Joseph Solimon ('13) looks to brings the ball down with an Oiler on his back.

With the academic semester drawing to a close on Friday, the Barons’ boys varsity soccer team took on the Huntington Beach Oilers last Friday, the 27th. The Barons were looking to put away the last place Oilers and keep their record pristine in the second half of season. The boys scored early in both halves and came away with a 2-0 victory to give the Barons momentum going into Edison next week.

With the cushion of the goal the Barons were more free to play their game and the Oilers known for their tenacity, were somewhat depleted in energy. Although the game proved to be a tough defensive battle all over the pitch, the Baron midfield and defense held strong and allowed no shots on goal during the first half.

Ethan Morrow ('12) stretches out to make a tackle against an Oiler defender.

Going into the second half still at 1-0 the Barons were much closer than they would like to be, “this team will not go away until you really put them under, we have to distance ourselves or else they stick around,” commented Smith at halftime. The Barons were able to achieve that goal early on in the half. After some offensive pressure by the Barons forced a corner kick, the cross from the set piece bobbled out to the top of the box. Garret Stiffler-Greasby (’13) pounced on the ball with a one-time shot that ricocheted off an Oiler defender and fooled the goalie who was diving the other way, as the ball bounced into the net.

With another early goal within the first 5 minutes of the half the Barons were again in a position to finish out the half with a small cushion, which had grown even larger. The game stayed more evenly played the rest of the half. Both sides saw chances but none were very threatening on either side. In the last 5 minutes the Barons withstood a more aggressive Oiler attack, but after some strong clearances and poor composure on HB’s part the Barons came away with a strong 2-0 victory.

Other results in Sunset did not help the Barons much, Marina made up for their stunning loss to HB last week with a 1-0 victory over Los Alamitos, and Edison is trying to make a last ditch effort to salvage their season beating Newport Harbour 2-1.

The Barons still sit atop the Sunset league, with the two lowest teams out of the way for the Barons, its all business now. With a remaining schedule of Edison away, Marina home, and Los Al away, the Barons will play 3 desperate and very competitive teams all looking to knock off FV. The road won’t be easy, but it never is for a Sunset League team.

The Barons next game is Wednesday the 1st at Edison, a true test for the Barons.

Ethan Morrow takes on the Marina Vikings defense.

After a strong 1-0 performance over Edison on Wednesday, the Barons fell victim to a lack of urgency and an organized Marina opponent with a 1-2 score. This was the second time the Barons had lost to the Vikings, and their coveted 1st place status in Sunset was degraded on Friday as was their unbeaten record in league play now at 3-1-0.

The Barons started off very well against the Vikings. The energy was high and in the first five minutes Wade Sias (’12) rocketed one from an outside angle inside the box, to the opposite side of the goal giving the Barons an early lead. After the early goal the Barons looked a little complacent, passes were not connecting and the defense seemed to be lackadaisical at times. The Barons were playing in an aggressive 3 forward formation, but throughout the game there was an inability to play the ball through to the top heavy offense. Only 10 minutes after the first goal Marina struck and tied the game 1-1. The Barons looked deflated after allowing the Vikings to tie up the game. The rest of the half saw a more defensive posture from the Barons and nothing was able to be created up top sending the game into the 2nd half all tied at 1-1.

Isaac Garcia races the Marina defense to the ball.

In the second half, the Barons once again switched to three forwards and tried to put some pressure on the Vikings. Early success brought some dangerous chances for the Barons in the beginning of the half, but to know avail. The majority of the half after, was contended closely, but without the Barons threatening a goal. With less than 15 minutes left in the game the Barons allowed a fatal second goal to Marina, off a long throw in play. Down 1-2 the Barons seemed to awaken and the rest of the half saw a desperate Baron team fight to win the game. Although the boys had the ball most of the rest of the way through they were unable to convert and Marina truly held out the Baron attack to finish a strong game. The final score a disappointing 1-2 for the Barons.

The season is nearing the half way mark and the Sunset League became very interesting after Friday’s games. Marina sits tied for first with Los Al; Edison is tied for fourth with Newport, and all alone is Fountain Valley third in the league. Next week though another shift in the league could occur. Fountain Valley could easily be back on top with a victory over Los Al and a Marina loss to Edison who will be looking to claw back in the standings. Coach Smith stressed the season was in no way over, “you can have one slip up each half of the season, but other than that it has to really be perfect.”

