The Lions are now focused on the greater mission ahead – this weekend’s North Coast Section dual meet in Castro Valley. Last weekend’s Mission San Jose Invitational offered a taste of what Liberty will encounter. The Lions placed a respectable fourth at the tournament, and 145-pound senior Jesse Baldazo took home the title in his weight class. But head coach Greg Chappel is more worried about the team that finished second – De La Salle.
The Spartans boast talented grapplers such as 125-pound junior Joey Moita and 189-pound senior Luke Sheridan, ranked eighth and second respectively in the state by The California Wrestler. De La Salle is the top-ranked NCS team in California, coming in at 10th.
Freedom finished seventh at Mission San Jose. James Logan, another team to watch in the NCS dual meet tournament, placed sixth. College Park, which finished eighth at Mission San Jose, is another tough NCS team.
Liberty is unranked right now, but Chappel doesn’t mind flying under the radar. “That puts us in the underdog role that I kind of like,” he said. “It’s easier to motivate kids when you’re the underdog.”
For NCS brackets, visit www.cifncs.org/sports/wrestling.
GIRLS SOCCER
Freedom 2, Mission San Jose 1
Freedom’s girls varsity soccer team took home a 2-1 win last week over non-league opponent Mission San Jose. After playing to a 1-1 tie at halftime, a second-half goal propelled the Falcons to victory, giving them a 9-4-5 record (4-1-3 BVAL).
The day before that, Freedom put up a 2-0 shutout over Deer Valley.
Antioch 5, Pittsburg 2
Antioch exploded in the second half last week, resulting in a 5-2 win over Pittsburg. The Panthers led 2-1 at halftime thanks to two goals from Jessica Huerta. The senior striker added two more scores in the second half, at the 50- and 70-minute marks. Following the win, Antioch held an 8-13-1 record (3-5 BVAL); the Pirates fell to 4-13-2 (0-8 BVAL).
Heritage 0, Liberty 0
BVAL-leading Heritage played to a 0-0 tie with defending league champion and crosstown rival Liberty last week. The Patriots left that game with a 12-1-6 record (5-0-3 BVAL); the Lions were 11-2-9 (4-1-3 BVAL).
BOYS SOCCER
Heritage 4, Liberty 0
While the Heritage and Liberty girls battled to a hard-fought scoreless tie, the Patriots boys team had no trouble generating offense. Bolstered by goals from Nick McCalliom, Nick Krahnke, Nick Connell and Hugo Salazar, Heritage took a 4-0 win over the Lions last week. The victory gave the Patriots a 3-7-6 record (2-3-3 BVAL), while Liberty fell to 5-10-1 (2-6-0 BVAL).
Freedom 1, Deer Valley 0
Freedom’s boys soccer team pulled off an upset last week, beating league-leading Deer Valley 1-0. In the 24th minute, Junior Rodolfo Pelayo scored for the Falcons, who held a 7-8-3 (4-2-2 BVAL) record after the game. The Wolverines dropped to 13-3-5 (5-1-2 BVAL). Two days earlier, Freedom came out on top 1-0 over rival Liberty.
Post a Comment
