Border app that became ‘a salvation’ for migrants to legally enter the US may end

• January 17, 2025

By ELLIOT SPAGAT

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — A nurse who fled Cuba as part of the Caribbean nation’s largest exodus in more than six decades needed a place to stay in Mexico as she waited to legally enter the U.S. using a government app. A woman who had lived her whole life in the same Tijuana neighborhood was desperate for medical help after a dog attack left her with wounds to her legs.

A mutual acquaintance brought the two women together. Nurse Karla Figueredo stayed with Martha Rosales for three days in October 2023, waiting for a border appointment booked through the CBP One app and treating Rosales’ dog bites. When Figueredo left for the U.S., she got Rosales’ permission to give her name to other migrants.

Word quickly spread and Rosales made her home part of a roster of at least three dozen migrant shelters in her hometown on the U.S.-Mexico border, temporarily housing people who use the CBP One app.

“I told God that if they didn’t amputate my feet, I would help every Cuban,” said Rosales, 45, who was using a wheelchair after being attacked by five dogs until Figueredo helped heal her wounds.

CBP One has brought nearly 1 million people to the U.S. on two-year permits with eligibility to work but could go away once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

Figueredo, 25, now works as a medical assistant in the Houston area and keeps in touch with Rosales, who quit her job as a bank cleaner to focus on her migrant shelter. The people Rosales houses, mostly Cubans, refer to her as “’Tía Martha” (Aunt Martha) as she cooks pancake breakfasts, throws birthday parties and shuttles them to their CBP One appointments.

Supporters say CBP One has helped bring order to the border and reduced illegal crossings. But Trump has said he would end it as part of a broader immigration crackdown. Critics say it prioritizes a lottery system over people who have long lived in the U.S. illegally while paying taxes and people who have waited years for visas.

Dayron Garcia, a doctor in Cuba who heard about Rosales from a nephew, applied with his wife and children and plans to settle with a friend in Houston. He said Rosales’ house “feels like family” and that “CBP One has been a salvation.”

“It’s a guarantee,” Garcia, 40, said. “You enter with papers, with parole.”

CBP One began under Trump and changed under Biden

U.S. Customs and Border Protection debuted CBP One near the end of Trump’s first term as a way for customs brokers to schedule inspections and for visitors with short-term visas to extend stays.

The Biden administration extended its use to migrants to replace an opaque patchwork of exemptions to a pandemic-related asylum ban that was then in place.

CBP One is popular with Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians and Mexicans, likely because advocates in their communities promote it.

Illegal border crossings by Cubans plunged under CBP One from a peak of nearly 35,000 in April 2022 to just 97 in September.

Demand for appointments has far outstripped supply, with an average of about 280,000 people competing for 1,450 daily slots toward the end of last year, according to CBP. Winners must report to a border crossing in three weeks.

A night owl

Migrant shelters along Mexico’s border with the U.S. are now occupied primarily by people seeking the online appointments.

Rosales’ house is in a neighborhood with ramshackle homes where old tires are stacked to stop flash floods. Migrants watch television, play billiards, do chores and look after their children at Rosales’ house or a rental home nearby. Those who don’t yet have appointments work their phones for slots made available daily at eight U.S. border crossings with Mexico, a task likened to trying to buy Taylor Swift concert tickets.

Rosales works throughout the night. A helper drives to the airport in an SUV Rosales bought with retirement pay from her bank job.

Shortly after midnight, she shuttles guests from her house to Tijuana’s main border crossing with San Diego for the day’s first appointments at 5 a.m. She chats with them, smiles for photos and hugs people goodbye.

By 3 a.m., she is at a television station for a four-hour shift cleaning the newsroom and fetching coffee for journalists, who give her the latest information on immigration and the city.

She checks her phone for migrants needing shelter who heard about her on social media or from friends and family. Her contact list identifies them by size of party and appointment date: “3 on the 16th,” “6 on the 17th.”

Rosales, one of 13 children, dropped out of school in third grade. Reading the Bible taught her enough to barely understand texts, which she generally responds to with voice messages or calls.