The Barons have had a great year thus far, but in High School soccer its your last game that counts not the last 15 or so, the biggest game of the season for the Barons is next Wednesday at home against a strong Los Al opponent.

Mathew Ellis overpowers an Oiler.

“Guts, grit, and determination,” that’s how Barons boys Varsity Soccer coach Jason Smith described the Barons 2nd straight league win of the season, against Huntington Beach, which put them atop Sunset league after the first week of play.

The Barons opened up the season at Newport Harbor High School under the stadium lights. A team they had already faced and beaten in the Marina tournament, the Barons knew what to expect and were confident coming into the game. From the start the Barons controlled the play of the game and had early attempts at goal. The first half saw many chances from the Barons, but they were unable to convert and the game stayed 0-0 into the 2nd half.

In the 2nd Newport Harbor came out stronger and tested the Barons with some early shots, yet the Baron defense held strong. Solid play through the middle and the back kept the pressure on from the Sailors; the rest of the game and after relentless chances the Barons finally converted in the final 10 minutes of the game off a battle in the box, with Eric Shearer (’12) finally putting the ball in the goal. The Barons then frantically battled in the back to seal the game. After some frightfully close calls in the final minutes of the game the Barons were relieved to have their first win of season. The Barons made the game closer than it could have been but in the end they came away with the 3 points by winning an important first game in the league.

On Friday the 6th, the Barons took on the Huntington Beach Oilers once again under the lights away from home. The Barons were forced to play the most intense game of the year and were caught off guard by the frantic passion and sporadic nature of the Oilers from the very start of the game. The Barons were rattled and it only took 15 minutes for the Oilers to score the first goal of the game after a ball bounced through the barons and was put away in the box.

The rest of the first half the Barons battled back and after pressure on the HB defense, the Oilers gave up a foul right outside the box. Ethan Morrow (’12) stepped up to the dead ball and rifled a shot that bounced off of an Oiler and fooled the goalie, and tied the game for the Barons. When the second half came around the Barons knew their opponent and matched the heart and intensity of the play. The story of the second half was the referee unfortunately. The center man gave out a total of 5 yellow cards two of them to Barons, Morrow and Garrett Stiffler-Greasby (’13), coach Jason Smith was not far from his own yellow card as well. The Barons were seemingly fighting against two teams the second half and could not overcome the stop and go play calling of the ref and the passionate Oilers to score a game winner.

The game went into a two 10 minute halves of over time, with the game tied at 1-1. Huntington Beach once again shocked the Barons and scored very early on after the OT kickoff. The sudden lead though gave the Oilers an overconfident feeling and the kickoff after the goal Joseph Solimon (’13) almost single-handedly dribbled the entire Oilers team and rocketed the ball into the goal off a near post shot to tie it 2-2 in OT. The Barons from this point had all the momentum of the game and pounded the Oilers with corners, shots, and all kinds of offensive pressure. Into the 2nd OT the Barons kept up the pressure and after chances trading back and fourth between the teams, the center ref called a penalty kick, from an Oiler handball in their 18-yard box. The ref that had been plaguing the Barons almost the entire game had given them the gift to take the win. Morrow, leading goal scorer for the Barons, stepped up to the dead ball again this time 12 yards from the goal and easily smacked it away for the game winner.

The Barons won their second game of the week and with some help from other Sunset League teams stepped atop the Sunset League with a 2-0-0 record and an overall record of 10-3-3. The Barons have an all-important third game this week on Wednesday against rival Edison, who has gone 0-0-2 early on and sits at the bottom of the league with Huntington Beach. The Barons have a chance to build some momentum in their season as they take on the other contenders for a league title in Edison, Marina, and Los Al and finish out the first half of league. So far the Barons have played very tight games, but that is expected in the Sunset League and every game will be a tight battle until the end or even beyond the end of regulation time.

Barons placed second in the Marina Tournament.

On a warm Thursday afternoon, the Fountain Valley Boys Varsity soccer team took on Marina high school in the finals of the Marina Holiday Classic. Playing their 5^th game in 3 days, the boys were sore and beat up in the final game. They would lose a very tight match 0-1 and take 2^nd place in the tournament that commenced the pre-season for the Barons.

