Aliso Niguel girls soccer has major breakthrough with win over San Juan Hills

• January 19, 2024

ALISO VIEJO — It would be an understatement to say that the Aliso Niguel girls soccer team has struggled against San Juan Hills over the past decade.

The Wolverines reversed their fortune and beat San Juan Hills 2-1 in a crucial South Coast League game Thursday at Aliso Niguel High.

It was the first win for Aliso Niguel (5-5-2, 2-1) over the Stallions (7-5-1, 2-2) since 2008.

“That’s amazing. I had no idea,” Aliso Niguel coach Marco Spaccini said after the victory. “That makes it even better. It was a great night.”

Aliso Niguel beats San Juan Hills 2-1. Aliso is now in 2nd place in the South Coast League. Goals by Taryn Raibon and Alaina Villa. First win for Aliso over San Juan Hills since 2008 @ocvarsity @ocvarsityguy @SouthOCsports @latsondheimer @alisoathletics pic.twitter.com/Zw4PgeX8hX

— Michael Huntley (@mikehuntley63) January 19, 2024

The win put Aliso Niguel in second place in the South Coast League standings behind undefeated Capistrano Valley, which beat the Wolverines 1-0 on Jan. 9.

“This league is one of the most competitive leagues around,” Spaccini said. “We decided to not put any pressure on the girls and take things game by game. Winning league is always our goal, but we are building a culture and giving new life to this program. That is our main focus.”

Aliso Niguel struck first with a goal from Maryland commit Taryn Raibon in the third minute of the game. It was the first time Aliso Niguel had scored against San Juan Hills in seven games dating back to 2020.

“I was really trying to be in attack mode,” Raibon said. “I used my body and once I got towards the corner I took a shot towards the other side of the goal and was really happy to score.”

In the 12th minute of the game. Raibon was dribbling near the corner when the San Juan Hills defender was whistled for a foul.

Alaina Villa took the free kick from close to the corner and made a spectacular goal over the head of the San Juan Hills goalkeeper to give the Wolverines a 2-0 lead.

“We hope to get a couple of free kicks every game because I think this is her third goal on free kicks this season,” Spaccini said of Villa. “That was a crazy shot. She’s really good.”

San Juan Hills scored just before the half on a goal from UC San Diego signee Eva Anderson in the 36th minute. Anderson has played for the Puerto Rico national team.

“At halftime we spent a lot of time talking about how to contain her,” Spaccini said of Anderson. “She has an amazing left foot and is physical and quick.”

Both defenses and goalkeepers played well in the second half and avoided multiple scoring opportunities.

Freshman goalkeeper Addison Rudel had a pair of late saves to secure the win for Aliso Niguel, and the defense of Emily Trapp, Kailiey King and Brooklyn Lira Greenwood was effective in the game’s final minutes.

“I thought they played really well,” Raibon said. “They were really compact and were in the right defensive mindset.”

Elena Harshman had four saves for San Juan Hills, all in the second half. Aliso Niguel had six shot attempts compared to three for the Stallions.

San Juan Hills will host Tesoro in a league game Tuesday. The Stallions beat Tesoro 5-0 on Jan. 9.

Aliso Niguel will play on the road against Tesoro on Saturday.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

Long Beach State uses dominant start to beat Hawaii

• January 19, 2024

LONG BEACH — A near-perfect first half was more than enough for the Long Beach State men’s basketball team on Thursday night.

LBSU shot 75% from the field with 14 assists and just one turnover before halftime while producing a defensive effort to match the explosive offense in a 79-71 victory over Hawaii at the Walter Pyramid.

The teams traded baskets in the early minutes of the game, then Long Beach (12-7 overall, 4-3 Big West) broke the game open with an 11-0 run sparked by an AJ George basket and a Jadon Jones 3-pointer.

Sizzling shooting (18 for 24 from the field) helped Long Beach run away from the visitors. LBSU led by as much as 21 points in the first half, while holding the Warriors to 32.3% shooting (10 for 31) and just 22 points until the final minute of the half.

Hawaii (10-8, 2-4) got a bit of a lift in the second half, going 11 for 14 from the free-throw line in the final 20 minutes to cut into the Long Beach lead, but the Warriors never truly threatened and trailed by double digits until the final minute.

