Season Preview

DANCING IN THE DARK -- Cambridge, International battled into overtime.

Excitement high for soccer, volleyball

The curtain is about to go up on the 2008 SCISL soccer and volleyball seasons, which promise to be, if anything, even more thrill-packed than last year’s. Excitement seems to be on the upswing all around the league with most schools reporting record numbers of student trying out for varsity teams.
Here’s how the boys and girls varsity seasons shape up in both sports.
Boys soccer: No favorites
No one would be fool enough to try to guess the outcome of the boys soccer season after last season’ topsy-turvy race in which the last-place team surged to second, while the the team that led for most of the season dropped to last.
International, last year’s champion, lost some key players through graduation, including Eduardo Bedoya who was sixth in the league in scoring, and booted home the winning goal in overtime to give International last year’s trophy. Also departed are offensive stars Tommy Marcos and Jonathan Paz.

But the Griffins will have the services of Daniel Baldivieso, the number three scorer, and Juan Javier Estenssoro, number ten. Jan Ivo Sochtig, a standout on defense, will also be back. Moreover, some players will be moving up from

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JUMP BALL -- Griffins, Knights fought hard all season, but Griffins prevailed.

International’s junior varsity, which won the JV championship last year.

There was a big turnout for tryouts this year, and Coach Eduardo “Presi” de la Riva reports that he has enough players to field two good teams. His hope is that at least one of those two teams will be able to defeat the teams that will be aiming to take International’s crown away.
Junior Sanchez is back
Cambridge came closest last year, losing 2-1 in overtime in the championship. The Cambridge scoring attack should be more or less intact with Junior Sanchez, the league’s leading scorer, returning to action, along with Martin Pacor, number nine. Other offensive threats who will be returning include wings Nicky Gamboa and Zhau Fua Zhou Zeng.
However, the defense will need to be retooled to replace Manfred Grote, who was goalie during the Knights’ second half surge, and Jorge Yuan, the big sweeper back who was seemingly always there when needed.
Carlos Euler will again be the head coach, with help, as usual, from Erwin Sanchez.
Jaguars need new blood, have it
Cooperative will need a lot of new talent to replace the ten players from last year’s team who graduated, including Pablo Taborga, a top ten scorer, Esteban Espinoza, Juan Peredo, Esteban Gomez, Cristobal Roda, and Daniel Linggi. Goalie Juan Casares has moved to Spain.
But the Jaguars may have found that talent. The Jaguars will be young, with a lot of new faces, says Coach Orlando Taja. Sixteen of the players on the roster are 9th and 10th graders. Moreover, the Jaguars will be welcoming back Jose Manuel Vasquez, the league’s number two scorer, along with Juan Alfredo Abuawad, Milan Marinkovic, Jorge Rojas (Captain), Jean Andre Bretel, Federico Sauto, and Pablo Limpias, as well as captain Jorge Rojas.
Eagles not out of running
Christian Learning fared much better in terms of losses through graduation, losing only David Lotz from last year’s starting line-up. Back for another year are Josh Mojica, the number four scorer last year, and Alex Apodaca, number eight, along with defensive standout Danny Canaviri. The Eagles, who will again be coached by Douglas Montaño, should be team to be reckoned with once again.
Girls Soccer: Jaguars to Repeat?
One has to like the chances of the chances of the Jaguar girl varsity soccer team in defending its title. It will have the services of the league’s number two and three scorers from last year, Tania Landivar and Maria Fernanda Vaca Diez. Last year they were only in the eighth grade and this year they will be a whole year older. Other returning stars include Carla Limpias, Alexia Handal, and Aldana Roda.

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WHO WILL FILL HER SHOES?