The tournament commenced on Tuesday the 27^th and the Barons were in a group with two out of town teams Tustin and Whittier.  In the first game the Barons took on Tustin High School. After a slow first half which saw no goals from either team the Barons looked a little sluggish and put together a shaky half. However, in the 2^nd half the Barons sprung alive and annihilated Tustin putting away 4 goals in a short span of 15 minutes in the beginning of the half. Ethan Morrow (’12) took part in every goal scoring 2 and setting up two more, Joseph Solimon (’13) would put away the two others, and playmaker Isaac Garcia (’14) supplied the other two assists. With a very strong cushion and with Tustin taken aback the Barons finished off the game easily and came away with all 10 points in the tournaments 10 point system, the win, three goals, and the shutout, with a final score of 4-0.

In the next group game played, on the same day, the Barons took on another team they had never played, Whittier High School. Once again the Barons struggled in the first half of the game. After missing more than 3 goal-mouth opportunities toward the beginning of the game, Whittier victimized the Barons with a header off a corner kick before the half. After another below par first half the Barons came out strong again in the second. After battling hard the whole half and long stints of offensive pressure, the Barons finally were able to put one away in the last 5 minutes of the game. Garcia played a lofty cross from the left side which found Morrow at the far post for his third goal of the tournament. The goal tied the game 1-1, which would put the Barons through to the quarter finals.

Captain Ethan Morrow ('12) crosses the ball.

On Wednesday morning, the Barons took on Long Beach Poly in the quarters. The boys played a strong game overall but were unable to score early. The defense of the Barons played exceptionally well keeping the Barons alive while the goals ran thin, but toward the midde of the second half, Long Beach Poly netted the first of the game after getting behind the Baron defense. The Barons rallied back to the goal though, and within 5 minutes of the first goal answered back, with a goal from Joseph Soliman off a Kenji Louer(13′) throw in. Lorenger was the shooutout keeper for the Barons and was able to stop 2 pks giving the Barons 5^th kicker a chance to send the boys to the Semis. Matt Ellis (’14) stepped up to the dead ball and convincingly finished it off for the Barons 4-3 in PKs.

In little less than 2 hours after their first game of the day, the Barons took on Sunset league opponent Newport Harbor, who they would be facing exactly one week from then in a league opener.

“This is a chance to send a message to the league, and put a little doubt in their heart, come next week,” commented Coach Jason Smith.

With a league opponent on the field, the Barons stepped up to play their best game of the tournament thus far against a strong Newport team, but one that the Barons must put away both meetings in league to be in contention for first. The boys did just that and played a very strong game, dominating Newport all over the field. The Barons came away with a 1-0 victory at the end of the day, with Morrow scoring yet again in the second half off of a great defensive play by Derek Huynen (’13). The Barons moved on to the finals, to face yet another Sunset league team Marina.

Isaac Garcia ('14) swiftly overtakes a Marina player.

Marina High School had not won their own tournament in some time. In their coaches 10 year history with the team this was the first year they had even made it to the finals. The Barons were in their second tourney final of the year and second against a Sunset league team the last a win against Los Alamitos in the Irvine challenge.

Marina came out from the start very hard and perhaps caught the Barons off guard a bit, and after a few dangerous chances the Barons unfortunately let a loose ball in the box go to the Vikings for a goal, going down 0-1. The rest of the half the Barons applied most of the offensive pressure the boys were unable to convert any chances though, on a strong Marina defense. In the second half the Barons played very well and tried frantically to score. In the last 10 minutes of the game the Barons had an abundance of set pieces but were unable to convert on any of them. After a hard fought battle the Barons lost a very close 0-1 in the Marina final taking a second place seat to Marina.

Coach Jason Smith commented on the pre-season and Marina tournament, “The Marina Tournament has always been a tune up tournament, and I think the boys are ready for the Sunset league after a strong pre-season.”

Garcia, Solimon, and Morrow all received all-tournament honors in the Tournament after strong offensive play in the five games. The Barons look to start the Sunset league next week against Newport Harbor on January 4^th.

Earlier in their season, Varsity Baseball was invited by the Sunset League to CIF Playoffs. Their first opponent, St. John Bosco High School, was considered one of the strongest teams in the league.

However, on their first CIF Playoff game, our Baron\’s Baseball team easily defeated St. John Bosco with a score of 4 – 1. Initially, the Barons were down 0 – 1. It wasn\’t until the 5th and 6th innings that our baseball team rallied to sweep the St. John Bosco Braves.

Ending strong in their first game, the Barons went on to take on Simi Valley High School. Our team however was not as successful, losing to the Pioneers 17 – 10. Early in the game, the Barons were leading by 7 runs until Simi Valley made a comeback and took the lead. From there, the two teams traded off until finally, Simi Valley overtook the Barons significantly.

