January 11, 2008

Evergreen Sports

Evergreen hockey players win 2007 San Jose Winter Classic Tournament

Four Evergreen young men playing on the Santa Clara Blackhawks ice hockey team brought home the Bantam A Championship trophy in the 5th Annual San Jose Winter Classic Ice Hockey Tournament held Dec. 26 – 30 2007.

A championship team picture of the Blackhawks right after they won the Championship.

The annual Winter Classic is hosted by the San Jose Jr. Sharks and is held at Sharks Ice in San Jose with 70 teams participating, representing 9 different U.S. states and Canadian provinces with players ranging in ages from 7 to 18 years.

Four players from Evergreen: Erik Leaf, Brandon Shank, Justin Hubert, and Ben Westmoreland, are teammates on the Bantam A Santa Clara Blackhawks hockey team. The Bantam division includes 13- and 14-year old players born in 1993 and 1994. The Hawks first game was against their rivals the San Jose Jr. Sharks on Wednesday evening Dec. 26. The Hawks secured a 4-2 victory over the Jr. Sharks.

Their next game against the Bakersfield Dragons was one of the most exciting games of the tournament. The Dragon’s controlled the first three periods and led the Hawks 5-1 late into the third period. With four minutes left in the game, Erik Leaf’s shot from the point hit a player and ricocheted into the net giving the Hawks their second goal. Erik’s shot proved to be the a turning point in the game as the revitalized Blackhawks went on to score three more goals in the last three minutes to earn a tie in the game.

The Hawks went on to win their next two games against the southern California Golden Bears and the northern California Cougars, the Blackhawks the number one seed in the championship game. The Sunday Dec. 30 championship game turned out to be a rematch against the Bakersfield Dragons. After the Blackhawks jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first period, the Bakersfield Dragons made a game of it by scoring three straight goals and pulling within one goal late in the third period. The Blackhawks, led by strong play from their Captain Kyle Godfrey, stepped up to the Dragons’ challenge and scored the last goal late in the third period giving them the 5-3 victory over the Dragon’s and crowning the Blackhawk’s 2007 Bantam A Winter Classic Champions.

Erik Leaf behind the net with Ben Westmoreland playing goalie.

Erik Leaf is a Chaboya 2007 graduate and now attends Archbishop Mitty High School, Brandon Shank attends Quimby Oak Middle School, Justin Hubert attends Valley Christian, and Ben Westmoreland attends LeyVa Middle School. Erik, Ben, and Brandon met playing Monday night pick up hockey at the now closed Eastridge ice rink when they were in elementary school. This is the first year all four boys have played on the same team. Erik and Brandon are defenseman while Ben and Justin are the team’s goalies.

The four Evergreen Blackhawk players are having a very successful season and are currently in first place in the Bantam A division of the Northern California Junior Hockey Association (NORCAL) league. The team plays their NORCAL league home games at Sharks Ice in Fremont and San Jose. The Blackhawks travel all over northern California for their league games during the hockey season including Fresno, Roseville, Stockton and Santa Rosa.

In addition to NORCAL league games the Blackhawks play in tournaments and began the season with an early tournament in September over the Labor Day weekend in Valencia California after only two practices. They also played in the Pacific District U.S. Regional Silver Stick tournament held in San Jose over the Thanksgiving holiday. The Blackhawks are hoping for another tournament win when they travel to Las Vegas in 2008.

Girls face off on ice

The San Jose Sharks Girls Program, the only one of its kind in northern California, is hosting an All-Girls tournament at Sharks Ice, Jan.18-21. The hockey players range in age from 8 to 22 and local participants from Evergreen will be on the ice.

Denise Perez, a junior at Evergreen Valley High School, said, “This will be the 5th annual Martin Luther King tournament, and hundreds of games will be bunched into the weekend.” Teams from Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, southern California and Canada will face off during the games.

A schedule is posted on the website: http://www.sjjrsharks.com/Tourn/MLK08.html Click "Game Schedule" for the times and games.

PAC United U12 Girls take NorCal State Cup for second year in a row

The PAC United U12 Girls Soccer team from the Mt. Hamilton Youth Soccer League competed in and won the NorCal State Cup Premier Division U12 Girls Soccer Championship on the weekend of December 15th and 16th in Manteca, CA.

