Season ends in quarterfinals for Lady Jags water polo team

The 2011 season came to an end this week for the Valley Center varsity girls water polo team after the Lady Jaguars advanced to the quarterfinals of the CIF playoffs before suffering a loss.
The Lady Jags beat Santa Fe Christian in the opening round of the Division III playoffs on Thursday, but couldn’t get past No. 3-ranked Cathedral Catholic in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Valley Center played well against Santa Fe Christian, taking an early lead and holding on late in the game for a 9–4 win.
After having beaten the Lady Eagles by only one goal earlier in the season, the Lady Jags knew the rematch would be a tough game.
The Lady Jaguars to put away three goals in the first, while allowing two for the Lady Eagles. Both teams scored one in the second, giving Valley Center a 4–3 advantage at half.
The Lady Jags were able to score three in the third, while only allowing only one, to lead 7–4 going into the fourth. In the final period, Valley Center was able to put away two more goals allowing none to take the win.
“The girls did a good job of battling for four quarters,” head coach Kyle Kline said. “Carina Favela had two solid shots at two meters right away, causing Santa Fe Christian to double team her for the remainder of the game. This opened up some opportunities for other players to score from the perimeter. Maddy Daugherty was able to put away three in the third and one in the fourth on penalty shots and from the outside. Nikki Paredes had two solid shots from a six-on-five situation and Makayla Markey had a solid goal from a cross-cage pass. This game was close all the way into the fourth quarter and the girls held their composure and pulled off the win.”
Maddy Daugherty had four goals, four steals, and earned one exclusion. Carina Favela had a solid game with two goals, two assists, two steals, two blocks, earned two exclusions, and earned two penalty shots. Nikki Paredes had two goals, and one steal. Makayla Markey had one goal, three assists, three steals, and earned one penalty shot. Nicole Marler had two assists, and one steal. Danielle Moran played great in the first half with five goal saves and one steal. Melissa Persichetti played great in the second half with eight goal saves and one steal.
This win advanced the Lady Jags to the quarterfinals against Cathedral Catholic on Saturday, and the No. 3 team in the playoffs proved they belonged there with a 14–2 win over Valley Center.
The Lady Jaguars didn’t score until the fourth quarter when the game was all but decided. Meanwhile, Cathedral Catholic racked up five goals in the first, four in the second, three in the third and two more for good measure in the fourth.
For Valley Center, Daugherty and Morrison each scored a goal, while Favela had an assist and Persichetti made eight saves in goal.
The Lady Jaguars finish the season with a 19–10 record.

Lady Jaguars win two of four in water polo

The Valley Center varsity girls water polo team had a busy week with a league match against San Dieguito last Tuesday and three games to close out the San Diego Open Tournament this weekend.
The Lady Jaguars played well, earning two wins in the four games, including an outstanding 15–0 shutout against San Dieguito.
In that game, the Lady Jags took a 7–0 lead in the first quarter and didn’t look back, smothering the counterattack and rolling to the big win.
Maddy Daugherty had three goals, one assist, and three steals. Nikki Paredes had three goals. Makayla Markey had three goals. Dani Lettice had two goals, one assist, five steals, and three blocks. Carina Favela had one goal, three assists, two steals, and earned one exclusion. Nicole Marler had one goal, two assists, two steals, and earned one exclusion. Macy Morrison had one goal, and one steal. Kaylee Hudson had one goal, one assist, and one steal. Melissa Persichetti had 12 goal saves, four steals, and one assist.
Valley Center finished off the San Diego Open Tournament this weekend with one win in three games.
On Friday, the Lady Jaguars faced Granite Hills, and after falling behind early, suffered an 11–1 loss.
Granite Hills had a solid start, taking a 5–0 lead at half. The Lady Jags were able to put away one goal in the third, while allowing two, to trail 7–1 entering the fourth. Granite Hills scored four more while allowing none to put the game away.
“We were a little out of sync and could not generate any offense against a solid Granite Hills team,” said head coach Kyle Kline. “The girls played hard but could not match Granite who went on to take third in the tournament.”
Lettice had Valley Center’s only goal, while Paredes had five steals and Persichetti had a good game with nine saves and five steals.
The first game Saturday was against La Costa Canyon (LCC) and once again the Lady Jaguars couldn’t overcome an early deficit and lost, 12–8.
LCC came out strong in the first quarter to take a 3–2 lead. The Lady Jags had a slow second quarter and were unable to score, while allowing three more for LCC, to trail 6–2 at half.
The Lady Jags gained some momentum in the third by scoring five goals and allowing three to trail 9–7 going into the fourth. But LCC was able to put away three more goals while the Lady Jags could only earn one.
“This was a tough game and we had some defensive breakdowns with two starters fouling out,” Kline said.
Daugherty had a good game with five goals, one assist, two steals, and earned one exclusion. Favela had two goals, one assist. Elsie Emanuel had one goal. Persichetti had seven goal saves and one assist.
The final game of the tournament was against Scripps Ranch, in a rematch of an earlier tournament game that Valley Center lost by two goals. This time, the Lady Jaguars came out fired up, took an early lead and got a clutch goal late to take a 7–6 win.
The Lady Jags took a 2–1 lead in the first, then picked it up in the second by scoring three goals while allowing one to lead 5–2 at half.
Scripps Ranch was able to score two in the third while allowing one for the Lady Jags, giving Valley Center a 6–4 advantage heading into the fourth.
Scripps Ranch scored two goals in the fourth, but the Lady Jags were able to put one away to take the one-goal win.
“This was good for the girls to finish off with a hard earned win,” Kline said. “They did an awesome job at this tournament, earning three big wins against Santa Fe Christian, University City, and Scripps Ranch. They played some of their best polo yet, which will give them a huge boost heading into the end of league play and the playoffs.”
Daugherty had two goals, two assists, and one steal. Markey had two goals, one assist, and four steals. Favela had one goals, one assist, and one steal. Lettice had one goal, one assist, and one steal. Paredes had one goal, one assist, and one steal. Marler had three steals. Persichetti had 12 goal saves.
The Lady Jaguars play their final match of the regular season on Thursday at Del Norte at 3:45 p.m.