Marcus Tsohonis had 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting to pace Long Beach, while Jones scored 19, going 8 for 8 from the field and making a trio of 3-pointers to pass Mike Caffey for fifth on LBSU’s career list (178). He added four steals. Lassina Traore had 13 points and six rebounds, and Aboubacar Traore (no relation) added 11 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Related Articles

Justin McKoy had 22 points to lead Hawaii. Juan Munoz added 12 points and Bernardo da Silva had 11.

Long Beach gets its first bye of the conference season this weekend, then hosts first-place UC Irvine next Thursday (Jan. 25) at 7 p.m.

​ Orange County Register 

Buena Park basketball point guard Hannah Fuentes injured in loss to Ontario Christian

• January 19, 2024

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

BUENA PARK — Buena Park’s girls basketball team encountered a physical and emotional setback in the opening minutes of its showdown against visiting Ontario Christian on Thursday.

Early in the first quarter, starting point guard Hannah Fuentes suffered an apparent knee injury after falling awkwardly on a jump shot near the elbow of the key. The junior received medical care and was taken off the court on a stretcher, her teammates walking closely by her side.

Buena Park then turned its attention back to the daunting matchup with Ontario Christian and Kaleena Smith.

The star freshman guard proved too much. She scored 45 points and added 10 assists to lead the Knights to a 98-69 victory in a clash of teams on the CIF-SS Open Division watch list.

Smith delivered an array of spectacular shots and assists — including 19 points in the third period — but a major storyline for Buena Park was the loss of Fuentes with 5:30 left in the first quarter.

“It broke all our hearts. It was bad,” said Buena Park junior Gloria Barrera, a club teammate with Fuentes on Cal Storm. “We just fought for her. She’s been putting in the hard work and she was ready for this. And just to see that happen, it was just heartbreaking.”

Buena Park (13-8), ranked fifth in CIF-SS Division 2AA, led 11-4 in the first quarter before Ontario Christian’s full-court pressure and explosive offense became too much.

The Coyotes also struggled with foul trouble in the first half as the Knights took a 48-38 lead.

Buena Park received a boost in the third period from Mya Barnes, trimming its deficit to 57-51. But Smith seized control by making four of her seven 3-pointers in the frame, including one to at the buzzer.

Buena Park coach DeAnthony Wiley praised Smith but his heart was with Fuentes.

“I felt we would have had a shot (with Fuentes),” he said. “Tough way to start. Mentally, it’s tough to bring the kids back. Even me. It’s still tough. She’s probably done for this season.”

Wiley found positives in his team’s fight, which included double-doubles from Barrera (20 points, 12 rebounds) and Alana White (16 points, 11 rebounds). Barnes added all 13 of her points in the second half.

“I’m proud of these kids,” he said. “To me, this proves that we can go win a title by the way we play.”

Smith entered averaging almost 35 points for Ontario Christian (18-3), ranked third in Division 1.

A heckler called her “overrated” during one of her foul shots in the first half but dominated. She made 7 of 9 shots from the floor in the third period.

“That doesn’t really affect me because I know who I am and I know who I’m going to be and I’ve worked hard for a reason,” Smith said of the heckler.

Smith played both guard spots, scoring on shifty drives, floaters and perimeter shots. She racked up steals and broke down defenses for easy assists to teammates.

“She can do it all,” Ontario Christian coach Matt Tumambing said of Smith. “She’s someone that I like to call a generational-type player. Just her feel for the game.”

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

UC Irvine outlasts UC San Diego in showdown between Big West’s best

• January 19, 2024

IRVINE — Heading into Big West Conference play three weeks ago, few expected UC Irvine and UC San Diego to be the featured matchup after five games, but both entered Thursday night’s meeting as the only unbeaten teams left in the conference.

UCI now stands alone after a 76-65 victory over the Tritons at the Bren Events Center.

Andre Henry led the way for UCI (13-5 overall, 6-0 Big West) with 18 points and he was the primary defender on UCSD’s leading scorer, Bryce Pope, who came in averaging 18.7 points with 37 consecutive games in double figures dating to last season. Pope was held to eight points on 1-for-8 shooting from the field.

Henry, who shot 4 for 6 from 3-point range, said the defensive effort on Pope meant more to him than his 18 points.

