Sports
La Mirada Soccer Girls Star in Tournaments
La Mirada~This year, the La Mirada Soccer Association had three La Mirada teams compete in the District Commissioners Cup. All three made it to the quarter finals, two teams made it to the finals and the La Mirada Blues won the Championship Game in Orange for the Fall 2011/2012 season.
La Mirada went 32 GF (goals for) and 2 GA (goals against), in the first round, 4 GF and 2 GA in the quarter finals and 5 GF and 2 GA in the semi finals.
Out of all the La Mirada GU10 (girls under 10) teams that competed this season, they selected one player from each team to fill out the LMSA GU10 All-Star team. This team competed against JUSA, OJSC, Canyon, Anaheim, FRYSC and surrounding recreational soccer clubs to win the all-star Championships Tournament. They had 15 goals scored, and did not allow any goals during the tournament.
The La Mirada Xtreme competed in the JUSA spring season, finishing 5-1-2 , and they made the playoffs. They went 3-0 in the playoffs, avenging an earlier tie against West Covina, and won the Championship with a 3-1 victory over the OJSC Orange United team. During the playoffs they went 14 GF and 1 GA.
What an outstanding season for these young girls. Congratulations La Mirada Xtreme -Caitlyn, Katy, Valerie, Amanda, Nicole, Jessica, Julisa, Trinity, Megan, Maddy, Team Captain's Sabrina & Pam and our goalie Jazzy .
Lady Matadores Draw Home Game
La Mirada~The La Mirada High School softball team are looking to take advantage of home cooking when they were lucky enough to get a home game for their next playoff contest.
The Lady Mats advanced the CIF Division 2 playoffs after beating Beckman last week 7-0, and will play at home in the second round Tuesday May 22nd, as they host Los Altos High. Game time is 3:15.
La Mirada (21-7) is currently riding a five-game win streak and have won 9 of the past 11 games. They also finished the Suburban League undefeated at 12-0.
Matadore Boys Bow Out of CIF; Girls Play Thursday
UPDATE: The softball team beat Beckman, 7-0 Thursday to advance to the second round. They will play Los Altos Tuesday, May 22nd at La Mirada High beginning at 3:15 p.m.
La Mirada~The La Mirada High baseball season came to an end this afternoon, losing to Damien High, 5-2 in a wild-card game of the CIF Division 2 playoffs.
Also, in Division 2 action, the La Mirada softball team (12-0 in league) will take on Beckman (Irvine) Thursday, May 17th at La Mirada High beginning at 3:15
La Mirada Girls Claim Suburban Title
UPDATE: The team also won the regular season finale on Thursday May 10th vs. Cerritos at La Mirada, 5-4, again in extra innings, to finish the Suburban League campaign undefeated at 12-0. The Lady Mats finished 21-7 overall. They await their first round opponent in the CIF-SS playoffs which will be announced at 12:30 PM PT on Monday, May 14th at www.cifss.org.
From The La Mirada Lamplighter!
La Mirada~When La Mirada softball head coach Richard Trujillo scouted Cerritos for the first time this season on Apr. 27 against Norwalk, he hinted that he could have a secret weapon when his Matadores played Cerritos. Trujillo stuck to his word as La Mirada paid a visit to Cerritos this past Tuesday with the Suburban League championship at stake.
That secret weapon was freshman pitcher Valer
ie Alvarado and she was just as hot as the weather was on this early May Southern California day. Alvarado pitched eight and two-thirds innings and struck out 16 of the 34 batters she faced as the Matadores snuck past Cerritos 3-1 in 11 innings. After watching Cerritos and Mayfair share the league title last season, the Matadores reclaimed what had been theirs outright from 2001-2008. La Mirada, the eighth ranked team in the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section Division II poll, improved to 20-7 overall and 11-0 in the league.
Trujillo replaced senior Ambar Hickman with Alvarado with one out in the bottom of third following a walk to sophomore designated player Lilianna Herrera. Alvarado would strike out two of the three batters she faced in the frame as well as two in each of the next three innings. She fanned three in the seventh and eighth innings and never allowed a Cerritos runner to reach third base during her time in the circle.
"Whether you see her or not, she's effective," Trujillo said. "And that makes Ambar that much more effective. We still haven't counted [senior] Jenevie Rivas out but when they're not touching Val, why change?"