Enrique Lucero was Tijuana’s director of migrant affairs when she came to City Hall for advice. He helped Rosales establish a legal entity to raise money and made himself available for emergencies, such as when a woman missed her CBP One appointment to give birth. Lucero talked to CBP to make sure the woman and her baby got in.

“She worries about them. She cries for them,” Lucero said.

The exodus from Cuba

Border arrests of Cubans increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and after anti-government protests in 2021. Nicaragua had recently eased rules for Cubans to fly from Havana, allowing them to avoid walking through the Darien Gap, a dangerous jungle in Colombia and Panama. By the spring of 2022, Cubans eclipsed all nationalities but Mexicans in illegal crossings.

“CBP One came like a gift from God,” said Yoandis Delgado, who flew to Nicaragua in 2023, paid a smuggler $1,000 to reach southern Mexico and was repeatedly robbed by Mexican authorities while trying to reach the U.S. border. “CBP One gave us a sense of possibility, of hope.”

Delgado, a cook in Cuba, said Rosales’ home and neighborhood don’t stand out for people seeking to prey on migrants, giving a sense of security he wouldn’t get at hotels or other shelters.

“She lives in the same condition that we do, not any better,” Delgado said after a pancake breakfast. “She cries for everything that happens to us, for what we have suffered to get here from Cuba.”

A grim future for CBP One

Biden administration officials portray CBP One as a key success in its strategy to create legal pathways at the border while deterring illegal crossings. They note people in life-threatening circumstances can come to a border crossing without an appointment to plead their case.

Anxiety is spreading among migrants in Mexico who fear Trump will end CBP One. Even those in the U.S. are uneasy because parole expires after two years.

The Trump transition team didn’t respond to a question about CBP One’s future, but his allies say it’s overly generous and encourages immigration. A bill that stalled in the Senate in 2023 would have prohibited using the app to admit migrants.

Figueredo, the nurse who helped Rosales, plans to get a green card under a 1966 law that applies to Cubans. She says she and her partner, a barber, came to “continue to grow professionally and support our future children.”

She writes Rosales often, telling her that her job is “crazy” busy and asking about her health. “I hope you’re very happy,” she wrote.

​ Orange County Register 

Rivian, U.S. finalize $6.6. billion loan before Trump retakes office

• January 17, 2025

By Ari Natter | Bloomberg

The Biden administration finalized billions of dollars in financing for electric-vehicle maker Irvine-based Rivian Automotive and hydrogen company Plug Power Inc. just days before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.

The Department of Energy announced Thursday the closing of $6.6 billion in financing for Rivian to construct a Georgia manufacturing plant. It also confirmed Latham, New York-based Plug Power will get a $1.66 billion loan guarantee for hydrogen plants.

The financing comes as the Energy Department’s loan program — which effectively became a $400 billion green bank during Joe Biden’s presidency — faces new threats from Trump’s incoming administration.

Also see: Harbinger Motors in Garden Grove raises $100M to fuel EV truck chassis growth

Trump asked Congress during his first term to eliminate the program. This time around, some in his inner circle want to get rid of or retool the Loan Programs Office to finance fossil fuels and other energy sources favored by Republicans.

Already, one of the two leaders tapped by Trump to lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, Vivek Ramaswamy, has said the incoming administration will scrutinize billions of dollars in “11th-hour transactions,” including the loan offer to Rivian.

Rivian, in a statement Thursday, said its financing would accelerate expansion of the company’s new R2 SUV and R3 crossover, and was “key to U.S. leadership in the electric vehicle industry.”

More on cars: Uncertainty over Trump’s EV policies clouds 2025 forecast for carmakers

Plug said its funding would be used for the construction of as many as six projects, the first to benefit being its Graham, Texas, green hydrogen plant.

“We believe the hydrogen economy aligns closely with national security interests, ensuring that the U.S. remains at the forefront of energy technology development and deployment on a global scale,” Andy Marsh, Plug’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Rivian shares closed 3.6% higher after the finalizing of the loans was first reported by Bloomberg, while Plug Power gained 1.1%.

–With assistance from Kara Carlson and Ed Ludlow.

