Weekly La Conner High Sports capsule, Oct. 27, 2010

By Amylynn Richards

FOOTBALL

The Braves played the Concrete Lions at home on Friday, Oct. 22. The Lions won 41-12. The Brave points were scored by Conner Anderson and Mikey Wilbur. The Braves are 4-5-0 for the season thus far.

Athletic Director Peg Seeling said the Braves can still pull of a run for District, “it all depends on the last two games; we have to be third in the league to go on.”

The teams’ final game is Friday at 7 p.m. against Darrington and the team’s seven seniors will be honored during halftime:  Alex Teissen; Dan Biladeau; Garrett Wilbur; Conner Anderson; Brandon Drye; Travis Silva; and Sherman Quinn. 

VOLLEYBALL

The lady Braves are the number one seed going into tournament play, and number one in the league.

On Tuesday, Oct. 19, the Braves hosted Mount Vernon Christian. The Braves won in 25-10, 25-10, 25-11. Team highlights: Candice Pedroza had 16 assists and 3 blocks; Lauren McClung had 4 kills and 4 aces; Emily Anderson had 4 kills, 4 blocks and 3 aces; and Priscilla Ponce Venegas had 10 kills and 8 aces. “We played really well tonight from start to finish,” says Coach Suzanne Marble, “I was really pleased with the way the girls were in control the entire match.  Priscilla had a really great night for us and was on fire with her tough jump serve. She went 14/14, had eight aces and was pretty much unstoppable. She also was on fire at the net with ten kills.  It was a great league win for us.”

The girls took the ferry on Thursday, Oct. 21 to play the Orcas Island Vikings. They left at 9 a.m. for the 5 p.m. match, and did not return to campus until 10 p.m. But trip was worthwhile: the Braves won 25-15, 25-15, 25-19.  Team highlights: Candice Pedroza had 26 assists; Lauren McClung had 16 kills, 3 blocks and 15 digs; Kelley McClung had 7 assists, and was 21/21 serving with 4 aces; and Emily Anderson had 15 kills, 4 blocks and 16 digs. Coach Marble reports, “I was really pleased with the way my girls started their first set.  We had a little let down in the second, but kept our composure to finish strong.  My middles, Emily and Lauren, did a great job at the net to combine for 31 kills and 7 blocks.  They were smart and strong, and found a way to put the ball away.
At 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 30 the team will compete in the League Tournament.

GIRLS’ SOCCER

Coach Amy Freeto says that the Tuesday, Oct. 19 home-turf 0-1 loss to Mount Vernon Christian “was a nightmare.”   The last time the lady Braves faced the lady Hurricanes, the Braves won 6-0.

“This time, their keeper had one of the best games I’ve seen in my eleven years of coaching. This, along with some unlucky referee calls and narrowly missed shots” were the team’s undoing, according to Coach Freeto.

The final score was decided by shootout by what Freeto calls a “a strange twist of irony,” Kaylean Weidenbach, a former Brave who transferred to take her senior year at Mount Vernon Christian, scored the winning goal on behalf of the Hurricanes.

The girls took the ferry to Orcas Island on Thursday, Oct. 22 to beat the Vikings 3-0.  “We set the tone early with a completed penalty kick, by Ashlyn Reinstra,” Freeto said.  Reinstra scored soon afterwards, as did Nikki Finley.  “Our team played with tight passing and lots of team defense. This game secured our playoff position and sent us into the District tournament in the number one seed, which is a huge honor as it also secures a quarterfinal state berth.”

This is the seventh season that the Lady Braves soccer team has gone to state in the twelve-year program history.  Still, “There is not much time to celebrate,” Freeto said. The girls will play a non-league game at Seattle Lutheran, and will compete for the Bi-District Championship on Thursday, Nov. 4 at Sammamish high school. The opponent has not yet been determined. 

BOYS’ SOCCER

Five seniors were celebrated during halftime of the Friday, Oct. 22 game against Providence Christian:   Sten Mejlaender; David Carr; Trenton Swigert; Kyle McKnight; and Steven Bell.

The Braves, who are league champions, were the number one team in the State until two losses in the last week; the loss put Bear Creek as the number one team in the state.  La Conner has slipped to fourth, which is what they had been ranked in the pre-season.

Mount Vernon Christian, the first of two teams to beat the Braves this season, took a 1-0 loss to the team ranked dead-last, Cedar Park Christian.

Earlier In the week, the Braves beat Cedar Park 7-0, with a half-time score of 3-0.  Scorers: Sten Mejlaender in the twelfth and fifty-sixth minutes; Kory Duran in the sixty-eighth and seventieth minutes; DJ Carr in the forty-eight; Kyle McKnight in the fifteenth minute; and Todd Hoagland in the twentieth minute.  Assists were provided by: Bobby Poulton, Todd Hoagland, Kyle McKnight, Tyler Baker; and Trenton Swigert. Goal-keeper Taylor Fay gave the Braves the shut-out.

District playoffs will begin for La Conner on Thursday, Oct. 27 in Brave territory at 6 p.m. The boys are the number one seed into the tournament from the 1B Northwest League.  Senior DJ Carr has been the undisputed goal-maker in the state the entire season: with 31 goals by Monday, he was the only athlete to score more than 30 goals this season.  Carr’s closest competitor currently has 24 goals.