Goalie Nataly Noguer, now graduated, will be missed

The big question for Cooperative will be whether they have anyone who can fill the shoes of standout goalie Nataly Noguer, who has graduated. In fact, the Jaguars graduated nine of the players from last year’s squad, as well as Hailey White, the number four scorer, who moved to Canada.
However, a number of talented players will be moving up from last year’s undefeated junior varsity team.
Eagles must find new stars
Christian Learning’s girls varsity was probably hurt the worst of any team by graduation, losing eleven of the players on last year’s squad, including many of the stars. The Eagles have said farewell to Daniela Brooks, the top scorer in the league last year, playmaker Roxy Jien, elegant forward Sabrina Hallock, all-around standout Jennifer Lau, and intimidating defender Katie Beth Wilcke.
On the plus side, Alejandra Valencia, number five in scoring last year, will be returning. Still, new head coach Lindahl clearly has a rebuilding job on his hands.
Can Griffins, Knights move up?
It’s an open question as to whether International or Cambridge’s girls will be up to challenging for the championship this year. Only sporadically last year could they play Cooperative and Christian Learning on an even basis, though each managed a tie with one of the two top teams.
International lost its biggest offensive threat, Laura Chavez, but will have a core of talented players to build around, including Melisa Roca, and Ana Karina Marin. Ariane Nostas, a junior, is back from an exchange program in France, and could provide some needed scoring kick.
Cambridge has the bigger challenge on paper. The Lady Knights not only had trouble generating any kind of offense last year, but they also lost a lot of experienced players to graduation, including Lourdes Justiniano and Belen Muñoz, who were stalwarts on defense.
Still, there is cause for hope in the Knights' tower. The Knights’ new coach, Karla Ross, knows how to generate offense. Two year’s ago she was the biggest offensive threat in the league as a player. And she is at least mildly optimistic. “I have a lot of good players,” she says.
Ross will be trying to design a more potent attack around senior speedster Moira Vaca, who last year often outran her own teammates. This year she will have some swift companions, including Camila Johnson, who was outstanding on both offense and defense for the junior varsity last year, and Vitania Pulis, another JV player with a scoring knack.
Boys Volleyball: Will Griffins be challenged?
International, last year’s boys varsity volleyball champions, will have some big holes to fill, including those of its big hitter, Pablo Muñoz, and Waldo Bernal, who have both graduated.

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TAKE THAT! -- Boys volleyball was a three-way race in 2007.

But Coach Eli Vilar, whose teams are always well prepared, has some outstanding players to work with including Rodrigo Bernal, Alex Roempler, Jose Maria Landivar, Christopher Saltzieder, and Mauricio Nostas. Jan Ivo Sochtig, an outstanding athlete who did not play volleyball last year, is back on the roster.
Eagles' big hitters return
International will be tough to beat, but Christian Learning’s boys team, which almost did it last year, should be formidable, with star hitters Jeff Stabler and Esteban Eguez both back, along with a number of other experienced players including Kyle Swope and Mark Salinas. The Eagles will miss Tim Swope, who graduated, but most of the rest of the team retuirns to contend again.
Dark horses. Jaguars, Knights
Cooperative, which was in contention all the way to the end last year, will have to find a replacement for team leader, Cristobal Roda, and two other seniors. However, it has some fine athletes coming back, including David Shin, Diego Morales, and Juan Alfredo Abuawad.
Cambridge won only one game last year, almost a fluke victory against Cooperative in the playoffs, and its prospects would seem dubious for the coming season except that it too has a new coach, Victor Coronado. Coronado has guided Knight teams to championships in basketball, and may be able to bring his winning touch to volleyball.
Girls Volleyball: A new paradigm?
International's varsity girls owned volleyball last season, going undefeated and only losing three sets all year. Two key players from last year have graduated – Laura Chavez and Simonne Ahuile – and Stephanie Saltzieder has gone to the US. However, many of the Girl Griffin starters are back, including Soraya Dajbura, Fabiana Murillo, Melisa Roca, and Diana Paula Melgar. Ariane Nostas, in France last year, will be back in a blue-and-white uniform.
Misty's Magic Touch
The Griffins main competition will probably come from Cooperative. The Jaguar girls were not contenders last year, but only lost one player to graduation, and their new coach is Misty Skidmore, who guided the Jaguar girls JV to a championship last year. (That was the only volleyball category in which International did not win.)
Skidmore’s players are very loyal to her, and there was a record turnout for tryouts.
The Jaguars will have only one senior starting this year – Alexia Handal – but Skidmore expects great things from juniors Cecelia Aponte, Ana Paola Justinianio, and Karla Flores, as well as freshmen Sofia Sotelo and Carla Limpias from last year’s JV champions.

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RENEWED BATTLE -- Griffins and Jaguars could fight for first in 2008.

Christian Learning’s girls volleyball team, like its soccer team, was hard hit by graduation, but will have some experienced players to build its team around.
Cambridge, which was inconsistent last year and ended up in last place, has now lost most of the big guns from the championship team of two years ago. Nan Jordan, the best player on last year’s team, has gone off to college.
But, as with Cambridge boys, they have a new coach with winning ways, Victor Coronado, and at least two good returning players, Mariana Escaño and Ana Saavedra to build around.