​ Orange County Register 

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted is expected to succeed JD Vance in the U.S. Senate, AP sources say

• January 17, 2025

By JULIE CARR SMYTH

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to select his lieutenant governor, Jon Husted, on Friday to succeed Vice President-elect JD Vance in the U.S. Senate.

That’s according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity before an announcement planned for Friday afternoon.

The surprise pick of Husted, who had been positioning to run for governor in 2026, potentially averts a divisive and expensive GOP primary to fill Vance’s seat next year.

DeWine’s decision ends months of jockeying among top Ohio Republicans for Vance’s position, which he had held for less than two years. The former senator resigned Friday.

The 57-year-old Husted, a former Ohio House speaker and two-term secretary of state, will serve until Dec. 15, 2026. A special election for the last two years of Vance’s six-year term will be held in November 2026.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Gov. Mike DeWine plans to announce his choice to succeed Vice President-elect JD Vance in the U.S. Senate on Friday, a decision that will reveal the power of Donald Trump’s continuing sway in the one-time swing state he’s now won three times.

The term-limited, politically pragmatic DeWine, 78, has sole discretion over the pick — but he has twice in recent weeks visited Mar-a-Lago, the president-elect’s de facto headquarters, where discussions on the selection presumably occurred.

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted was with him on one the trips. Husted had been positioning to run for governor in 2026, but his political future appeared suddenly tied to that of former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, a Trump insider.

As he also eyed a bid for governor, Ramaswamy had initially pulled himself out of contention for the Senate seat. That was due in part to the work that he and Elon Musk have been assigned by Trump on federal government efficiency. But Ramaswamy visited DeWine at the governor’s residence last week and expressed interest in the Senate appointment.

He is among a long list of contenders vying for the seat after Vance’s election in November. Those include several Republicans who lost Senate primaries in 2022, 2024 or both — Secretary of State Frank LaRose, state Sen. Matt Dolan and former state GOP chair Jane Timken, as well as congressional representatives, statewide officeholders and political outsiders.

Vance was only two years into a six-year term when he resigned last week. Whoever succeeds him will serve until Dec. 15, 2026. They would need to be elected to the remaining two years of his term in a special election in November 2026, when it is possible that former three-term Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown could attempt a comeback. Brown lost a re-election bid to Republican Bernie Moreno, a Cleveland businessman last fall.

Moreno and Vance were both boosted into the Senate with help from endorsements by Trump. Neither had held elective office before.

​ Orange County Register 

Australian Open: Gauff, Sabalenka zeroing in on rematch

• January 17, 2025

MELBOURNE, Australia — Coco Gauff still hasn’t lost a set at the Australian Open — or, actually, this season. She moved into the fourth round at Melbourne Park with a straightforward 6-4, 6-2 victory over 2021 U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez on Friday night.

While there have been plenty of surprises in the men’s bracket so far, most of the top women have progressed through the draw without an issue. That includes wins on Friday for No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who is the two-time defending champion in Australia, No. 3 Gauff, No. 11 Paula Badosa and No. 14 Mirra Andreeva.

However, No. 7 seed Jessica Pegula was ousted by world No. 55 Olga Danilovic in two sets.

The Serbian player beat the U.S. Open runner-up 7-6 (3), 6-1 after she hit 28 winners and saved all six break points she faced. It was Danilovic’s third career win over a top-10 player.

Naomi Osaka, a two-time champion in Australia, stopped playing because of a strained abdominal muscle after dropping the first set of her match against Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic.

Men’s winners in third-round action included No. 2 Alexander Zverev, No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, No. 7 Novak Djokovic, No. 12 Tommy Paul and No. 15 Jack Draper. Djokovic — who won 10 of his 24 Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open — overcame some mid-match breathing trouble to dismiss No. 26 Tomas Machac 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 at night.

“I think I played really well,” Djokovic said. “I’m very happy with my game.”

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina had a much more difficult path, coming back from two sets down for the second match in a row and saving two match points to sneak past 19-year-old Jakub Mensik 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-2. Davidovich Fokina is the first man since 2005 to win twice in a row in Australia after falling behind 0-2 in sets.

