8-22 in a blink. However, there was too big a gap between two teams’ scores for the Knights to catch the Eagles in the first set, which the Eagles won  25-8.

 Unlike the first set where Eagles’ victory seemed pre-ordained, the second set was a totally different story. It was a tight match from the beginning. Neither of them was able to build a margin of more than two points. But this time, Knights were slightly ahead of the Eagles. The rallies lasted longer than those of the first set and the players became more aggressive as well.

 Marco Ovando, Percy Justiniano and Luciano Asturizaga of Cambridge defended well against the attacks from the Eagles, receiving the ball fluidly.  Although they didn’t try many spikes or hard attacks, they made the score 20-14 with their solid defense. The Eagles tried to catch up at the last moment and closed the gap to 24-22, but then the second set was over with the Knights narrowly defeating the Eagles 25-22.

  The third set was anybody’s game. At the beginning, the Knights took the lead by 5-1. After a little while, the Eagles stepped up their effort and tied the score to 8-8, but then the Knights regained the upper hand. The Knights increased their margin until they won the third set 15-9. 

JV Girls Volleyball Consolation Game

Eagle girls victors over Lady Knights

 The Christian learning girls junior vasity volleyball team scored a straightb sets victory over Cambridge Thursday afternoon in the International gym to nail down third place in the League.
 The Eagles zipped through the first set, winning 25-15.
 The Knights put up more resistance in the second set, and the score was tied 13-13 halfway through. The Eagles then began to pull away, anmd finally took the set, and the match, 25-20.