“We knew how important he was to their team, his scoring, just his playmaking in general,” Henry said. “I might get the credit, but that’s a team job right there. We played great team defense and we just made everything hard for him, and we just tried to have other guys beat us.”

Justin Hohn had 14 points and five assists and Devin Tillis scored all 11 of his points in the second half while also contributing nine rebounds and three steals for UCI, which improved to 7-0 at home this season.

Francis Nwaokorie had 17 points and seven rebounds, but he scored just two in the second half for UCSD (11-7, 5-1), which was picked to finish ninth in the Big West preseason coaches’ poll. Tyler McGhie added 12 points and Hayden Gray had 11 points and six rebounds.

“I thought we wore them down, which is what we thought we could do, as the game went on,” UCI coach Russell Turner said. “I thought we had some really outstanding performances on both offense and defense.”

The Anteaters trailed 33-32 at halftime and were still behind by two points when they went on a 7-0 run to take their biggest lead of the night at 50-45 with 12:42 left in the game.

UCI missed a few chances to expand the lead before Bent Leuchten made two free throws in a one-and-one situation to extend the lead to 59-53 and Henry then scored inside to make it 61-53 with 4:58 left.

The Tritons could only get as close as six points the rest of the way.

“Andre has done what we ask guys to do,” Turner said. “He’s built his game off of his defense and it’s almost like, the better defense he plays, the better offense he plays. So he’s taken the challenge to play the other teams’ best players.”

The Anteaters finished with 19 assists and just seven turnovers.

“We have a team of good passers and that was one of the things that I knew coming into the season,” Turner said. “It’s hard to teach passing. You either have it or you don’t, so I think we have a chance to get better.”

After six lead changes in the opening 20 minutes, the Tritons took a one-point lead into the break.

Both teams shot 42.9% from the floor in the first half, but the Tritons owned a 20-11 edge in rebounding.

Related Articles

UCI was ultimately outrebounded 37-29, including 10-3 on the offensive end.

“I’m disappointed that we’re not rebounding better as a team right now,” Turner said.

Henry and Langston Redfield took turns guarding Pope and limited him to two points on 1-for-4 shooting in the opening half.

UCI was 6 for 15 from 3-point range in the first half and 6 for 13 on 2-point attempts.

The Tritons took their biggest lead of the first half at 21-14 with 7:27 left, but the Anteaters outscored UCSD 19-11 the rest of the half.

Francis Nwaokorie, who came in averaging 12.5 points, scored 15 in the first half for the Tritons.

Hohn, Henry and Leuchten each had eight points in the opening half for Irvine.

​ Orange County Register 

Mater Dei girls basketball dominates Orange Lutheran to tighten grip on Trinity League race

• January 19, 2024

SANTA ANA — The Mater Dei girls basketball team opened up a double-digit lead late in the first quarter of its Trinity League game against Orange Lutheran on Thursday at Mater Dei High School.

The Monarchs, who are ranked No. 1 in Orange County and No. 5 in Division 1 of the CIF Southern Section, just created more and more separation the rest of the way, cruising to a 75-40 victory.

The Monarchs (17-6, 5-0) are now sitting comfortably in first place in the Trinity League with a two-game lead over the second-place Lancers (15-7, 3-2) with three league games remaining.

Mater Dei is looking to go undefeated in the Trinity League for the second consecutive season.

“I liked the way we played tonight,” Mater Dei coach Kevin Kiernan said. “We were locked in. We were really focused. We’re getting better and if we can just build on this as we move toward the rest of the league and the playoffs, that would be awesome.”

When Mater Dei and the Lancers faced off in their first meeting at Orange Lutheran on Jan. 2, the Monarchs trailed by six at the half and one point after three quarters before going on an 18-7 run in the fourth for a 66-57 victory.

“We’ve been talking about this game since the last game,” said Kaeli Wynn, who scored 18 points to lead the Monarchs. “We said when we play them on our own court, they don’t even have a chance. We were so determined, we were so focused this week of practice.”

Emily Shaw scored 17 for the Monarchs, including three 3-pointers, and Janessa Cotton finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.

Princess Cassell led the Lancers with 12 points.

Shaw stepped in as a starter after Addison Deal, the reigning Orange County girls basketball player of the year, became sidelined for the remainder of the season after sustaining an ankle injury on Dec. 21.

