EL SEGUNDO HERALD June 3, 2021 Page 11
Eagles from page 3
The Saints didn’t allow El Segundo to
celebrate too long and responded with their
own goal in the 16th minute. Ally Lemos
sent a long free-kick that found Jordan
Crooymans unmarked near the left goal.
Crooymans’ shot ricocheted to the far right
post, and freshman Reagan Parkhill fought
through traffic to beat defenders and tap the
ball across the line for the equalizer, tying
the match at 1-1.
Parkhill had another opportunity to score
near the end of the first half but couldn’t finish
the breakaway with a block by Natacha Lee.
“That was a heart-stopper,” said Coach Jones.
The Saints had other opportunities in the
first half to score, but Eagle goalie Nili
Kovacs came up with four saves, including
one that nearly bounced over her outstretched
arms. The Saints also sent three attempts
over the net.
Chelsie Charles had been El Segundo’s
hero throughout the CIF Southern Section
Division 4 soccer playoffs. She scored the
game-winning or game-tying goals in each
of the team’s first four wins, and she saved
her biggest goal for the CIF finals.
With the score tied 1-1, Charles got loose
down the right side and didn’t waste it, scoring
the eventual game-winner with 10 minutes
to play. She scored in the 70th minute on a
pass from Michaela Turner. Charles, whose
postseason highlights included scoring the
game-winning goal in victories over Hacienda
Heights Wilson and Temescal Canyon,
knew she had a golden opportunity to score.
“I drew the goalie out and beat the defense
and just wanted to hit the ball solidly.” The
goal set off a brief celebration by the Eagles
and their faithful supporters.
In the 72nd minute, Lemos initially tied
the game with a goal, but it was negated by
an off-sides call. El Segundo had two other
scoring attempts that just missed in the final
seven minutes. Charles raced down a breakaway
pass that got away, and her attempt
was blocked. The other was an attempt by
Turner, which sailed just wide.
In the closing moments, El Segundo’s defense
came through by tying up the passing
lanes and thwarting shot attempts, and the
Eagles celebrated their first CIF title with
their 2-1 win. The team, with so much to
prove to the soccer world, had just brought
down Goliath.
On Tuesday in the first round of the CIF
Southern California Regional, the Eagles
played host to Escondido’s Classic Academy,
the San Diego Section Division 4 champion.
A win would send them to the semi-finals
today, with the finals set for Saturday.
CJ Hardy Leads Eagles
to Playoff Wins
The Eagles behind CJ Hardy’s game high36
points derailed the Ayala Bulldogs 68-53 in
the first round of the CIF Southern Section
Division 3A playoffs. The Eagles opened the
game up with a 6-0 run and went on to a
21-8 first-quarter lead. They did it with hot
shooting from Hardy and Gideon Telahun
and two three-pointers by Leo Cagan.
In the third quarter, the Bulldogs clawed
back into the game after being down by as
many as 14 points. Jermaine Rogers, who
led the Bulldogs with 20 points, connected
on a three-pointer to cut El Segundo’s lead
to four points. CJ Hardy scored 15 of his
team’s 18 third-quarter points, connected on
a three-pointer, and scored on an acrobatic
Michael Jordan type layup to stretch the lead
back to nine points. In the fourth quarter,
Hardy went the distance with a powerful slam
dunk that brought admiration even from his
opponents. The Eagles went on to win easily
and advanced to play at Norco on the road.
The Eagles survived the second game with
a 71-67 win paced by CJ Hardy’s 37 points.
The Eagles went on the road Tuesday to
face top-seeded Shalhevet. A win would send
them into the CIF Southern Section Division
3A semi-finals on Friday night, most likely
at home, at 7 p.m.
Lady Eagles Bow out
in First Round
The Eagles exited the CIF Southern Section
Division 3AA girl’s basketball playoffs
with a 60-44 loss to Pioneer on the road. In
the first half, the Eagles kept the game close
after falling behind by seven points. Jordan
Peterson connected on a long three-pointer to
cut the deficit to one point. Later on, Story
Noble, who scored a team-high 20 points,
tied the game with a three-point play. The
Titans would score the final six points of
the quarter to take the lead they would not
surrender.
