Sports Briefs
Compiled by Robert Haugh & Melissa McKenzie

Chargers Conclude Season with Win Over Saratoga; Earn CCS At-Large Playoff Berth. Despite a lackluster season, the Chargers qualified for CCS Division I playoffs based on strength of schedule, having played many of the CCS’ top teams in one of the toughest divisions (SCVAL De Anza) in the CCS.

The Chargers (3-5-2, 2-3-2) needed a win over Saratoga on November 11 at Fitzpatrick Field, and they got it, in a hard-fought 7-0 triumph over the Falcons (2-8, 1-6).
Marred by penalty flags on the cold, windy and often rainy evening game, the Chargers held off the Falcons in a sloppy game. Senior QB Andrew Aguilar connected with Ryan Garcia on a 21-yard TD in the second quarter, the lone score of the game. Senior Robert Cueno connected on the PAT. Aguilar was 10-for-14 for 167 yards.

The Chargers’ Defense held strong to the end, as the Falcons came up with an INT and marched down the field, but once reaching the Chargers’ 3-yard-line, the Chargers’ Defense took control, keeping the Falcons from punching it in, with the Falcons turning the ball over on downs. The Falcons had one more opportunity with just over a minute remaining, but Senior Kevin Fletcher recorded a critical sack to stall the Falcons’ hopes of tying the game. The Chargers amassed five sacks, two by Fletcher, two by Senior Tre St. Amant and one by Senior Tala Brown. Junior Sefa Mikaio blocked a Field Goal attempt.

The Chargers earned the No. 8 seed in the CCS Division I playoffs and will play at No. 1 seed Serra (8-2) on Saturday, November 19. Serra claimed second in the WCAL, likely the strongest league in the CCS. Serra rolled over the Chargers 52-6 earlier this year in non-league play, that saw the Padres amass 335 yards rushing. The Padres are averaging over 350 yards per game rushing. The Chargers are going to need a huge Defensive game if they want to advance in CCS playoffs and upset No. 1 seed Serra. The Chargers will be looking for Junior Corbin Jackson (87 tackles, 2 INT), Senior Mosa Likio (77 tackles, 5 sacks), Brown (68 tackles, 6 sacks) and Sophomore Sione Finefeviaki (65 tackles, 2 INT) and the rest of the Defense to step up and play flawlessly, stopping the run, as Serra leads the CCS in rushing. The Chargers have 25 sacks on the year.

Chargers’ JV Football Team Has Perfect Season. The Wilcox Chargers’ Junior Varsity football team concluded their season on November 11 with a 23-20 win over the Saratoga Falcons, improving their record to 9-0.

On the season, the Chargers JV team compiled 265 points to only 81 points allowed.
Besides the win over Saratoga, the Chargers defeated Terra Nova 26-6, Santa Clara 28-0, Los Gatos 21-14, Palo Alto 20-7, Milpitas 38-7, Los Altos 34-7, Homestead 34-6 and Mountain View 41-14.

Bruins Set as No. 7 Seed in CCS Division I Playoffs. The Santa Clara Bruins (8-2) will play at No. 2 Menlo Atherton (7-3) on Friday, November 18 in the opening round of CCS Division I playoffs. The Bears were second in the Peninsula Bay division, compiling 254 points and allowed 168 points.

The Bears have two key weapons on offense and have a strong Defense.
The Bruins and Bears match up equally in a number of offensive and defensive categories.

Bruins’ JV Football Team Has Nearly Perfect Season. The Bruins (6-2-1) Junior Varsity football team had a stellar season, outscoring their opponents 249 to 110, including two shutout wins.

The Bruins won games over Los Altos 34-0, Del Mar 48-0, Cupertino 33-6, Harker 51-22, Gunn 35-6 and Lynbrook 34-14. The Bruins tied Fremont 7-7 and fell to Wilcox 28-0 and Monta Vista 27-7.

