SECONDS, ANYONE?
Chaparral rolls into CIF State Division III regional final after winning CIF-SS Division 5 title
WALNUT >> Moments after his team captured the CIF Southern Section’s Division 5 championship last weekend, Chaparral girls water polo coach Josh Stone told his players to be prepared for practice Monday.
“They didn’t know the coaches were being serious,” Stone recalled. “They thought it was a joke and laughed that off at first because there was no school Monday (Presidents’ Day).”
The Pumas had fun winning the program’s first title, so why not try to bring home a second one?
Aidan Mante scored a match-high six goals, whole Holly Handler keyed the defensive effort with 14 saves inside the cage as Chaparral rolled to an 18-6 victory over Birmingham in a CIF State Division III regional semifinal match Friday afternoon at Mt. San Antonio College.
The No. 2-seeded Pumas face top-seeded Mt. Carmel for the regional title today at 11 a.m. at Mt. SAC.
“I’m excited we’ve gotten this far. Any games left are a great opportunity,” Mante said.
Avary Guge, the team’s primary center defender, said she and her teammates had
Chaparral goalie Holly Handler is about to stop a point-blank shot by Birmingham’s Jocelyn Mendez on Friday at Mt. SAC.
no problem rediscovering a championship mindset following the program’s historic victory last Saturday.
“For us, motivation is easy because no team at our school has gone this far,” Guge said.
It showed Friday afternoon, as Chaparral (25-5) scored on its first four possessions to grab the early advantage. Mante and Ariah Martinez each scored twice in that opening run.
Birmingham, the L.A. City Section Open Division runner-up, runs its offense through center Jocelyn Cruz. Stone decided
TODAY’S CIF-SS CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE BASKETBALL
Girls 4AA: Rancho Cucamonga vs. Anaheim Canyon, 10 a.m.
Boys 4A: Temecula Valley vs. Northview,
Girls D-1: Santiago vs. Brentwood, 6p.m. At Colony HS
Girls 5AA: Colton vs. Adelanto, noon Boys 5A: Big Bear vs. Firebaugh, 2 p.m.
SOCCER
Girls D-6: Diamond Ranch vs. Bell Gardens,
Boys D-4: Etiwanda vs. Lakewood, 3:30 p.m. Girls D-1: Roosevelt vs. Palos Verdes, 6 p.m. At Fred Kelly Stadium, Orange
Boys D-5: Upland vs. Esperanza, 3:30 p.m. Days, sites and times are subject to change. For more information on all CIF-SS championship events, including ticket and parking prices: www.cifss.org.