Women’s Soccer Team Ties Beijing 1-1 In Rainy Debut at Stadium by the Sea

The conditions were not exactly ideal, but the Pali Blues soccer team made the best of them in its first-ever game at Palisades High’s newly-renovated Stadium by the Sea. On a cold and rainy night, the squad served notice that the future will be sunny and bright by dominating Beijing for much of Friday’s exhibition game before settling for a 1-1 tie. “I could not be happier with our group after drawing with one of the top two teams in China,” Blues Coach Charlie Naimo said. “We knew that playing a game this early in the year was going to be challenging. The girls really did a fantastic job.” In the tradition of friendly international matches the two teams lined up at midfield for introductions and the national anthems before the opening kickoff. Once the game started, the Blues did their best impression of keep away, using pinpoint passing and deft dribbling to limit the amount of touches their talented opponents got. Using primarily a 4-4-2 formation (four defenders, four midfielders and two forwards), the Blues faced a strong wind in the first half but nearly took the lead late when Kasey Moore (University of Texas and United States U-20 national team member in 2006) fed Cal State Fullerton’s Brianna Buffington on a breakaway. “As the second half started, we tweaked our philosophy a tad by adding high pressure all over,” Naimo said. ‘Statistically, we had 19 corner [kicks] to their 0. But as the game of soccer goes you have to finish more than one no matter how much you dominate.” With the wind now at their backs, the Blues were determined to attack more over the last 45 minutes. Fittingly it was team captain Kendall Fletcher, the first player to sign with the Blues, who scored the Pacific Palisades team’s first goal. The former University of North Carolina standout and FIFA World Youth champion gave the Blues a 1-0 advantage on a set piece at about the 65th minute and it appeared the narrow lead would hold up until Beijing netted the equalizer on a counterattack in the 78th minute. The Blues pressed for the go-ahead goal in the final 10 minutes but were unable to score. All in all, Naimo was encouraged by the result and believes the best is yet to come. “I have this vision of seeing people walk over to PaliHi on game day just like they do in Europe,” he said. “The community will count the minutes between games.” The Blues’ starting lineup consisted of goalkeeper Karen Bardsley; fullbacks Fletcher, Kara Kabellis, Janessa Currier and Jill Oakes; halfbacks Kacey White, Rosie Tantillo, Brittany Klein and Leah Tapscott; and forwards Ouying Zhang and Kandace Wilson. Naimo named Buffington, Moore, Kikki Bosio and Cammie Levine as key contributors off the bench.

On December 18, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined forces with Palisadian and Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness Chairman Jake Steinfeld at Culver City Middle School to announce the launch of the annual “Governor’s Challenge Competition,” a statewide contest among K-12 schools that promotes increased physical activity and better health among California’s youth. Schwarzenegger, himself a former Palisadian, announced several new incentives for students and teachers to participate in the challenge, including a free lift ticket to Mammoth Mountain for every middle school student and a free pass to 24-Hour Fitness for every teacher. “We couldn’t have done this without the support and vision of a great guy, a guy I’ve known since I was 19 years old,” Steinfeld said. “I was a fat kid with a really bad stutter growing up. I got laughed at. And it wasn’t until my dad bought me a set of weights when I was 14 that it really changed my life. “And I always had an inspiration, more like an idol’the greatest bodybuilder of all time and now a terrific governor, my good buddy Arnold Schwarzenegger.” In 2006, the Governor’s Challenge consisted of 10,000 students and in 2007 the number of participants rose to 70,000. This year, the goal is for 150,000 students. Steinfeld stressed to his young audience the importance of not quitting. Then it was the Governor’s turn to take the podium. “I remember Jake from the time he joined Gold’s Gym and we were working out together’this goes way back to the ’70s of course, and I just want to say that he always wanted to share his great enthusiasm and talent with other people,” Schwarzenegger said. “He started writing fitness books, he went all over the country promoting fitness and thinking of ways to make America fit. So it was natural when I became Governor that I said I’m going to make him Chairman of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. “As Governor, I’m here to say it’s important to take care of your body and your mind. What the California Council on Physical Fitness is all about is to promote fitness and this challenge will be for kids statewide to exercise 30 to 60 minutes three times a week. The top school can win $5,000 in exercise equipment.”

After a successful winter break the Palisades High boys’ basketball team opens this week’s Western League play with a 16-2 record and soaring with confidence. The Dolphins won 10 consecutive games from December 3 to 26–a stretch in which Pali won both the Beverly Hills and San Fernando Valley tournaments. The Dolphins traveled to Hamilton yesterday (result undetermined at press time) and host defending state Division I champion Fairfax Friday at 7 p.m. Palisades closed out its nonleague schedule with a 68-51 victory over Washington last Friday. Aaron Hawk-Harris is the Dolphins’ scoring leader, averaging 15.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Taylor Shipley leads in assists (5.8) and steals (4.6) per game. Girls Basketball The Dolphins began league play Wednesday against Hamilton (result undetermined at press time) with a 9-6 record after mixed results at the Nike and Ayala tournaments. Palisades has not played since New Year’s eve, when it lost to Burbank Burroughs, 46-40, in the final round of the Ayala tournament. Leading the way on offense are Tuekeha Huntley and Dominique Scott, who average 11.5 and 11.1 points per game, respectively. Scott also leads in rebounds and blocks while Mariah Lyons is the leader in assists (3.1) and steals (2.3). Boys Soccer Dave Williams’ squad came back from vacation riding the wave of its first victory of the season’a 2-1 win over Hamilton that improved Pali’s record to 1-4 overall and 1-2 in the Western League. Palisades has scored four goals and allowed 10. The Dolphins traveled to University on Wednesday (result undetermined at press time) and host Los Angeles CES on Friday at 2:30 p.m. Girls Soccer Palisades began the season with high hopes and so far the Dolphins appear to be serious contenders for the City title. With a 5-2 record prior to yesterday’s Western League game at University (result undetermined at press time), Palisades scored decisive victories over Venice and Hamilton before winter break and looks to keep its league slate clean at Los Angeles CES tomorrow. The Dolphins have outscored their opponents, 21-7, so far this season. Tonight at 7 the Dolphins host Notre Dame Academy in a nonleague match at Stadium by the Sea.

