Girls' Soccer Regains Winning Edge, Monster Match Against Palisades Looms Ahead

LIKE A WALK IN THE PARK: Junior forward Lauren Fowler blows past a Hamilton defender as she attacks the goal. Fowler took two shots in the LadyCats' victory.


After dropping the first two games after Winter Break, the Girls' Soccer team has responded by winning three of their last four, going 3-0-1 in that span.
The LadyCats rebounded from a 3-1 loss on Jan. 14 to the Fairfax Lions with a vengeance by crushing the LACES Unicorns, 6-2 on Jan. 20. Senior Erica Vangsness has been dominant all season and this game was no different as she poured in three goals against the Unicorns for her third hat-trick of the season. Vangsness has scored a goal in all but one of the LadyCats' games and has scored a Western League leading sixteen goals this season.
After a 2-2 tie with the Venice Gondoliers on Jan. 22, the LadyCats proceeded to shutout both the Westchester Comets, on Jan. 26, and the Hamilton Yankees, earlier today, winning both games by a score of 2-0.
The 2-0 win over the Comets ended a six game road trip, spanning all the way back to Dec. 15. The LadyCats went 3-2-1 in that span.
Three matches remain on the regular season schedule for the LadyCats which could have serious playoff implications. Their next match is against the Western League leading Palisades Dolphins on Feb. 4. The Dolphins are 8-0 in league play and dominated the LadyCats last time the two teams met, 6-2. Any positive result for the LadyCats could be a huge confidence booster as they look to close the season on a strong note and head to the playoffs with momentum.

Boys' Basketball Struggles In Win Over Venice

MAN AMONGST BOYS: Star sophomore David Nwaba was able to dominate Venice in the post. His strong interior play allowed the Cats to take control of the game.

A sloppy win yesterday for the Boys' Basketball squad over the Venice Gondoliers raises some concerns despite the team's outstanding record and performance in league play.
Both teams were matched evenly in height and length as was made evident by the turnovers created, shots that were blocked and rebounds that were fought for in intense scrums.
The Hoopsters made key errors throughout the game that gave the Gondos hope of staying in the game. After jumping ahead to a 9-4 lead with 3:52 left in the first quarter behind a three pointer by junior Jamie Harper. The Cats would suffer from a lack of execution in the final minutes of the quarter and eventually lose the lead and head into the second quarter trailing 14-12.
In the second quarter, both teams continued to hoist three point shots with minor success. The quarter was a low scoring affair, with both squads only scoring 13 points for a 27-25 halftime score.
After halftime adjustments, each squad came out with an elevated level of intesity that was evident by players diving and hustling for loose balls and doing their best to tie each other up. Sophomore David Nwaba, who is the Cats' most consistent player, took over in the second half, punishing Venice defenders in the paint, using his athleticism to win the rebound battle and intimidating the Gondos on offense with blocked shot after blocked shot.
The combination of Nwaba and senior Andre Harris ended up being too much for the Gondos to handle. The Cats held the Gondos to only 8 points in the third quarter and took advantage of Gondo mistakes, such as a missed dunk that led to a five-point turnaround, and put the Gondos away in the fourth quarter, winning 56-48.
Harris led all scorers with 17 points, while Nwaba poured in 14 to go along with 9 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.
The Cats struggles against the Gondos can be attributed to a number of things. An important part of their offense is the three point shot, which was not falling.
The Gondos length forced the Cats into mistakes at times, and the Cats also seemed to open the game very sluggishly, as if they were over-confident. "Basketball is played on emotion," said said Head Coach Steve Ackerman. "We didn't come out with the proper emotion and also because of our success we are expected to win by bigger margins, so people's expectations play a role."
The final result was a win for the Cats, but with the playoffs rapidly approaching, the win over a Division-II should serve as a wake-up call that even though their opponents are not always named Fairfax or Westchester, they will be tough to beat.
The Cats will travel to Hamilton tomorrow to play the hated Yankees at 4 p.m. and will return home on Friday to take on the number 1 team in the City, the Westchester Comets at 7 p.m.



LIKE A BROKEN RECORD: Senior Andre Harris was able to contribute in the post as well. The Cats' success came when they were willing to pound the ball in the post rather than launch long range bombs.

Boys' Soccer Rolls To Third Straight Victory

Four games left in the soccer season, and the Boys' squad has picked the right time to get hot.
The Netmen have won their last three league games and are in sole possession of third place in the Western League and within striking range for one of the top two spots.
High-powered offense has been the key in their last three wins which came against the LACES Unicorns, Venice Gondoliers and Westchester Comets. The Netmen have outscored their opponents 9-3 during the winning streak.
Defensively the Cats held the Unicorns to a shutout in their Jan. 20 match, the Cats' first of the season, and the Gondos were only able to score once in their Jan. 22 meeting.
Junior striker Franklin Quinones has been a star all season long, but really broke out in the Cats three straight wins. Quinones scored six goals in the three matches, including a hat-trick yesterday against the Comets. He is one of the top goal scorers in the league as his total for the season is now up to an impressive thirteen goals.
The winning streak has provided optimism for the squad, but matches with huge implications for the final league standings loom ahead. Road matches against the Palisades Dolphins on Feb. 4 and against the Fairfax Lions, who are currently in first place in the Western League, on Feb. 9 could decide who is at the top of the league table at the end of the season.
The Cats' travel to Hamilton tomorrow to take on the Yankees at 2:30 p.m.