La Mirada Baseball Begins League Play With Big Win
La Mirada~The La Mirada high school baseball team began its defense of the Suburban League title yesterday by beating the Bellflower Bucaneers 7-0, behind a strong pitching performance from Ali Anthony and assists from a shaky Bucaneers defense.
La Mirada shared the title with Mayfair last season, with both teams finishing 10-2. The Matadores have won 12 of the last 13 league crowns.
As in recent years, the Matadores this season have battled a tough pre-league schedule, so they entered league play with a losing record.
After getting out of a couple of jams early, Anthony settled down and pitched a complete-game shutout. He gave up just 3 hits, allowed three walks, and had four strikeouts-two looking. He also hit two batters.
Anthony also starred at the plate going 3-4 and driving in 2 runs.
The game got off to a precarious start when Anthony gave up a leadoff single to Brandon Polizzi in the first inning. A stolen base and fielder's choice followed, and the Bucs had a runner on third with one man out. Then, Bellflower's Victor Zepeda hit a sharp ground ball to La Mirada shortstop Austin Rojo who recorded the out with a nice play of knocking down the ball and holding the runner. Ali struck out the next batter to end the inning.
In the third inning, Ali this time gave up a leadoff triple, again to Polizzi. He responded by retiring three straight batters, one on a called third strike. In the bottom of the frame, Ali drove in a run with a single, and the Mats went up 2-0 after scoring in the previous inning.
Matadore Boys Head North; Girls Soccer Will Host Playoff Opener
La Mirada~The CIF-Southern Section basketball playoff match-ups were announced yesterday, with both the boys and girls teams of La Mirada High School playing on the road in the first round.
The Lady Mats, (13-12, 6-6), under second-year coach Nicole Hyde, will play at No. 10 seed Wilson High School (Hacienda Heights) Thursday in a Division 3AA first-round contest beginning at 7 p.m.
Junior Lexi Vanzuillen (avg.13 pts. a game), and senior Kalena Glover (11), lead the Matadores who enter the playoffs as a Suburban League at-large entry.
They will face a tough opponent in Wilson (20-6, 10-2), who finished second in the Valle Vista League and are riding a four-game win streak.
The boys will have a more scenic route, heading 200 miles up US-101 to Arroyo Grande High School, which is a couple of blocks from Pismo State Beach and just south of San Luis Obispo.
The Matadores (17-11, 8-4), bring a modest two-game winning streak along for the ride, finishing as the Suburban League third place team.
Led by first-year head coach Bryce Jones, the Matadores will face a very tough Arroyo Grande squad. The Eagles (18-8, 11-1), finished first in the Pac-7 League. Start time for the Division 3AAA game is 7 p.m.
You can follow both games on our Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/lamiradablog.
In Girls Soccer, the playoff brackets were announced today. The Matadores, one of the premier teams in the area, finished in first place in the Suburban League and will host the Division 3 post-season opener Friday against Cypress, a very familiar foe from years gone by. Game time is 3 p.m. at La Mirada High School
Matadores Girls Basketball Has Its Eye on Playoffs
Recent News in La Mirada High Sports
Girls Soccer won at Mayfair, their perennial nemesis, by a score of 3-1 this past Monday for the second year in a row. The win puts the Matadores in position to win their second consecutive Suburban League crown.
Ileen Mejia scored two goals as the Mats (14-6-3, 7-1-0) begin looking towards the CIF playoffs.
In boys basketball, the Matadores (14-10, 5-3) lost to archrival Mayfair 67-50, however the playoff-bound Mats put up a fight against a Monsoon (18-5, 9-0) squad that is very tough.
In girls basketball, this past Friday night against Artesia, the Lady Mats were down by nine with 3 minutes left in the game. With: 15 left in the game they hit a three-pointer to send the game to OT, however they ended up bowing, 51-47.
This past Monday night, The Lady Matadores were down by only two at the half, 24-22, on the road against the Mayfair Monsoons, but ended up losing 55-46.
Alyssa Acuna led the Mats with 17 points.
The Mats (11-9, 4-3) are looking to make the playoffs for the first time under second year coach Nicole Hyde. There could be a showdown with Cerritos on February 10th for the final playoff spot, but a lot remains to be seen.