The Monarchs were the faster, stronger team against Orange Lutheran, were dominant under the basket and gave the Lancers trouble with their signature full-court press.

“We’re just learning to trust each other more, especially with losing Addy,” said Wynn, who is the daughter of Mater Dei assistant coach Jody Wynn.

“It was hard the first few games without Addy,” Wynn added. “But I think we’re finally back in our groove. I’m excited. I think we can go far in CIF and state.”

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

Predators hand Kings their 10th loss in 11 games

• January 19, 2024

LOS ANGELES — Needing to shake off the doldrums after a dreary 10-game stretch, including a just-completed 1-5 road trip, the Kings could not find their form in front of a less-than-enthused crowd on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena, losing to the Nashville Predators, 2-1.

All three goals came in the second period, when the teams traded scores. Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist connected for the visitors, sandwiching the Kings’ only highlight on a Drew Doughty power-play goal.

Hours after Kings general manager Rob Blake gave Coach Todd McLellan a vote of confidence amid their slump, some of the same issues that have defined the recent slump showed up again. The Kings played better at even strength through the first half of the game, only for their special teams to give away that momentum.

The Kings took seven shots against Predators netminder Juuse Saros in the opening five minutes. Then they managed just one more over the next 15 minutes, falling short on two power-play opportunities while killing a pair for Nashville.

Receiving the start over All-Star Cam Talbot, David Rittich held Nashville scoreless with 11 first-period saves, denying a good look on a wrist shot by Denis Gurianov, who got behind the Kings’ defense, and a couple minutes later keeping his cool as Juuso Parssinen whirled around to try a 360-degree spinning wrist shot.

The Kings’ lone attempt on goal after their early flurry came with less than two minutes remaining in the period. Leading goal scorer Taylor Moore found the puck in front of the Nashville net, but wristed it above the crossbar.

That’s how it went as passes, shots and connections missed their mark. When potentially dangerous attacks did materialize, the Kings were sufficiently rebuffed.

Outside of one power-play effort in the third period and a frantic final minute trying to beat Saros, who saved 33 of the 34 shots he faced, the Kings gave their fans more reasons to jeer than cheer their first home match since Jan. 4.

O’Reilly put the Predators on the board with a rare power-play goal against the strongest penalty-killing team in the NHL. The Kings had denied their opponents’ 22 man-advantage opportunities since the start of the new year until defenseman Roman Josi fired the puck at the net and O’Reilly tipped it in at 7:56 for his 17th goal of the season.

Related Articles

The Kings (21-13-8, 50 points) asserted themselves less than a minute later when Doughty’s one-timer slap shot zoomed past Saros’ glove hand, cashing in a much-needed power play after Nashville defenseman Ryan McDonagh was hit with a delay of game when the Predators’ net was dislodged as the Kings threatened in the crease.

Doughty’s 10th goal of the season, assisted by Kevin Fiala and Adrian Kempe, followed his 150th goal for the Kings on Tuesday night in Dallas, inching the ironman closer to Rob Blake’s franchise record for a defenseman (161).

Rittich (31 saves on 33 shots) stayed strong between the pipes despite conceding a rebound goal to center Gustav Nyquist at 13:40 of the second period. The Swede’s 12th goal put the visitors in front to stay.

Coming off a 4-1 loss to Las Vegas, Nashville (25-19-1, 51 points) entered the game with the third-most points in the NHL since mid-November. The Predators have suffered only three regulation losses to the Kings in their last 27 meetings, taking 12 of the last 15 between the two.

More to come on this story.

​ Orange County Register 

Tournament of Roses announces 2025 Rose Parade theme: ‘Best Day Ever!’

• January 19, 2024

Just weeks out from what was thought to be one of the most well attended Rose Parades in years, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses has announced the theme for the 136th annual New Year’s Day parade: “Best Day Ever!”

Incoming Tournament of Roses President Ed Morales announced the selection, which will inspire the float designs for the 2025 Rose Parade, in front of a crowd of supporters at the Tournament House on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024.

“This year’s theme celebrates life’s special moments. Those moments that excite us, motivate us and fill us with joy,” Morales said, noting that the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl unite millions ever New Year.

“It could be the day you learn to ride a bike, a favorite family vacation, or the birth of your first grandchild. These are the moments that make life worth living.”

