Last weekend, Coronado competed in the annual S & R Sport Invitational held at Irvine High School, going in with a lot of pressure for the first game. “In these tournaments, the first game will determine your standing among the other schools,” said Coach Castillo. “If you win this game, you advance to the top half, and if you lose it, you go to the bottom half.”
Coronado played against San Clemente High School in the first game. With a 7-5 win, Coronado advanced to the top half of the tournament, to compete against the toughest teams in the tournament. Coronado’s next game was played against Sacred Heart Cathedral (SHC) Preparatory from San Francisco, who ended up winning the entire tournament. SHC won every single one of their games by at least five goals and beat Coronado 14-4. Miramonte High School then challenged Coronado in the third game, which was close throughout. The final score however was 9-10 in favor of Miramonte.
At this point in the tournament, Coronado was placed towards the bottom of the top half. Their final game was played against Jesuit High School from near the Sacramento Valley. With a lot of subbing in the second half, they lost in another close game at 8-9.
On Tuesday, Coronado went to La Jolla High School, their league rival. By the end of the first half, Coronado had a great handle on their opponents, and the score was 5-2. This changed in the second half of the game when La Jolla began to gain momentum, eventually leading the game by two goals with minutes to spare. “We made some big defensive stops and played exceptional offense, tying the game up,” said Coach Castillo. The game went into two three-minute overtimes, still tied up at 9-9. This meant that they went to a sudden-death quarter, where the team who scores the next goal takes the victory. Starting sprints had been a weakness at the beginning of most quarters, but junior George Farley stepped in at the sudden death and won possession of the ball in the sprint. Coronado scored immediately after that first possession, the final score being 10-9.
After a long injury, senior Nate Smith has recovered from his concussion and is now back in the pool.
Next Game:
Thursday, October 19 vs. The Menlo School @ 6:00 PM (Away)