Boys' Basketball Hangs Tough Against Powerhouse Fairfax, Win Against LACES

SILKY SMOOTH: Senior Alex Brooks' three point marksmanship kept the Wildcats close early in the game


The basketball season is winding down to the few final league games before the playoffs and the Varsity Boys' Basketball team has been impressive, establishing themselves as the third best team in the tough Western League and as an early favorite to take home their second City Section Division-II (formerly Invitational) championship.
The Hoopsters were impressive on Wed. Jan. 21 in a close 84-72 loss to the Number-two team in the City Section, and a top 25 team in the nation, the hated Fairfax Lions.
The Lions came into the game with clear advantages in size. Stars Renardo Sidney, 6-11, and 6-6 USC commit Solomon Hill, two top players from the Class of 2009, were hard match-ups for the undersized Cats, whose tallest player is 6-3 at best.
Despite the size issues the Cats were impressive. Right from the opening tip the Cats fell back into a 2-3 zone in an attempt to keep the massive Sidney from dominating in the paint. Early in the first quarter, the zone did not seem to be effective as Sidney scored nine of the Lions first points.
The Cats were kept in it with an assault from behind the arc by senior Alex Brooks. The Cats' leading scorer drained a pair of trifectas to keep the Lions from jumping too far, keeping the deficit low at 20-12 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter the Cats were able to show their resolve. The Lions would pounce on the Hoopsters to take a 38-19 lead. With the game getting out of hand the Cats responded by going on a 13-0 run to make it 38-32 and end the half trailing by only nine, 41-32.
The Lions would again take a huge lead, this time in the second half, before the Cats would make it close and thrilling yet again. "One thing we've had all season is resiliency," said Head Coach Steve Ackerman. "Every time we've been down to a superior team our guys don't quit and make it interesting."
Brooks was the biggest playmaker for the Cats in the loss, knocking down big shots and drawing critical fouls against the Lions. He finished the game with 21 points while senior Andre Harris added 18. 6-3 sophomore David Nwaba stood out with 12 points and 17 rebounds despite playing against the much bigger Sidney. Nwaba constantly challenged on defense and on the boards, showing his athleticism and why he is the Western League's leading rebounder.
The 84-72 final score is impressive for the Cats because although it may have been their second loss in league play this season, they kept it close against a national powerhouse.
"If they don't have Sidney in that game, we have a very good chance of pulling off the upset," said Ackerman.
The Cats followed the loss up on Fri. Jan. 23 with a 91-77 win against the lowly LACES Unicorns.
The Hoopsters used a 21-9 second quarter to put the Unicorns away early on. Four Cats scored in double digits, led by Nwaba's 26 point 25 rebound effort.
Seven games remain on the Cats' schedule and only their remaining match-up with the Lions and the Westchester Comets seem like daunting tasks. Should they win their winnable games and perform well against the top teams in the City, the Cats should be able to secure a top seed in the Division-II playoff bracket.



COURT VISION: Senior Andre Harris looks for an outlet to avoid turning the ball over to the swarming Fairfax defenders.


SCHOOL SPIRIT: Uni students made an effort to support the squad in an important match-up. Uni's "Rooter Club" stood out, painted in Wildcat colors with matching shirts.


NEXT STOP ESPN: The Jan. 21 match-up was featured on local cable channel "LA-36" as the "Prep Game of the Week".

The Home of Uni Sports

Welcome to the blog dedicated to University(LA) High School Sports.

A brief explanation on why this blog was started; I was the sports editor of the "Wildcat" newspaper, but due to scheduling circumstances for the next quarter I am no longer able to continue working on the newspaper staff which means sports will lose the usual coverage they were able to enjoy. Instead of having no coverage, this blog will be independent of the paper and will show recognition to the Uni athletes.

As a journalist, I have to be able to provide full details of the story to the readers, so I will be pulling no punches, as usual, when it comes to the stories I post (so to the teams that have been upset with my coverage while writing for the newspaper, I only give honest opinions as an outside spectator with a journalistic set of rules and personal expectations for each team). I understand that the athletes are students first and not professionals and that they work hard to put strong efforts on and off the field/court.

I will do my best to keep up with all teams that are either currently playing, or will start their seasons in the coming months. With exception to Patrick Duenas, who will provide all photos on this blog, it is a one man staff, so I will not always be able to keep updated on the sports that are not as high profile as others.

I hope that if you are an athlete on a sports team in the Winter/Spring athletic seasons that you enjoy the recognition that you will receive and are able to read the stories, either after wins or losses, with an open mind and do not take it personally. If you attend Uni, or are an alum, then hopefully you'll enjoy reading up on Uni Sports.