Page 16 December 29, 2016 EL SEGUNDO HERALD El Segundo Sports from page 5 This past season, the Lady Eagles defeated Marlborough 2-1 in double overtime El Segundo tied the game midway through the first half and the two teams went scoreless the rest of regulation. The game went into double overtime when Chico State-bound Jordan Doukakis scored the decisive goal in the 99th minute. It was the program’s first playoff game since the 2008-09 team, led by Jenna Rich and Natalie Barbosa’s goals, defeated La Canada 2-0. The Lady Eagles took Royal, the fourthseeded team, to penalty kicks to decide the game that was 1-1 after regulation and extra time. The Highlanders, one of the top-ranked teams in the state, prevailed 3-1 and would advance to the semifinals. Boys’ Volleyball The boys’ volleyball team was looking to repeat its CIF championship. With reigning CIF Player of the Year Steven Moye back, the Eagles were the top-ranked team in the CIF Division 3 polls and started the season 10-3. The three losses were to Huntington Beach, the top-ranked team in the nation; Newport Beach, the fourth-ranked team in the nation; and to Hawaii’s top-ranked team, Moanalua. The Eagles did however have wins over Corona Del Mar, ranked sixth in both the national and California polls; and Highland of Gilbert, Arizona--the fifth-ranked team in Arizona. El Segundo shared the Ocean League title with Santa Monica and then cruised to the CIF-SS Division 3 quarterfinals. The topranked Eagles faced Valley Christian and fell 20-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-16, 8-15 to end the season with a 20-8 record. Lacrosse The boys’ team secured their second Ocean League title in a row with a 15-8 win over rival Culver City to clinch it. The Eagles finished the season with an 11-4 record after going 8-0 in league play. The offense averaged 13.7 goals a game and finished fifth in the CIF Southern Section in scoring. The scoring was anchored by junior attackman Cory Lund’s 110 points. On the defensive side, senior Drew Bonney and junior Cayman Barber were backed up by junior goalie Alex Nolan. The girls’ team struggled in a very competitive league schedule and failed to reach the postseason. Softball The El Segundo High softball program has enjoyed the fruits of success since the CIF Southern Section made it a sanctioned sport in 1974. In fact, the Lady Eagles won the very first CIF-SS softball title in 1974 and then followed up with titles in 1976 and 1978 while being runners-up in 1977, 2007 and 2009. This past season El Segundo went 18-11, won the Ocean League title and ended one of California’s longest softball winning streaks. The Lady Eagles had five players who would sign letters of intent to play college softball. With so much talent, they were picked to win the Ocean League. To win it, they’d have to unseat Santa Monica--which had won an incredible 144 consecutive Ocean League games before facing the Lady Eagles. El Segundo won the game 5-1 and went on to win the league title--its first outright since 2009. The team faced West Torrance in the first round of the CIF playoffs. The Lady Eagles and Warriors battled back and forth and went 11 innings before El Segundo fell 7-5. Baseball The Eagles finished with an overall record of 16-17, but that doesn’t tell the story of how this team grew throughout the season. An inexperienced team with plenty of potential, the Eagles realized that talent down the stretch and finished second in the Ocean League. El Segundo faced Mira Costa in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs. The team shocked the South Bay with the 4-2 win over the heavily favored Mustangs on the road. The Eagles then took care of Temescal Canyon 6-5 in one of the most exciting playoff games in recent memory. Leading 3-2 going into the seventh inning, Temescal Canyon came up with three runs and appeared to be on the road to victory with a 5-3 lead. The Eagles countered with three runs of their own in their half of the seventh to win. They traveled to second-seeded Palm Desert for the quarterfinal game, but fell 5-1 to the Aztecs. Little League In the AA championship game, the Royals got by the Pirates 4-3. In the AAA game, the A’s came from behind to defeat the Giants 3-2. In the Major championship game, the Angels repeated by defeating the A’s 7-2. Connor Smith was this year’s Home Run Derby champion. There were 20 different players with home runs this season and each participated in the derby. Smith outhit all of them--including the second place finisher, 11- year old Xavier Rice of the Orioles--to claim this year’s trophy. At the Closing Ceremonies Little League President Peter Gianusso stood in front of a packed crowd and helped the community understand just how precious life can be. He told the large crowd of parents, players and friends how our small, tight-knit community had embraced and supported the families of Ike Mahoney and Bill Klug in the aftermath of both men tragically being taken from their families. Keith Erickson Pete Beathard Recognized Arguably two of El Segundo’s greatest athletes were honored this year. Keith Erickson was recognized by the Pac-12 during a Hall of Fame ceremony prior to the championship game of the 2016 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. For Erickson, it was the third such honor, following induction into the El Segundo High School Hall of Fame as well as the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame. The Super Bowl High School Honor Roll celebrates the high schools and communities that have contributed to Super Bowl history. Pete Beathard graduated more than 50 years ago from El Segundo High, but his athletic legacy continues today. Super Bowl High School Honor Roll schools receive a commemorative Golden Football produced by Wilson for every player or head coach who graduated from the high school and was on an active Super Bowl roster. Beathard was not only on a roster, but played in what would be called Super Bowl I. He went on to quarterback the USC Trojans. As a junior, he led the Trojans to the national championship in 1962. Both he and Ron Vander Kellen, the Wisconsin quarterback, were named the Players of the Game in the 1963 Rose Bowl that USC won 42–37. Beathard went on to play professionally and was the second overall pick by the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL). The Chiefs faced the Green bay Packers in the first Super Bowl on January 15, 1967. Beathard got into the game and completed one of five passing attempts for 17 yards and rushed once for 14 yards. So there you have it for the first half of 2016. On behalf of Herald Publications, have a wonderful holiday season! • We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. Herald Publications Holiday Schedule Our offices will be closed the following days for the holidays. Friday, December 23 | Monday, December 26 | Friday, December 30
Herald_122916_FNL_lorez
To see the actual publication please follow the link above