The Athletics Minute is a recap of the prior week’s action in Lancer varsity sports.
Athlete Profiles
Throughout each season, one athlete from each sport is selected as a profile athlete. This week’s profile features hockey senior Kyle Isenberg.
Watch Kyle in “The Walk” by clicking HERE.
Read more about Kyle by clicking HERE.
Girls Basketball
The girls basketball team dominated from the opening tip en route to an 85-42 win over Foothill in round 1 of the CIF-SS Division 2AA playoffs.
OLu extended the lead at every turn. The Lancers led by nine after the first, 15 at the half, 26 at the end of 3, and eventually won by 43.
Sophomore Sheridan Kennedy had 15 points while freshman Kelly Garrity had 14. Madi Bogan chipped in 11 while Taliyah McFerson had 10.
Coming off the 40 point win in the opening round of the CIF-SS playoffs, the #1 seeded Lancers were back on their home court for their second-round matchup against Chaparral on Wednesday night.
Much like Saturday, the Lancers didn’t waste any time jumping all over their opponent. OLu led by 11 after the first quarter and never looked back, extending their lead every quarter. The Lancers used a balanced scoring attack led by Sheridan Kennedy, who poured in 12 points. Ashari Cassell and Ke Beirne each had 8.
The win sends the Lancers into the quarterfinals of the Divison 2AA bracket. They will meet a familiar foe, Woodbridge, whom they beat by 25 earlier this season. Tip-off is set for 7 pm at Woodbridge on Saturday, February 19.
To see the full CIF bracket click HERE.
Girls Soccer
The Orange Lutheran girls soccer team won in dramatic fashion over Marymount 2-1 in golden goal overtime to advance to the 2nd round of the CIF-SS playoffs on Friday afternoon.
The Lancers were deadlocked at 0-0 after the first half. In the 43rd minute, Grace Thao ripped home a shot into the right corner to give the Lancers the lead. Marymount scored the equalizer 4 minutes later, and the game remained tied at the end of regulation.
In the 2nd minute of the first 10-minute sudden-death overtime, Isabella Barrett tapped home the game-winning goal off a stellar cross-field pass by Morgan Goehring to send the Lancers into the 2nd round, where they would meet Oxnard on Wednesday night.
The Lancers entered the 2nd round matchup coming off that emotional overtime win last week against Marymount. Bella Barrett, who scored the game-winner last week, opened the scoring a little over halfway through the 1st half to give OLu the crucial first goal. Tessa Bloom then doubled the lead early in the 2nd to make it 2-0. That would be all the Lancers needed as Amaya Assal kept the clean sheet. OLu beat Oxnard 2-0.
OLu is into the CIF-SS Quarterfinals for the first time since 2011-12 and only the second time in 16 years.
The Lancers will host Redondo Union in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 5 pm on the field.
To see the full CIF bracket click HERE.
Girls Water Polo
On a windy, cold night at Woollett Aquatics Center, the Lancers took on defending CIF-SS champion Laguna Beach in the CIF-SS Semifinals. The last time the Lancers made an appearance in the semifinal was in 2019.
Laguna started strong, notching a 3-0 lead after the 1st quarter. Samantha Kim got OLu on the board in the second, but the Lancers trailed 5-1 after the 2nd. Laguna would continue to extend the lead in the 2nd half and knocked off the Lancers 10-3. Sofia Umeda and Caitlyn Cohen were the other goal scorers for OLu.
The loss ended the Lancers run in the CIF-SS playoffs, but they will still play in the CIF State Regionals starting on February 22. The draw to decide who they will play is on Sunday, February 20.
Boys Basketball
The boys basketball team fell in the opening round of the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs to Westlake 66-61 last Friday. OLu finished the season with a 15-12 overall record.
Wrestling
The tremendous season for the OLu wrestling team continued last weekend. In the CIF-SS Regionals at Carter HS, the Lancers had three members advance to the Masters Meet while seven placed.
Dustin Serizawa finished 2nd at 126lbs. Dominic Lobo was 4th at 145lbs, and Lance Dunwoody was 5th at 152lbs. All three are off the Masters Meet next week at Sonora HS.
Peter Thompson (8th), Edward Irwin (7th), Joseph Dervartanian (7th), and Jared Whitney (8th) each placed in the regional but will not advance.
As a team, the Lancers finished 6th out of 57 teams.
The CIF Masters meet is set for Friday, February 18, and Saturday, February 19, at Sonora High School.
Hockey
The OLu hockey team finished the regular season 15-3 after a convincing 4-1 win over Fairmont Prep last Friday. The Lancers will now gear up for the CAHA State Playoffs, which will be held on the weekend of February 25. The opening game will be on Friday, February 25 at 11:30 vs. Tahoe Prep at Anaheim Ice.
Baseball
The Lancers entered the season ranked #1 in the country by Perfect Game USA. They backed up that ranking with three straight wins to open the season.
In game one of the PBR Preseason Invitational last Saturday, OLu beat Gahr 2-1. Sawyer Voortman singled in the bottom of the 6 to give the Lancers the lead for good. Evan Miranda pitched 2.1 innings in relief and struck out 6.
Game two was against Ayala on Wednesday night. Ben Reiland’s grounder to 3rd base in the bottom of the 7th was bobbled, scoring the game-winning run as the OLu won 4-3. Gabe Miranda homered in the victory.
Game three of the tournament featured the Lancers against Huntington Beach on Thursday night. Mikey Romero broke the game open in the 6th when he smacked a three-run triple to extend the Lancers lead to 5-0. Oliver Santos and Louis Rodriguez were tremendous on the mound combining for a four-hit shutout and striking out 16 batters.
The Lancers will play on Monday in the championship game at Hart Park.
Softball
Last Saturday, the Lancers softball team opened the 2022 season at the Savannah Showcase with games against Esperanza and Gahr.
In the opener, the Lancers defeated fellow top 10 team Esperanza 3-1. Brianne Weiss struck out 12 batters, and Kiki Estrada went 1-3 with an RBI in the victory. The win secured head coach Steve Miklos’s 500th victory. You can read more about that HERE.
In the second game of the day, the Lancers beat Gahr 4-1. Estrada picked up her first career pitching win, and Weiss got the save. Amelia Avila, Mak Motis, and Jordyn Villaneuva had an RBI in the win.
The girls are back on the diamond for two more Savannah Showcase games at home at 8 am and 1 pm on Saturday.
Girls Lacrosse
The girls lacrosse team opened the season victorious 14-4 over University on Tuesday. The win marks the first time the Lancers have won their opening game in program history. Seven different Lancers scored in the win.
Boys Tennis
On Thursday, the boys tennis team won their opener 13-5 over Brea Olinda. They continue the season with a match against El Dorado on Tuesday, February 22.
Girls Beach Volleyball
On Tuesday, February 15, the girls beach volleyball team had their first match in school history against Newport Harbor. It was a windy and cold day at Grant St. in Newport Beach as the Lancers competed in varsity and JV. The girls ultimately fell four games to 1 on the varsity side and three games to 2 on the JV side. The girls were supported by several classmates, staff of OLu, and their families.
Social Media
Follow Lancer Athletics all season long on social media:
Twitter: @OLu_Athletics
Instagram: @olu_athletics
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oluathletics