(Front Row L-R: Missy Sanchez, Kassandra DeLeon, Xochit Hunter, Jayden Lynn, Jennifer Corona, Miranda Lopez, Sara Van Wagoner, Michaela Giordano. Back Row L-R: Coach Robert Campoy, Lauren Campoy, Jasmine Fernandez, Cynthia Sanchez, Adriana Diaz, Vanessa Valencia, Fatmata Kamara, Jenelle Herrera, Ariana Brandao, Jessica Salazar, Coach Victor DeLeon. Missing Monique Romanowsky)

The tournament didn't start off very well for the girls of PAC United, coach Robert Campoy and coach Victor DeLeon with a 0-2 loss against the Tracy Dynamite. PAC United bounced back in their next game with a 5-0 win against the Boca Jrs. Still fighting an uphill battle, the girls faced Mustang Fury '96 and won 2-0 to close out group play. The semi-final game pitted the girls against the always tough Mustang Fury of Danville, CA. This match was a tough physical match between two of the top teams in Northern California but in the end the girls of PAC United were victorious 1-0, scoring the winning goal midway through the second half.

In the championship game PAC United beat the Santa Rosa United Shock 2-1 and earned the title of NorCal State Cup Champions for a second consecutive year. The PAC United girls gave up a goal in the first five minutes of the match. On a fog-blanketed field with the girls of PAC United staying focused and determined, PAC tied the game midway through the first half and scored the winning goal five minutes into the second half. Playing tough defense and utilizing a ball control attacking offense, the girls of PAC United repeated the Nor Cal State Cup Championship.

Next up for United is the Mustang Soccer Winter Turf Classic and the CYSA State Cup.

Atlas 97 U11 Boys Win District 2 Bronze Division

The Mt. Hamilton Atlas 97 U11 boys coached under Roberto Corona and Emilio Garcia, placed first in the Delgado Youth District 2 Cup tournament held in Los Gatos, CA.

Front Row L-R: Christian Rodriguez, Robert Verela, Sebastian Acosta, Eduardo Castaneda, Brandon Ojeda, Jonathan Garcia, Jose Martinez. Back Row L-R: Jose Fernandez, Emilio Garcia, Osmar Veronica, Isaiah Alberdin, Jose Aguilar, Roberto Corona, Juan Aguirre.

The team entered the Class III, District 2 tournament, which includes top teams from the Monterey to the San Francisco Bay area. The team represented the Mt. Hamilton Youth Soccer Organization, which they earned by taking first place in their regular season, the Delgado Youth Class III fall season. The boys completed their regular season with a record of 9 wins, 0 losses and 1 tie, averaging 5 goals per game and giving up less than 1 goal per game.

The team advanced to the final round of the tournament with the most points after winning their first three games 9-0, 2-0 and 7-0. The team was in a difficult position as they ended the first half of the final game behind, 0-2. The boys tied the game in the second half and won the game 3-2, scoring the winning goal with less than 5 minutes remaining in the game.

The coaches have contributed the team’s success to the parents’ ongoing support and the boys’ love for the game. They are now preparing for the State Cup tournament, the first round of which begins the third week of January. The team is currently recruiting experienced and committed players for the spring 2008 season and is also looking for team sponsor(s). Contact Roberto Corona at (408) 580-6120 or Emilio Garcia at emiliogarciajr@yahoo.com.

TimesSports Briefs

East Valley Softball Early Registration
The San Jose Police Activity league (PAL) announces early bird registration dates for its Twisters Fast Pitch Softball. Age divisions are 8U – 16U. Dates are as follows:

Saturdays: Jan. 5, 12, 19 and 26 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Ocala Softball Fields, rain or shine.

Wednesdays: Jan. 16 and 29, from 6:30 – 8 p.m. at Round Table Pizza, Aborn & White Road.

To register, bring your completed registrations form, birth certificate, and Liability Release form and division fee. There is a $20 volunteer deposit per family required at the time of sign-up, refundable after 10 hours of volunteer time has been fulfilled. For more information, including forms and division fees, visit www.etamz.com/evsltwisters or call 291-3248.


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