Costa Mesa United captures title
The AYSO Region 120 boys’ U-11 flex team won the Extra Champions Cup this past weekend for the second year in a row.
After an undefeated regular season, Costa Mesa United went 3-0-1 in the Extra Championship Tournament, defeating Tustin and North Irvine en route to a tournament championship game showdown versus Corona del Mar.
Costa Mesa United defeated Corona del Mar on strong team play and great individual effort that has been the hallmark of coach John Piovesan’s teams the past three years. Under his leadership the boys’ flex Costa Mesa United team has dominated the competition like few other teams, going a combined 67-3-2, highlighted by being crowned “state champions” after winning the 2011 AYSO Extra State Championship last spring.
The team featured: Joey Santos, Kevin Navarro, Trevor Pacheco, Gabriel Lindsey, Jerry Rosete, Shane Piovesan, Cade Schobel, Manny Plata, Gabriel Jimenez, Miguel Sanchez, Kobe Lopez, Johnathon Hernandez, Nathan Guyot and Jose Blanco.
Mike Guyot is an assistant coach.
— Reader submission
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CdM AYSO team perfect
The Corona del Mar AYSO Section 11 boys U13 Extra team went undefeated this season, 13-0. The team then played in the AYSO Section 11 championship and won all four of its games.
The team will now go on to the California state championship in Northern California this March.
Dave Dahlberg coached the team.
The team featured August Jeffrey, Arwin Rahmatpanah, Seifu Pierce, Charlie Blower, Alex Gonzalez, John Holland, Ethan Bridge, Deven Dahlberg, Jad Malley, Ethan Sparks, Ethan Assar, David Kaye, Cole Funsten and Christopher Owens.
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Lightning stay hot
The Newport Lightning eighth-grade girls extended their hot streak this past weekend by going undefeated in the Hard Core Hoops tournament in Los Angeles. The Lightning has had a 15-2 record since the end of October.
The weekend began with a matchup against GBL, a smaller, aggressive team. The Lightning used its size advantage to dominate the boards and came out, 40-33. Point guard Frankie Wade was the top scorer with 12 points. The next game featured a matchup with Got Game. The Lightning had to play without post Natalia Bruening due to an ankle injury suffered in the last seconds of the GBL game, but Justine Modde and Krista Anderson picked up the slack and scored 13 and 15 points, respectively. Wade added 12 points. The Lightning won, 47-30.
On Sunday, the girls played against Wolfpack, another smaller, quick but aggressive team. The Lightning was slow to start but soon picked up momentum and beat Wolfpack, 22-15. Kelly Tam and Marina LaPuzza contributed to stopping the Wolfpack offense through tough defensive play.
In the final, the Lightning played a rematch with Wolfpack. The Lightning team was determined to have a more convincing win against the Wolfpack, which they did with a 39-13 win. Bruening started the game with two quick layups to set the pace for the Lightning and Marcie Bott contributed through aggressive play. Every member of the team scored on offense and the Lightning dominated the game from start to finish.
The Lightning Girls will play again in the gold division of the Swoosh Classic later this month.
— Reader submission