It’s not how big you are, but how skilled you are that matters. Example No. 1 is Pali Rox!, a local AYSO girls U11 all-star team coached by Phil Pecsok. The Rox! traveled to Simi Valley on New Year’s weekend to play older, more experienced teams in a U12 tournament and, lo and behold, the Rox! won the championship. “I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” Coach Pecsok said. “This was a 16-team tournament against strong U12 teams and over five games we proved we were better.” Playing at Foundation Fields in a tough pool with four teams, of which only one advanced to the elimination round, the Rox! battled Moorpark’s “A” squad to a 2-2 tie on Saturday, with Elizabeth Seaman and Kaitlyn Nyman each scoring. Then, against Agoura?s “A” team, Seaman scored off a corner kick for a 1-0 Rox! victory. A 2-0 triumph over Camarillo’s “B” team advanced the Rox! to the playoffs against three other pool winners. In Mondays’ semifinal, Elizabeth Seaman scored the game-winning goal on a breakaway in the fourth quarter and Palisades prevailed over Canyon Country, 2-1. Burbank blanked Thousand Oaks, 3-0, in the other semifinal. The championship game was evenly played in the first half as Burbank tried to capitalize on its size and strength advantages. The Rox!, however, were not intimidated and their skill took over in the second half. Emma Seaman, Anna and Seaman each scored a goal in Palisades’ 6-0 victory. Goalie Alex Jackson allowed one goal in 13 quarters as goalie. The defense posted three shutouts, led by Carmen Flood, Julia Barlow and Tara Nikkhoo. Forwards Kaitlyn Nyman, Keely Lance, Anna Husted and Taylor Pecsok all scored for the Rox!. Rounding out the squad were midfielders Hannah De Silva and Laila Touran. U10 Boys The Riptide, Palisades’ U10 boys AYSO all-star team, finished third at the Simi Valley tournament, prevailing over Agoura in a shootout as Brendan Sanderson and Jacob Pink converted their penalty kicks. A week before, the Riptide won the Christmas Classic in Torrance. The team played six games in two days to capture the Santa Claus trophy. After winning its first two games by scores of 5-0 and 8-0, with nine different players scoring, Riptide lost 2-1 but earned a wildcard bid to the quarterfinals. There, Palisades blanked Palos Verdes, 3-0, before upending Thousand Oaks, 3-1, in the semifinals. Riptide started the scoring on Will Rozelle’s header off a cross from Alex Ramsbottom lofted a beautiful left-footed cross to Will Rozelle who headed the ball into the goal. Pali’s defense, led by Sanderson, Vincent DeSantis, Nick Richmond, David Grinsfelder, James Kanoff and Matteo Weniz, held off a late charge to secure the win. The final match was a rematch against Agoura Hills. Pali led 2-0 at halftime thanks to assists from Matteo Weniz and Jordan Golden. The game was tied 2-2 with less than a minute remaining when Riptide’s Jonah Jacobson scored on a breakaway to secure Riptide’s 3-2 victory. Other Riptide players not at the tournament were Pink, Blake Lewis, Daniel Furman and Jake Suddleson.

A new elementary school tennis league swings into action Sunday at the Palisades Tennis Center. A number of local schools are involved in the league’s two-month long season. All matches are doubles and consist of three 8-game pro sets. Highly-ranked USTA players are not eligible. “We want to give recreational players and those just taking up tennis a chance to play the sport in a competitive arena without having to come up against someone who is training to be a pro tennis player,” PTC’s Heidi Wessels said. “This league is geared toward a young child’s first foray into competitive tennis and the team format is a great way to do that.” Local schools participating include Village, Corpus Christi, Canyon Charter Elementary, Lycee Francais and Franklin Elementary. There will be 10 local schools in the league. Matches are conveniently located at the Palisades Recreation Center and will last under one hour. “The park is a great place for team tennis with the four courts together,” PTC Director of Tennis Chris Harradine said. “Parents can sit in one place and watch all the matches at the same time. Not many facilities afford that opportunity.” The team that wins two or more individual matches will win that team match. The format includes a regular season followed by playoffs where the four teams with the best records play a single-elimination tournament. The PTC is handling all of the league’s administration, ordering team t-shirts, providing balls and officiating. Winning teams will get trophies and there will be a ceremony. Please call the PTC at (310) 573-1331 for details. Teams are being formed right now and there is space for new players.