Splash! to Host Major Swimming Competitions in February
La Mirada~Come out and see some outstanding talent take to the pool in the next few weeks as Splash! La Mirada Regional Aquatics Center will be the site of a number of top aquatic competitions.
First off, the 2012 Younger Junior Olympic Championships will be held February 3rd-5th. This Championship meet will feature some of the fastest 12 and under swimmers in Southern California and Nevada.
These swimmers will make a splash in La Mirada's state of the art swimming facility with dreams of the 2016 Olympics and beyond. Prelims will start at 9 a.m. each day, with finals being held in the early afternoon, admission is free.
Biola Competes in PCSD Championships
The Pacific Collegiate Swimming and Diving Championships will take to the water and the boards February 8th-11th, featuring teams from all divisions of the NCAA and the NAIA including La Mirada's own Biola University.
The exciting collegiate competition will include both swimming and diving. Prelims will begin around 9 a.m. each day and finals will start around 3 p.m. Admission is $10 for each session or an all session pass can be purchased at the gate for $50.
On Sunday, February 12 Splash! will switch gears from swimming to water polo to host one of the largest and most prestigious age-group water polo tournaments anywhere, when Winterfest '12 takes to the pool.
For more information on these or other competitions, visit the Splash! web site at Splashlamirada.com or contact Splash! at (562) 902-3191
Matadores Let One Slip Away in Final Pre-League Tune-Up
Taelin Webb, transfer from Riverside scores half of his teams points; Mayfair tonight at home
La Habra~In a game of spurts, the La Mirada boys basketball team lost Tuesday night 52-50, in a final non-league game against Sonora.
The Raiders of Sonora, coached by Mike Murphy and who play in the Freeway League, got off to a quick start, going up 13-5 at the 1:50 mark of the first quarter. La Mirada's Samy Alarcon hit a driving layup as time ran out in the first cutting the lead to 13-7.
At the 5:20 mark of the second, with Sonora up 17-12, momentum seemed to switch to the Mats (9-7), after a spectacular blocked shot by Taelin Webb-going up high above the rim. But, Sonora (8-9), hit a three-pointer at the 4:40 mark, and tied their largest lead of the game, going up 20-12.
La Mirada, led by first-year coach and La Mirada graduate, Bryce Jones went on a 11-4 run to end the half, led by Webb and Jarrett Davis who took a key charge in the lane with 46.9 seconds left and then scored at the other end, sending the Mats into halftime trailing by only one point, 24-23.
It didnt take the Mats long into the first half to take their first lead of the game at 25-24 when Webb scored two of his game-high 25 points at 7:32. The two teams then traded baskets and the game was tied at 31 with 4:25 left in the third. Davis' inspirational play again propelled the Mats when he tied up a Raider in a tussle, creating a jump ball situation, with the possession arrow favoring the Mats.
La Mirada High Basketball Competing in Tournaments
La Mirada~The La Mirada High School boys basketball team lost earlier today to Walnut 49-45 at the Nogales High School Tournament.
In the first game of the tourney Monday, the Matadores lost to Don Lugo (Chino) 65-59. Yesterday, the Mats (8-7), beat El Rancho (Pico Rivera), 55-45.
The Matadores (8-7) play Bassett High tomorrow at noon in their final game of the tournament.
Then, the final pre-league tune-up will take place for the boys, with a January 3rd matchup against Sonora (La Habra) on the road at 7:30 p.m.
League play begins for the Mats, and first-year head coach Bryce Jones the following night with a home game against Mayfair beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Girls action in the Gahr Tournament: After losing to Gardena, 49-36 in the opening round, the Matadores rebounded against New Millinium today with a victory, 40-34. Kalena Glover had 19 points and 9 rebounds, and Lexi Van Zuillen had 13 and 13.
The Matadores (6-4), lead by second-year boss Nicole McCarthy, will play their final game in the tourney Thursday at noon against Long Beach Jordan.
The girls will play a final tune-up before league play begins against La Serna on January 3rd starting at 3 p.m.
League play begins against Mayfair the following day, January 4th, before the boys, at 5 p.m.
Recent posts
News and Happenings Around Town April 2024
Editorial-La Mirada has Responsive City Government
News and Happenings Around Town March 2024