“In all these years I had a lot of up-and-downs,” Davidovich Fokina said. “I had decided this year to fight every point.”

Alcaraz’s next opponent will be No. 15 Jack Draper or Aleksandar Vukic.

A year ago, 2023 U.S. Open champion Gauff had her best run in Melbourne, getting to the semifinals before bowing out against Sabalenka, who extended her winning streak at the tournament to 17 matches by eliminating Clara Tauson 7-6 (5), 6-4 on Friday.

Like Gauff, Sabalenka is unbeaten in the early going in 2025. They could meet in the semifinals again this time around next weekend.

Gauff needed just 75 minutes to get past Fernandez, a left-hander who was seeded 30th. Gauff was broken just once and compiled an 18-7 advantage in total winners.

It was Gauff’s second recent win over Fernandez, after beating her in the United Cup team competition. That is part of Gauff’s 8-0 record, 16-0 in sets, so far this season.

That made this one “harder,” Gauff said, “because she knows what to expect, and I definitely think she played a little bit different today.”

That prompted Gauff to switch some things up, too, as she seeks her second major championship. She’s tweaked her coaching staff and altered her serving and forehand mechanics a bit after being a tad disappointed with her Grand Slam performances in 2024 — even if the season did end with a title at the WTA Finals.

“Tennis feels so high stakes, but it’s really not. I’m so lucky to do what I do — also get paid doing it,” said Gauff, a 20-year-old from Florida.

“My biggest thing I learned last year is just not to take anything for granted,” Gauff said, “and just realized this time is going to go by so fast. … I’m just trying to enjoy it while I’m here.”

Neither Sabalenka nor Tauson served all that well in Rod Laver Arena. Maybe it was the sun. Maybe it was the wind. Maybe it was slower court conditions.

The first seven games of the match were all breaks, and Tauson was the first to hold, leading 5-3. But that’s when Sabalenka began to get going.

“I am super happy I was able to push myself,” Sabalenka said. “I told myself, ‘Well, girl, you are tough.’ So many times, I thought I was done.”

Next for her is a matchup with 17-year-old Andreeva, a 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 winner against No. 23 Magdalena Frech.

Badosa barely emerged to beat No. 17 Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, and 2021 French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 27th seed, defeated Laura Siegemund 6-1, 6-2. Siegemund took a big step back after beating No. 5 Qinwen Zheng, who was the runner-up to Sabalenka in Australia last January and won a gold medal at the Paris Olympics in August, in her last match.

Alcaraz ceded a set for the first time this week but beat Nuno Borges 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2, Zverev defeated Jacob Fearnley 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, and Paul got past Robert Carballes Baena 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-0. Draper rallied to beat Aleksandar Vukic 6-4, 2-6, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8) and set up a fourth-round meeting with Alcaraz.

​ Orange County Register 

Mater Dei girls basketball uses depth to race past JSerra for first place in Trinity League

• January 17, 2025

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — If one only focused on the top scoring averages and college recruiting interest, Mater Dei’s girls basketball team could appear to be heavily-powered by Addison Deal and Kaeli Wynn.

And while that duo has been outstanding in averaging about 19 points per game, the Monarchs rely on more than just arguably Orange County’s top two players.

Mater Dei presented a compelling case in a 79-37 victory at JSerra on Thursday.

In improving to 2-0 in the Trinity League and running their winning streak to a season-high eight games, the top-ranked Monarchs (19-2) used their depth off the bench to overcome foul trouble in the first half.

The contributions from post Nohe’alani Stores and rising sophomore Harmony Golightly off the bench helped set the stage for a strong finish by Mater Dei. The Monarchs invoked a running clock late in the fourth period and outscored the No. 7 Lions 27-0 in points off the bench.

“We’re all about team,” first-year Mater Dei coach Jody Wynn said. “Honestly, we see it every day in practice. We have a very competitive practice every day. There’s not a lot of drop off (between starters and reserves). We’ve got four seniors who all signed Division 1 and one is coming in off the bench.

“Our bench has been solid all year along,” the coach added.