Big first quarter leads to big water polo win for Lady Jaguars

The Valley Center varsity girls water polo team played an outstanding game on offense and defense to come up with a big league win this week.
The Lady Jaguars took on Canyon Crest Academy on Thursday at Adams Park and after building a huge lead early on, put the game away for a 14–5 win.
The Lady Jags came out pumped for this game after defeating the Lady Ravens by only one goal in the last meeting.
The Lady Jags took a solid 7–0 lead in the first quarter. Valley Center was able to back that up with three more goals in the second, while keeping Canyon Crest scoreless to lead 10–0 at half.
Canyon Crest was able to put away three goals in the third while allowing two for the Lady Jaguars. But both teams were able to score two in the fourth, giving the Lady Jags the big win.
“The girls had an excellent first quarter that really set the tone for the game,” head coach Kyle Kline said. “We were able to convert on some counterattacks and some cross cage shots which were created from playing solid defense. Carina and Maddy had huge games as well as Nikki, and it was good to get some other girls scoring and having eight players involved in assists.”
Maddy Daugherty had five goals, four assists, seven steals, and earned one exclusion. Carina Favela had five goals, two assists. Nikki Paredes played well with two goals, two assists, two steals, and earned one exclusion. Makayla Markey had one goal, one assist, one steal, and earned one exclusion. Macy Morrison had one goal, one steal, and earned one exclusion. Dani Lettice had two assists, a huge block, and earned one exclusion. Nicole Marler had one assist, and two steals. Sarah Mitchell had three steals. Melissa Persichetti played well in the goal with seven goal saves.
Next up for the Lady Jags is a game against Orange Glen at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday at Adams Park.

Water polo league play opens with two wins for Lady Jaguars

The Valley Center varsity girls water polo team kicked off league play this week with a pair of dominating wins on the road.
The Lady Jaguars’ week started last Tuesday with a solid 13–1 win over Orange Glen. The Lady Jags had a great start taking a 7–0 lead in the first quarter. After slowing things down a bit, the Lady Jags put away three goals in the second to lead 10–0 at the half.
The Lady Patriots were able to put away one goal in the third, while allowing zero for the Lady Jags. But Valley Center was able to hold the Lady Patriots scoreless in the fourth, while putting away four goals to take the big win.
“This was a good start for the girls,” head coach Kyle Kline said. “We were able to work on defense and counterattacks.”
Captain Dani Lettice had three goals, one assist, and two steals. Fellow captain Carina Favela had three goals, one assist, five steals, and earned two exclusions. Maddy Daugherty had three goals, one steal. Makayla Markey had three goals, one assist. Nikki Paredes had one goal, two assists, two steals, and earned two exclusions. Macy Morrison had one assist and five steals. Captain and Goalie Melissa Persichetti had seven goal saves, three steals, and two assists.
The Lady Jaguars took on San Dieguito Academy Thursday at Adams Park, and after taking an early lead, went on to take a big 17–3 win.
The Lady Jags had another great start, taking a 7–1 lead in the first quarter. Valley Center held San Dieguito scoreless in the second, while putting away five more of their own, to lead 12–1 at the half. The Lady Jags slowed things down a bit, putting away five goals in the second half and allowing two more for San Dieguito to cruise the win.
“The girls played well and showed discipline against a young San Dieguito team,” Kline said. “We worked on some different plays on offense and defense with the emphasis on defense.”
Favela had three goals, two assists, one steal, and earned one exclusion. Daugherty had three goals, two assists, and two steals. Elsie Emanuel had three goals. Lettice had two goals, one assist, and two steals. Sarah Mitchell had a good game with two goals, four steals, and earned one exclusion. Nicole Marler had one goal and five steals. Kaylee Hudson had one goal, one assist, and two steals. Markey had one goal, one assist, and three steals. Maggie McGlynn had one goal. Persichetti had six goal saves, four assists, and one steal.
Valley Center is now 9–7 overall and 2–0 to start league play. On Thursday, the Lady Jags face Canyon Crest at Adams Park at 3:45 p.m. in what should be a good game after the Lady Jaguars were able to come away with a one-goal win in the teams’ first match-up this season.