Each year, the new president selects the theme and the grand marshal of the Rose Parade for the year, on the day they ascend to the position. Morales was confirmed as president and chairman of the board for the 2025 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association by the Board of Directors earlier Thursday.

Related links

Rose Parade 2024 musical performances rouse audiences, amplifying theme of parade
Pasadena Mayor Gordo weighs in on ‘the most well attended Rose Parade in quite some time’
Rose Parade will march to its own musical theme in 2024
Pro-Palestinian protest briefly halts Rose Parade, as vigil follows afterward near Floatfest
Driver who rammed Rose Parade barriers had previous arrests, mental health issues, officials say

Throughout his tenure as a volunteer Member of the Tournament of Roses, Morales has been involved in numerous committees, such as Community Relations, Membership, Queen and Court and Media Operations. Outside of the Tournament of Roses, Morales is a member of the Pasadena Optimist Club and serves on the Foundation Board for the California School of the Arts.

He is a partner with the Law Offices of Borton Petrini, LLP, receiving his undergraduate degree in History from UCLA, and a Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School.

The new theme follows the 2024 Rose Parade theme, “Celebrating a World of Music,” which paid homage to music’s ability to unite people. It also informed the selection of the 135th parade’s grand marsha, Audra McDonald.

​ Orange County Register 

Placentia man accused of entering U.S. Capitol during Jan. 6 riot is arrested

• January 19, 2024

A Placentia man seen walking through the U.S. Capitol building with hundreds of people who stormed in more than three years ago seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election was arrested this week, according to court documents.

FBI agents arrested Shawn Schaefer, 51, on Wednesday, Jan. 17 on five charges related to his actions during the 2021 attack on the Capitol, an event that had been hyped for months among supporters of former President Donald Trump as he pursued illegitimate claims he actually won the election over Joe Biden.

Schaefer was accused of entering a restricted building and attempting to impede government business.

Federal records showed he was in custody Thursday, Jan. 18, but booking information was not available; nor was information for an attorney who may be representing him.

In a criminal complaint filed in a federal district court in Washington, D.C. last week, a special agent working for the FBI’s L.A. field office investigating domestic terrorism cases said Schaefer was spotted on security cameras walking with a large crowd and taking photos inside the Capitol building “for less than two minutes.”

According to the complaint, an associate of Schaefer who traveled with him to D.C. identified him to the FBI as part of a plea deal. The associate was not identified in the complaint. Portions of the identification of the associate were redacted from the complaint.

Schaefer and the other person had planned since Dec. 28, 2020 to travel to the Capitol to be there for Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally, according to the complaint.

In text messages, the pair discussed buying small radios to stay in touch with each other once they got to the rally. They also met on Jan. 4, 2021, the day before their flight.

The day of the attack, the agent said, Schaefer entered the Senate wing of the Capitol building through a fire door just before 3 p.m. He packed into a narrow hallway with dozens of others bearing flags and wearing gear showing their support for Trump.

That was about 40 minutes after elected officials inside were ordered to evacuate, suspending the certification of the election for nearly six hours.

While he was in the hallway, Schaefer held up a phone, appearing to record what was happening. He briefly entered the office of the Senate’s parliamentarian, before police pushed Schaefer and everyone else in the hallway outside.

In the complaint, the agent further tied Schaefer to the rally after finding an account on Parler, a social media network, under the name “QPatriot420” that used a selfie Schaefer took of himself near the Washington Monument in front of a crowd of Trump supporters. The agent said Schaefer’s email and phone number were both associated with the account.

The agent interviewed Schaefer at his home in Placentia on March 28, 2023. The agent said Schaefer admitted to attending the Trump rally, then walking with the crowd to the Capitol building before they went inside.

Schaefer told the agent he left the building after “seeing a ransacked office,” according to the complaint.

“People could get in trouble for this,” the agent quoted Schaefer as saying in the interview.

An arraignment hearing for Schaefer had not been scheduled as of Thursday.

At least two dozen Southern California residents have been arrested, and many convicted, for traveling to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 and participating in the assault on the building.

Ex-La Habra police chief gets 11-year sentence for role in Jan. 6 Capitol riot

List: Southern California residents accused or convicted in the Capitol insurrection

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register