Golightly made five 3-pointers to finish with 15 points and share the team scoring lead with Iowa signee Deal (seven rebounds).

Stores, a UC Irvine signee, scored eight of her 10 points in the first half in joining starters Amaya Williams (14 points) and Wynn (12) as double-digit scorers.

Deal, Wynn and Stella Hoss all experienced foul trouble in the first half for Mater Dei.

Golightly not only softened the blow but gave Mater Dei the lead for good with her first 3-pointer in the opening quarter. She later beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-pointer from the corner for a 36-24 lead. Williams, bound for Grand Canyon, recorded the assist.

“Harmony played a great game,” Wynn said of Golightly, who had 18 points, including three 3-pointers, against Santa Margarita on Tuesday.

Mater Dei guard Devyn Kiernan, a Southern Utah signee, set the tone for the second half by opening with a 3-pointer off an assist by Wynn.

The Monarchs sank seven of their 10 3-pointers in the second half, including two from Williams and three from Golightly in the fourth.

“We have a lot of pieces so we try to move the ball well and I think we have a great group of girls who are unselfish kids,” Jody Wynn said. “They really just want to get better for the ultimate goal of winning when it counts.”

Kayla Rice and Vivian Grenald scored 13 and 12 points, respectively, to lead JSerra (11-9, 1-1), which started all sophomores.

The Lions’ depth was hurt without Eden Hoff (concussion protocol).

“We were completely in the game through halftime and then we just let it get away from us in second half,” JSerra interim coach Phil Talleur said. “Our girls were working big minutes but … we made some in-roads. We got them in a little bit of foul trouble.”

“We did some good things,” the coach added.

Both teams are participating in upcoming showcases. JSerra plays St. Anthony at the Mira Costa showcase on Saturday at 3 p.m. while the Monarchs face Windward on Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the Rosary showcase.

​ Orange County Register 

Clippers trounce Blazers for another low-stress night

• January 17, 2025

By ERIK GARCÍA GUNDERSEN The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. — As back-to-back sets go, this one didn’t present much of a challenge on paper, but the Clippers left no doubt anyway.

Norman Powell scored 23 points, James Harden had 19 points and six assists and the Clippers routed the Portland Trail Blazers, 118-89, on Thursday night to complete an impressive two-night showing. They crushed a depleted Brooklyn squad by a franchise-record 59 points the previous night in Inglewood.

The Clippers (23-17) were never threatened in this one either. They shot 56.4% from the field (10 for 23 from 3-point range), won the rebounding battle 50-37 and held the Blazers to 37.4% shooting.

Kawhi Leonard, just a few games into his delayed start to the season, was given the night off as part of the ongoing management of his surgically repaired right knee.

Dalano Banton had 23 points in 25 minutes off the bench for the Blazers (13-27), while Scoot Henderson contributed 16 points and six assists. Portland’s Anfernee Simons shot 0 for 9 from the field and failed to score.

The Clippers’ only real concern came midway through the fourth quarter when Kevin Porter Jr. walked gingerly off the court after hurting his lower back in a collision with Banton.

Harden, who was able to sit out the entire fourth quarter off for the second night in a row, scored 12 first-quarter points as the Clippers knocked down 12 of 18 shots in the period for a 32-22 lead. They extended the margin to 47-26 as part of a 24-6 run.

Clippers center Ivica Zubac (10 points, eight rebounds) even blocked two shots on the same possession at one point. The first came on a dunk attempt by Henderson and the second came only seconds later when Blazers center Deandre Ayton picked up the loose ball and tried a dunk of his own.

Henderson, coming off a career-high 39 points against the Nets (14-27) on Tuesday, momentarily ended the struggle for the Blazers, who sharpened up defensively to get within 52-38 by halftime.

The Clippers roared out of the blocks to begin the third quarter, using a 13-2 surge to open a 65-40 lead.

Banton and Kris Murray sparked a 13-2 Portland run over the last 2:37 of the quarter to reduce the Clippers’ cushion to 86-66 going into the fourth.

Powell was active early in the fourth as the Clippers dominated again, blowing the margin out to a game-high 34 points on a Kobe Brown dunk before it was over.