“This season was one of the best in 8 years. We\’ve made a pretty big come around in comparison to last year. Either way, we would have liked to go even farther but we got cut short,” said outfielder, Charlie Stephens (\’11).

Overall, the Barons played a phenomenal season with 16 wins and 12 losses. Next year, Coach LaRuffa and the 2011-2012 team hope to advance even farther into the Baseball Sunset League.

Yesterday, April 28, the Barons track and field teams traveled to Goldenwest College to compete against Marina, their final meet of the season before league finals.

By the end of the day, our Barons would make a remarkable finish. Boy\’s Varsity crushed Marina. The Baron\’s final league meet was the last step in their campaign for perfection, giving them a record of 5-0.

“This is the best way to end off my senior year with an undefeated season and a spot in CIFs,” says Hassan Ilyas (\’11)

The Boy\’s and Girl\’s Frosh/Soph team also ended victorious, completely dominating Marina, whose efforts were simply marginalized by the Barons unrelenting stride. They too finished with a perfect record of 5-0.

Girl\’s Varsity, as hard as they fought, were unable to dislodge Marina, giving them their first loss of the season. Regardless of a now 4-1 record in league, the Barons still have a chance to compete and win in league championships next week.

Proud of their accomplishments thus far, Coach Bivens had optimistic words for the team. “It will be great if the girls win next week so we can bring it all together,” spoke Bivens.

“We all practiced hard and the energy and effort we put into the meets helped us gain more strength to do better which is our advantage over the other high schools,” states Ilyas.

With the exception of Girl\’s Varsity, the Barons have swept all other high schools which include Edison, Los Alamitos, Marina, Huntington Beach, and Newport Harbor, putting the Barons on top as they continue to League and CIF finals toward the end of their season.

Surely, the Barons will continue to perform excellently, raising the bar that they have continued to raise every season.

On Wednesday, September 30th, the Baron’s Cross Country  team ran in their first Sunset league meet at Central Park, Huntington Beach. Though it was only prelims, this meet was important to show off how the teams will be racing the rest of the season and what to expect at finals.

The Central Park course is a slow one, with a startline on grass and a huge dirt hill. Many runners found it difficult to perform well on this course. Sophomore, Marissa Nickels said, “Central Park is a downtempo course, and I’m not pleased with my time. I was 37 seconds from getting twenty bucks!”

“The Varsity raced just like I expected. We were one point from third place and one point from placing fifth as well, on the boys side. We have our sights set on League Finals with high hopes,” says boy’s head coach Dyson.

The Boy’s varsity placed fourth out of six sunset league teams, while the Girl’s varsity placed fifth. Only two years ago, the Barons were sweeping first place rankings on every level.  ”We Barons will peak late,” says girl’s head coach, Bivens. Coach Bivens relates that FV distance runners will drop their mileage heavily toward Sunset League Finals, so that times improve drastically, and suprise their opponents.

Some outstanding runners were juniors Luis Morales, and Catherine Martinez, along with sophomores Jordan Millington and Marissa Nickels.

Both the Boys and Girl’s teams raced with pride, passion, and heart, even if it wasn’t shown in the standings.

Girls water polo had an easy win this year against league-mate Esperanza but a close loss to Huntington. Had the league been as it will be next year, they may not have made it to CIF playoffs.

For the past five years, FVHS athletes have considered their games against Esperanza, Edison, Newport Harbor, Marina, and Los Alamitos highly anticipated league events. League games usually draw the largest crowds and are prepared with the most intensity.   

However, five years ago, the athletes considered Huntington Beach High School a key part of their league and Newport Harbor a faraway member of the South Coast League. 

Every so often, the CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) determines a need or desire for change, and the leagues go through a “releaguing” process – a shuffling of teams in the various leagues. The leagues consisted of the same teams for the last five years, but this year the releaguing process is happening again.  

The CIF governs all California high school sports. It is broken into different sections and a number of different divisions, the higher the division, the harder the competition. These divisions are then divided into leagues, each league consisting of anywhere from five to ten teams. 

For many years, FV has been a part of the elite Sunset League. However, the teams accompanying us have changed a number of times. For the most part, the leagues are based on location, which is why Edison, Marina, and Fountain Valley have always been tied together.   

In the last releaguing process, Huntington Beach was replaced by Newport Harbor. This was mainly due to Huntington Beach\’s developing football team. This year, after a trial run in a division II league, Huntington decided it would be in the best interests of their other teams to return to the Division I Sunset League. 

