It was bedlam at Thorrington Field on Saturday as Westmont scored the winning goal against Arizona Christian as the final countdown in the college soccer game reached one second.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in 24 years of college coaching,” Westmont’s Dave Wolf said at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Café. “We scored a goal with literally one tick left on the clock. And, in the myriad of emotions that avalanche toward you in that moment, after a minute or so I realized, ‘That was my kid that did that.’”
Tanner Wolf made it a momentous day for his family, his team and school when he finished his chance as time expired for the stunning 1-0 victory.
“He took a chance at the end of that game and it was just a fantastic finish by him,” coach Wolf said.
He noted that he’s learned a lot about the dynamics of coaching your own child.
“It’s really a tricky proposition,” he said. “The first year working with Tanner I ended up making a complete mess of it.
Things have improved considerably since that first season.
Middles Emma Harrah and Kamille Williams played key roles in the win that evened San Marcos Channel League record at 2-2.
“We threw out a challenge to them to get some points for us,” Brown said of the middles. They responded, with Harrah recording 12 kills and four blocks and Williams adding eight kills, three blocks and some impressive digs.
“That’s why we won our match with Ventura,” said Brown.
The Channel League is tight. After the first round of play, DP and Ventura are tied for first at 3-1 and San Marcos and Santa Barbara are 2-2, and Buena 0-4
Providence: Natali Torres was moved to the middle to replace an injured teammate and has played well, assistant coach Jen Loomer said. Freshman Kylie Brown has been impressive at libero for the Patriots (9-3, 5-0 Condor League).
“She caught my eye the first day of tryouts because of her work ethic, hustle and ability to listen and do what’s asked of her,” said Loomer, speaking for head coach Laura Newton. “She’s a scrappy player and has a bright future in the game.”
Garden Street Academy: Coach Megan Caruso said the team has been making progress every year, going from zero wins two years ago and two wins last year to a current mark of 3-5. Senior Carla Chavez and junior Davina Guzman are keys to the team’s improved play
Santa Barbara: The Dons went through a tough stretch of games after they had three starters suspended. They salvaged a win against Buena to stay in the league title hunt. Coach John Gannon cited the play of Lourda Weger and Emily Robertson as keys to the win over Buena. Weger, normally an outside hitter, handled some of the setting duties and did well.
“Lourda really stepped up and played with intensity and focus,” Gannon said.
On Robertson, he said she was a spark plug with her digging and passing.
Gannon said “the next two weeks are make or break” for the Dons’season. They play at Dos Pueblos on Thursday and at San Marcos next Tuesday.
Carpinteria: The Warriors are 5-1 after completing the first round of Frontier League play. Their lone loss was against Cate.
Athletic director Pat Cooney, speaking for coach Dino Garcia, said the players had the best response after the defeat. “Their immediate reaction was, ‘When do we play them again,’” said Cooney.
He noted the versatility of Adriana Morales and aggressiveness of Monique Sanchez have been pivotal to the Warriors’ success in league play.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Westmont: Coach Kristi Kiely introduced two of her top goalscorers: Kaci Mexico and Jackie Lopez. Both players are local, Mexico is a senior from Santa Ynez High and Lopez, a freshman, is a Santa Barbara High alum. Mexico, the captain, is the team leader in goals and points.
GOLF
San Marcos: Freshman Malloy Sestak and sophomore MacKenzie McBridge have helped the Royals to a 13-2 record and a 4-1 mark in Channel League, said coach Sarah Ashton. Each player has earned medalist honors in matches this season.
San Marcos plays a huge league match Tuesday against unbeaten Dos Pueblos at Glen Annie Golf Club.
Carpinteria: The Warriors are 2-2, which doubles their win total of last year. Carina Lopez is the most improved player on the squad and a leader and Yarely Avilas is a motivator.
Santa Barbara: Coach Ryan Throop pointed out that is young team isn’t the only one still in search for a win. He cited the Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL and noted that Tiger Woods has gone winless in several Ryder Cup matches.
“We’re taking that as inspiration for the following years,” he said.
Throop introduced Jade Allmon, a 10-time team medalist, and Stella Benenati, who is also a lead singer in a local rock band called Awkward. The two girls are excellent students, posting GPAs of 4.65.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Westmont: Coach Patti Cook said the Warriors have lost six of eight five-set matches, including three in the last two weeks.
“We’re taking a lot of teams very, very deep. That’s the sad story,” she said. “The good story is we’re playing very, very well.”
Middle Ciena Colburn, a DP alum, has been a force at the net for the Warriors (11-11, 4-5 GSAC). She’s also tearing it up in the classroom, sporting a 3.79 GPA.
FOOTBALL
Bishop Diego: The Cardinals are 6-0 after running all over L.A. City Section school View Park. They rushed for 370 yards in the 37-6 win.
Athletic director Dan Peeters said the play of freshmen Ashton Borgeson and John Harris has made it clear that this is not a rebuilding year at Bishop Diego. Peeters said that, according to coach Tom Crawford, Borgeson is “amazingly strong for his age and is one of the toughest kids on the squad.” Of Harris, he said he’s averaging 11 yards per carry and has been “a great complement to seniors Abel Gonzalez and Danny Molina at running back.”
The Cardinals face their toughest test of the season this week as they travel to Reedley to face unbeaten Immanuel of the CIF Central Section on Saturday. Immanuel has outscored its last three opponents 139-19.
Santa Barbara: Defensive line coach Martin Molina said the Dons are ready to move on after Friday’s 44-7 shellacking against Ventura.
“It’s not the way we wanted to start league,” he said. “It was an eye opener. It’s a gut check for our guys.”
The Dons (3-4, 0-1) play at Dos Pueblos on Friday.
“We hope to put together a good week of practice and give them a good go,” said Molina of the city rivalry game against the Chargers.
Dos Pueblos: Despite losing the Channel League opener against Buena, DP coach Nate Mendoza said the team played extremely hard to the end. He introduced middle linebacker Daniel Hernandez and guard-center Dylan Darga as examples of the hard fight and character of the team.
Carpinteria: A healthy Jimmy Graves at quarterback and Tim Jimenez at running back and safety have made a big difference for the Warriors (4-2), who are coming off a solid performance in a 35-14 win at Temecula Rancho Christian.
Coach Ben Hallock said Graves has engineered all four of the victories and Jimenez is coming into his own after an early season Achilles tendon injury.
The coach noted that Jimenez has a great football pedigree in Carpinteria. His grandfather, uncle and father were all outstanding players for the Warriors. His uncle, Tony, was an all-CIF tailback on the 1975 CIF championship team and father, Tim Sr., was an all-CIF linebacker and a tailback on the 1991 CIF title team.
The Warriors hit the road again on Friday playing at Cantwell-Sacred Heart in Los Angeles.
“He’s done a real good job of mentoring me in this kind of funky relationship and role,” the coach added. “And he’s at the heart of what I consider the best passing soccer team I’ve had at Westmont in 24 years. They are just superb at moving the ball, and he’s at the heart of those movements. So it’s fun, and it was a fun weekend for our family.”
Westmont is 7-3-1 overall and 4-1-1 in the GSAC.
VOLLEYBALL
San Marcos: Assistant coach Tina Brown said the Royals rebounded with a win against Ventura after losing a tough five-set match with Dos Pueblos.
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