Powell formed a special relationship with Blazers coach Chauncey Billups during Billups’ first season as Portland’s coach, and Billups is impressed with Powell, who is averaging a career-high 23.7 points.

“(I’m) really proud,” Billups said. “I didn’t get to coach him for that long, but we got very, very close in that short time. And he always shared with me that this is the player he could be.”

UP NEXT

The Clippers host the Lakers on Sunday at 6 p.m.

​ Orange County Register 

UC Irvine avoids trap, pulls away to beat Cal State Fullerton

• January 17, 2025

IRVINE — The UC Irvine men’s basketball team seemed like a prime candidate for a letdown performance against visiting Cal State Fullerton on Thursday night.

After knocking off three straight top-flight opponents to remain the final unbeaten team in the Big West Conference for the third straight season, the Anteaters took the court shorthanded against a desperate Fullerton team that was still seeking its first conference win.

The Titans hung with UCI for much of the first half before the Anteaters found their footing and eased away for a 82-62 victory at the Bren Events Center.

“We’ve got to come through some of the mental challenges of this type of week against teams that are perceived to be weaker,” said UCI coach Russell Turner, whose team improved to 16-2 overall and 6-0 in Big West play. “In this league, anybody can beat us and we know that. There is added pressure, I think, with some of the things people are talking about because we’ve got 16 wins at this stage. We’ve got to figure out how to manage that better, grow into that.”

It was also the 19th consecutive home win for UCI, equaling the longest home winning streak in program history. The Anteaters also won 19 straight home games from Dec. 2, 2000 to Jan. 17, 2002.

“I don’t want to focus on the number of games we’ve won in a row,” Turner said. “I’d like to be focused on the opportunity we’ve created with the success that we’ve generated at this point because I know that we can continue to get better.”

Bent Leuchten scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half for the Anteaters and grabbed 10 rebounds for his third straight double-double.

Jurian Dixon scored 16 points, Myles Che had 13 before rolling his ankle with just under five minutes left, and Justin Hohn scored 11 for UCI, which came into the game with the fifth-best winning percentage in the nation (.882).

Kyle Evans paced the UCI reserves with seven points and 10 rebounds.

Zion Richardson had 14 points and 11 rebounds off the bench and Donovan Oday added 10 points for Fullerton (5-14, 0-7), which has dropped nine consecutive conference games dating to last season.

UCI was coming off wins against UC Riverside, Cal State Northridge and UC San Diego, beating them by an average of 10.7 points. Riverside was picked to finish fourth in the preseason coaches’ poll, Northridge sixth and UCSD third.

Elijah Chol, a 6-foot-11 sophomore forward, made his first start of the season in place of Devin Tillis, the team’s second-leading scorer (13.2) and rebounder (7.8), who sat out with an undisclosed injury.

The Titans opened the game in a zone defense, but the Anteaters softened it up by sinking three of their first four attempts from 3-point range, including two in a row by Leuchten, the 7-1 senior from Germany.

Fullerton called a timeout after Leuchten scored inside for an 11-2 lead less than four minutes into the game and that seemed to settle the Titans, as they scored six of the next seven points.

Richardson entered the game and sank one of his three first-half 3-pointers to cut the lead to 21-20 with 10:01 left, but the Titans could never wrestle the lead from UCI.

Fullerton seemed willing to give up the 3-point shot, while taking as many as possible on the other end. The teams combined for 19 3-point attempts through the first 10 minutes.

“We got too jump-shot happy early in the first half,” Turner said.

Fullerton remained within single digits until Leuchten scored off an inbounds pass to make it 38-27 with 2:03 left in the opening half.

The Anteaters eventually took a 45-31 lead into the intermission.

Dixon collected the first points of the second half to stretch the lead to 48-31, and his fast-break layup made it 54-33 with 15:21 left.

“I thought Jurian Dixon was really excellent tonight with his ball handling, with his decision-making, with some of the passes he threw,” Turner said. “He’s been embracing a defensive role and it’s hard to find offensive comfort and rhythm when you’re embracing the challenge on defense that he’s done.”