Bronco Men’s Soccer Ends Season with Two Wins. The Broncos ended the season with 1-0 victories over Gonzaga and Portland. Junior Erik Hurtado scored in the 56th minute to give the Broncos a win over Gonzaga on November 11. Senior Mykell Bates scored with 10 minutes left against Portland, and it appeared as if the Broncos would capture the program’s 12th West Coast Conference title, however, St. Mary’s ended up coming up victorious and finished one point ahead of SCU in the final standings.

Santa Clara University Women’s Soccer Loses to Cal in NCAA Tournament’s First Round. Sophomore Cali Reis equalized a late first half goal by Cal in the 57th minute to put the Broncos even at the end of regulation. After two overtime periods the game went to penalty kicks. Cal was able to get the ball past senior goalkeeper Bianca Henninger one more time (4-3) than SCU was able to beat Cal’s Emily Kruger. Cal advanced to the second round.

Bruins Girls Water Polo Team Eliminated from CCS Playoffs After Championship Season. The five goals scored by No. 6 seed Pioneer (16-7) in the first period of November 5 CCS Division I playoff bout was all Pioneer needed to take the win. The Bruins fought hard, but eventually succumbed in an 11-4 loss in Los Gatos. Junior Emily White scored two goals for the Bruins while Junior Danielle Strauss and Senior Jessi Boyd each added a goal.

Chargers and Bruins Represent Santa Clara at CCS Cross County Championships. The Wilcox Chargers Boys Cross Country team placed ninth overall in CCS Division I championships held at Crystal Springs in Belmont on November 12. Junior Justin Tucker placed 15th overall with a time of 15:53, with Sophomore Jesus Covarrubias placing 17th at 16:00. The Chargers’ Girls team placed eighth as a team, led by Senior Lalida Maokhamphiou who placed fourth with an 18:31 mark, advancing to the CIF State championships. Bruins Senior Regan Dyer placed 15th at 19:32.

Bronco Men’s Basketball Opens Season with 80-48 Win Over UC Merced. Junior Kevin Foster lead the team with five of the teams 14 threes. Foster scored 17 points and had six assists. Sophomore Evan Roquemore scored 16. As a team, SCU shot 44.8%, collected 56 rebounds, and had 19 assists, six blocks and seven steals. The Broncos next play at UC Santa Barbara before returning home Saturday, November 19 for a home match against San Jose State. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.

Bronco Women’s Basketball Opens Season with 93-87 Win over CSU Bakersfield, 83-71 Loss to Fresno State. Junior Meagan Fulps set an all-time school record for free throws made (17) and matched her career-high by scoring 30 points in the win over CSU Bakersfield. Against Fresno State, senior Alyssa Shoji scored a team-high 20 points, follwed by junior Ashley Armstrong with 16. SCU will next play Northern Colorado at home tonight, Wednesday, November 17 at 7 p.m.

Bronco Men’s Water Polo Ends Season with 17-3 Loss to Stanford. SCU was led by sophomore Tucker Carlson with two goals. Sophomore Peter Moore scored the Broncos’ third goal of the game.

Bronco Women’s Volleyball Wins 3-0 at Home Against Both Gonzaga and Portland. In the win over Gonzaga, SCU had three players with 12 kills each: redshirt sophomore Katherine Douglas, junior Dana Knudsen and junior Kayla Lommori. Knudsen led the team against Portland with nine kills followed by junior Lexi Williamson and senior Tanya Schmidt with eight kills apiece. The Broncos will play at San Diego before finishing up the season at home on Saturday, November 19 at 1 p.m. against Saint Mary’s

SCU Women’s Golf Wins 2011 Lamkin Grip Cal Poly Invitational. SCU shot 319 and 309 for a total of 628 on November 7 and 8. The Broncos shot eight strokes under second place CSU Northridge. Individually, junior Balbina Guajardo shot a 77 and 73 for first place.

SCU Cross Country Finishes 13, 24 in NCAA West Regional Championships. The men’s team finished a program-best 13th, while the women’s team fell into the 24th spot. Redshirt senior Robbie Reid was the top finisher for the men, running in a time of 30:51 for 47th place. On the women’s side, freshman Mary Kreige was the top finisher (99th place) with a time of 22:12.