Sun sets on Edison’s competition

The 2011 Sunset League boys’ and girls’ soccer titles have an Edison flare to them.

The Edison girls on Tuesday clinched a tie for the league crown by blanking Los Alamitos, 1-0. The win completed a league sweep of the Griffins, whom the Chargers defeated, 2-1, in their first league meeting Jan. 18, a win that was Edison’s first over their league rival in four years.

Two minutes into the second half, the Chargers’ Angelisa Cortez got past the Griffins defense on the left side and then sent a cross that the Los Al keeper couldn’t hold on to. Freshman MacKenzie Cerda was there to knock in what turned out to be the game-winning goal.

Edison has a share of its first league championship since 2002.

“Our defense was stellar,” Edison Coach Kerry Crooks said of a unit led by captains Nikki Fedele, Rachael Larson, Courtney Maddux and Karley Wester.

The Chargers can win the Sunset title outright today (4:45 p.m.) at home against Marina.

In other Sunset games today, Fountain Valley is at Los Alamitos (3 p.m.) and Huntington Beach plays at Newport Harbor (4:45 p.m.).

In other Sunset games Tuesday, Fountain Valley edged Newport Harbor, 2-1, and Huntington and Marina fought to a 1-1 tie.

The Edison boys’ soccer team clinched its second straight Sunset League championship and kept its season record spotless Friday by routing visiting Newport Harbor, 7-0.

Bajj Chela scored a hat trick, Tyler Bigenho had a goal and assist and Faris Barudi, Jacob Rushing and Trevor Verone each scored once for the Chargers, who improved to 22-0 and 9-0 in league.

The Chargers also scored a 5-1 win Feb. 2 over Huntington Beach, as Bigenho scored twice and Rushing, Verone and Mitchel Alvarez each scored once. Marco Randazzo scored off a Sam Hart assist for Huntington.

In other Sunset action Friday, Fountain Valley blanked Huntington, 2-0, and Marina fell, 3-1, to Los Alamitos. Ethan Morrow and Steven Ryan scored and Jose Garcia and Brandon Dang had assists for the Barons in their win over the Oilers.

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Girls’ Water Polo

A busy week for Edison — which started with a Sunset League showdown Feb. 2 against Fountain Valley — culminated Saturday with a strong showing at the Irvine Southern California Championships.

The Chargers, the No. 14 seed in the tournament, won four games to claim the consolation championship.

“Our girls knew we could compete with the elite teams,” Edison Coach Diggy Riley said after his Chargers fell, 4-2, to Newport Harbor and headed to the two-day tournament that began Feb. 3.

The Chargers opened tourney play against Coronado and defeated the CIF San Diego power, 17-8. Alys Williams led all scorers with eight goals, Haley Kunert scored four goals, Ashley Dorman had two goals and Melissa Balding, Jessica Becker and Natalie May each scored once. Sydni Estrella had 14 saves.

In its second game, Edison played Santa Barbara, the third-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division 1. The Chargers led, 4-2, at the half, got into foul trouble in the third quarter and held a late 6-5 lead before the Dons scored the tying goal at the buzzer to force overtime. Santa Barbara went on to win, 7-6.

Williams, Kunert and Dorman each scored twice and Estrella had 16 saves, one on a penalty shot.

“As heart-breaking as that game ended, our girls walked off the deck with their heads high and with a feeling that we can compete with any team in any division,” Riley said.

Overtime was kinder to Edison in its next game against Montebello. Dorman, a junior, scored on a back-hand shot at the center position to give the Chargers a 9-8 win over the Oilers, who were ranked second in CIF Division 2. Dorman and Williams both had two goals and Balding, Kunert, Becker, Abby Oshiro and Risa Rurke all scored once.

Edison then took on Murrieta Valley, the No. 2 team in CIF Division 3. The Chargers rolled to an 8-2 halftime lead on the physical Nighthawks and came away with an 11-6 victory. Williams’ five goals led all scorers, Kunert and Becker scored twice and Estrella had eight saves as the Chargers advanced to Saturday’s consolation championship game against Agoura.

The consolation final (ninth-place game) was the second meeting of the season between the teams. Last month, Agoura downed Edison, 18-9, at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.

“To say we were fired up would be an understatement,” Riley said of the rematch against an Agoura team that was ranked fourth in CIF Division 2. “They have one of the most talented and physical centers in high school today (USC-bound Savannah Fletcher) who had completely dominated us at the TOC.

“We came in with a gameplan of taking her out of the game by limiting her touches and to continue to stress tough center defending on her. As we had every other game in the tournament, our defense stepped up and dominated at the center defending position.”

Edison held Fletcher scoreless and won the game, 13-11. Kunert led the Chargers with four goals. Dorman, Burke and Williams all scored twice and Estrella had 13 saves.

Williams was named to the all-tournament team for the second year in a row.

In a key Sunset League game Feb. 2, Edison was defeated by host Newport Harbor, 4-2. Kunert and Becker both scored and Estrella had five saves for the Chargers, who missed several key scoring opportunities, including one on a penalty shot.

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Wrestling

Eight local athletes won division titles Saturday at the Sunset League Wrestling Championships at Edison.

Los Alamitos scored 196 points to win the team title. Edison was second with 182.5 points, followed by Marina (128), Fountain Valley (101), Newport Harbor (74.5) an Huntington Beach (10).

The locals winning individual weight-class league championships were:

Edison: Erick Zumwalt (140); Brenton Visnoski (145); Cameron Bustos (152); Charles Burks (215).

Fountain Valley: Edgar De La Torre (112); Dean O’Bourke (119).

Marina: Alex Anunciation (130); Marcus Patterson (285).

The top three finishers in each weight class advance to the CIF-SS Inland Divisional tournament Feb. 18-19 at Roosevelt High in Corona.

The local athletes to qualify for CIF, listed by division and placement:

103: 2. Tran (Fountain Valley); 3. Jimmy McLaughlin (Edison)

112: 1. Edgar De La Torre (Fountain Valley); 3. Joey Bush (Edison)

125: 2. Andrew Barber (Edison)

130: 1. Alex Anunciation (Marina); 2. Jordon Lyle (Edison).

135: 2. Steele Escobedo (Fountain Valley); 3. Jake Schnautz (Marina)

140: 1. Erick Zumwalt (Edison); 2. Colin Navickas (Marina)

145: 1. Brenton Visnoski (Edison); 3. Pat Parent (Marina)

152: 1. Cameron Bustos (Edison); 3. Dustin Miller (Marina)

160: 2. Greg Meline (Edison); 3. Vinnie Lopiccolo (Marina)

171: 3. Josh Peth (Edison)

189: 3. Casey Wilson (Edison)

215: 1. Charles Burks (Edison); 2. Smith (Marina); 3. Alfred Peters (Huntington Beach)

285: 1. Marcus Patterson (Marina); 2. Courtland Drummond (Fountain Valley); 3. Peter Irving (Edison)