UCI stretched the lead to as much as 26 points before the Titans chipped away in the closing minutes.

BIG WEST STANDINGS

(Through Thursday, Jan. 16)

UC Irvine – 16-2, 6-0

UC San Diego – 15-3, 5-1

UC Santa Barbara – 12-5, 4-2

CS Northridge – 12-6, 4-3

UC Davis – 10-8, 4-3

Hawaii – 11-6, 3-3

UC Riverside – 10-8, 3-3

CS Bakersfield – 9-9, 3-3

Long Beach State – 7-11, 3-3

Cal Poly (SLO) – 6-13, 0-7

CS Fullerton – 5-14, 0-7

​ Orange County Register 

Los Alamitos girls soccer wins key Sunset League match against Huntington Beach

• January 17, 2025

HUNTINGTON BEACH — The Los Alamitos girls soccer team came from one goal down to defeat Huntington Beach, 2-1, in a key Sunset League match Thursday at Huntington Beach High School.

The Griffins (9-5-3, 3-0), who are ranked No. 7 in Orange County, and the No. 6 Oilers (9-3-3, 1-1) are expected to contend along with Edison for the top three spots in a league race that might not be decided until the final day of the regular season.

Los Alamitos is alone in first place after the victory and Edison and Huntington Beach are tied for second.

Huntington Beach scored the first goal 20 minutes into the contest, when Los Alamitos goalkeeper Averie Gonzalez hit the ground after a hard collision with an Oilers player.

As Gonzalez was lying face down, the Oilers’ Alexis Katter was able to kick the ball into an open net.

With six minutes remaining in the half, the Griffins’ Cami Ainslie, who was dribbling down the left sideline, curved toward the goal and took a hard shot that the Oilers’ keeper managed to deflect away.

But Griffins freshman Jaylen Guidry was in the perfect spot to control the rebound and score the tying goal.

“I just knew I had to stay calm, make sure we get this goal in because I knew the momentum would change completely once we got that goal,” Guidry said.

After being on their heels defensively for much of the first half, the Griffins adjusted in the second by converging on the player with the ball and focusing most of their effort on containing Sienna McAthy, the Oilers’ leading goal scorer, and Olivia Young, who has four goals and three assists.

“Normally, once they go up ahead of you, they kind of lock things in,” Los Alamitos coach Pat Rossi said. “So that first goal was key because then we went to the half tied 1-1.”

Nine minutes into the second, the Griffins took the lead for good when Victoria Bloch took a short pass from Vivi Zacarias, positioned herself about 25 yards from the goal, stopped and kicked a line drive over the keeper’s head and into the net.

“I was kind of aiming for back post,” Bloch said. “I wanted to make sure that I actually got a good hit on it and was able to nail it and not hit it over (the net).”

Oilers coach Raul Ruiz was pleased with the way his team competed, but said it failed to capitalize on some opportunities.

“Sometimes like I tell the girls when we don’t take advantage of our opportunities, they come back to haunt us,” Ruiz said. “I think that was a case today.”

Prior to the game, the Oilers held a ceremony in honor of fallen teammate Kelly Reid, who was killed along with her father when the Vans RV-10 aircraft they were aboard crashed into a manufacturing building short of the runway at the Fullerton Municipal Airport on Jan.2.

Nineteen employees in the building were injured in the crash.

The Oilers boys and girls soccer teams walked slowly onto the pitch in two straight lines, each holding a white flower and formed a circle at midfield.

Most players wore a long-sleave white T shirts inscribed on the front with the phrase, “#6 Forever.”

On the back of the shirt were the words “Live – Like – Kelly” inscribed in bold capital letters with a Bible verse underneath.

The players also had Reid’s “No. 6” written on their thighs.

“The main thing for us was to have a ceremony in honor of our dear true friend, teammate, Kelly and her father,” Ruiz said. “But I think that itself is so emotional that over the last week and a half we’ve been draining, holding it in the inside.”

“We did what we could under the circumstances and there’s no excuses (for the loss). We just have to make sure that next time we face them we’ll be in a better state of mind.”

​ Orange County Register