In the third quarter, El Segundo’s shooting
woes continued, and the Titans took advantage
on the other end and extended their lead to
eleven points. The closest the Eagles would
come was Kristen Tsubaki’s three-pointer
to cut the deficit to 49-40 with five minutes
remaining in the game.
Baseball Team Wins
but Left Out of Playoffs
On Senior Day, the Eagles started their
ten seniors in a 4-0 win over the Lawndale
Cardinals. Eagles starting pitcher Jake Stolnack
turned in his best outing of the year by
throwing a complete game two-hitter with
seven strikeouts. The Eagles scored two second
inning runs when they loaded the bases and
benefitted from Brendan McAndrews’ RBI
walk and an RBI single by Lloyd Sapanza.
Cooper Stolnack hit his third home run of the
season in the third inning to extend the lead
to 3-0. In the sixth inning Eddie Grant and
Christian Kramer each singled, and Marquise
Wright drew an eight-pitch walk to load the
bases. Mc Andrews then walked for the fourth
time in the game for his second RBI walk.
The Eagles end their season on a threegame
win streak, including a 6-2 road game
with Lawndale. It wasn’t enough to advance
to the CIF Southern Section playoff for the
first time since 2008.
Softball Team Season
Ends on High Note
The Eagles won their last three games of
the season, including their 7-0 win over City
Section powerhouse Venice. Leading 1-0 in
the second inning, the Eagles scored four
runs on an extended rally. Sammie Kleiger
had an infield RBI single followed by an RBI
single by Mya Bennett to make it 3-0. Kelly
Carignan made it 4-0 with her RBI single.
Leah Abitante’s fielder’s choice made it 5-0.
The Eagles would go on to score two more
runs and defeat the Gondoliers 7-0.
The Eagles’ season is over and finished
11-8 overall. For the first time in over twenty
years, they failed to advance to the CIF
Southern Section playoffs.
Boys Lacrosse Season
Ends in First Round
The boy’s lacrosse team finished with a
19-5 first-round loss to San Juan Hills in
the CIF Southern Section Playoffs to end
the season with a 5-7 record. In a rebuilding,
learning year, the offense was anchored
by senior midfielder Ian Michel and junior
attackman Marshall Nakada.
Defensively, senior midfielder Justin Gil
and junior midfielder Duke Sanders stepped
straight in from the overlapping football
season to add to the team’s depth.
The future looks bright with freshman
goalie Jonah Coleman improving with each
game and sophomore middies Michael Maffucci
and Miles Salazar joining an impressive
group of eighth-graders slated to join the
program next season.
Girl’s Lacrosse Keeps Rolling
The Eagles made history by defeating
Woodbridge 13-4 in the first-ever CIF Southern
Section playoff game. Syd Moeller paced El
Segundo’s offense by scoring eight goals,
while Grace Bonney had three goals and
one each by Teagan Meyer and Sofia Wight.
Bonney got the Eagles going by scoring
two inside goals, and Moeller’s strike at22:47
made it 3-0. As hard as Woodbridge was trying,
they were no match for the Eagles. They
had no answer for Moeller’s slick fielding
and scoring or the passing from Bonney, who
assisted on a goal that Moeller made. Sofia
Wight scored from eight meters to close the
first half at scoring 9-1.
In the second half, the Eagles continued
to pressure Warriors goaltender Ada Meltzer.
Teagan Meyer scored on an assist from Leah
Ostler, and Moeller scored three more goals.
On the defensive side, Faith Desmone had
four saves while getting help from Emma
Wigington and Meyer down near the goal.
The Eagles advanced to the CIF-SS Division
2 quarter-finals yesterday to face secondseeded
Corona Del Mar. A win would send
them to a semi-final match on Saturday, with
the first-ever CIF Southern Section Lacrosse
championships set for Wednesday, June 9. •
Grace Bonney score three goals in the Eagle’s first-round victory in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 Lacrosse playoffs.
CJ Hardy’s 37 points paced the Eagle’s 71-67 win over Norco in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 3A playoffs.
The seniors were honored on Senior Day. The Eagles finished their season with a three game winning streak.
Chelsie Charles scored the winning goal in El Segundo’s 2-1 win over top-seeded San Dimas in the CIF Southern Section Division 4 finals