“I\’m excited to see what Huntington will bring back to the Sunset League, especially for aquatics,” says swimmer Erika Lucas (‘10). 

But with Huntington excited about returning, Esperanza has put in a bid to get out. Esperanza will no longer be in the Sunset League as of next year. Instead, they will be moved to the Century League. Many believe this is due to Esperanza\’s frustration with the extended traveling time to their opponents\’ schools in the Sunset League.  

Other big league news includes the creation of a ten team South Coast Conference, and a Pacific Coast league which includes all five of the Irvine schools along with Corona del Mar.  

It will definitely be interesting to see how the league shuffling affects Fountain Valley\’s sports teams next year, and CIF as a whole.

On Wednesday, April 22, the Esperanza Aztecs outran the Fountain Valley Barons Track Team.

Varsity members Carmille Garcia (‘11) and Lauren Erickson (‘09) battled Esperanza\’s infamous Teeny Adams, one of Sunset League\’s fastest runners, in some of the longest races. Garcia placed fourth, running a 5:34 mile, with the first three places taken by the Aztecs.

However, Marissa Nickels (‘12) won first place in her level, setting a personal record of 5:47 in the mile, and Madyson Ward (‘11) won by a landslide, with a 2:35 half mile.

Collin Niselman (‘10) and Joel Gilbert (‘10) also surprised their team in their half mile races, achieving times of 2:10 and 2:03 respectively claiming first and third place wins in each level.

The girls\’ distance coach Jenny Sears demonstrated her support and belief in her runners when she said, “They competed really hard and showed a lot of heart. We also set many personal records.”

Unfortunately, the sprinters didn\’t fare quite as well. For them, the meet began with a disqualification due to a dropped baton in the 4×100 boy\’s JV race. The boy\’s Varsity 4×100, which usually dominates, ended with defeat.

Fortunately, the girl\’s lower level 4×100 races claimed victories for FVHS. Krissy Knowles (‘09) won the 100-meter dash in a quick 13 seconds and also came in first in the 100-meter hurdles race. Paige Grigus (‘11) also stood out with a lower level 100-meter hurdles win.

The jumpers were some of the biggest contributors to the Barons\’ points with a dominating 9-0 pole vaulting score. Jeff Tran (‘09) and Josh Alvaro(‘10) displayed their pole-vaulting skills with impressive 11-foot vaults.

Runner Stefanie Delgado (‘11) expressed her high spirits and determination, saying, “We are a much better team than what was displayed today. We will surely beat Esperanza in Sunset League Prelims!”

By Rachel McMillen Sports editor

This was all due to Edison\’s loss to Esperanza at about 9:30 p.m. If Edison had won, they would have taken sole possession of the Sunset League Title. However, because they lost, their record was brought down to 3-2, the same as Los Al, Esperanza, Newport Harbor, and us.

The title, therefore, will go to all five teams.

Also, because of their loss and this five-way tie, names were drawn from a hat to determine who would be going to the playoffs and in which seeded spots. If Edison had won, they won have taken the number one seed, we would have taken the number two seed, and Newport Harbor would have taken the number three seed.

Only three teams from each league are guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. Your seed determines the team you play first. Teams seeded first will play easier teams seeded third. Teams seeded second will play other teams seeded second.

Going into the Edison Esperanza game, Fountain Valley was actually hoping for an Edison win. Though this would have kept us from being named champs, we would have had a definite spot in the playoffs.

However, despite not getting our wish, we ended up better off. The coaches met directly after the game at Edison high school (the most central location) to draw for the seeded spots. Esperanza drew the number one spot, we drew the number two spot, and Los Al drew the number three spot.

Note you did not hear me mention Edison drawing any one of the top three seeds. That is because, due to karma I would like to believe, Edison did not get into the playoffs!

We are going in the same seed we would have been in if they had won, but we now get to share the Sunset League Title and have the satisfaction of knowing that, while they have the bell, Edison has officially ended their season and has no chance of becoming CIF Champions.

Lady Luck was definitely looking down on the Barons tonight and the rest of Orange County should be afraid. Next week the Barons are returning with a newly recovered quarterback, a new school record, and a lot of vengeance. They aren\’t going to leave anything to chance anymore.

This article is part of Baron Banner Now, a continuously up to date page on the Baron Banner Online. Editing takes place as the action occurs.