Bianca Ziemann

The JSerra Boys Water Polo team and the Santa Margarita Eagles produced a memorable back-and-forth Trinity League thriller on Wednesday, with the Lions pulling out a 12-11 victory in the second golden goal overtime time period at Santa Margarita Catholic High School. JSerra is now 14-3 overall and 4-0 in league. Junior Christian Yonker and sophomore Sasha Bjelica powered first period goals into the back of the net for the Lions, as the two teams battled to a 2-2 tie. Sophomore Christopher Koo supplied his lone goal of the contest 34 seconds into the second period to propel the Lions into a 3-2 lead. Junior Andrew Schneider, who assisted Koo’s goal, produced his lone goal 49 seconds later to give the Lions a 4-2 advantage. Yonker’s second scoring strike with 3:08 left in the half bumped up the Lions lead to 5-2. Santa Margarita tallied the half’s final two goals to cut the deficit to 5-4 at the intermission. Junior Cal Ulicny opened the third period with his lone score to give JSerra a 6-4 lead. Santa Margarita scored three straight goals to take their first lead of the game at 7-6 with 19 seconds left in the period. Junior Ronan Keane beat the period buzzer with a near side goal to tie the game at 7-7 entering the fourth period. The Eagles claimed an 8-7 lead with 5:11 left. Senior Joe Wraith produced the game’s equalizer on a man-advantage attack for the Lions with 2:40 remaining. Santa Margarita recaptured the lead with 1:33 remaining, but junior Lars Knepper skipped a shot into the back of the cage with 0:44 seconds left to tie the game at 9-9 and force overtime. Keane’s second goal off a transition attack by Knepper put JSerra ahead 10-9 at the end of the first overtime period. Knepper powered in his second goal with 2:12 remaining in the second overtime period to put the Lions ahead 11-10. The Eagles battled back to tie the game at 11-11 with 1:20 remaining and the two teams headed into golden goal overtime. Junior Dylan Park provided the game’s decisive moment with 2:39 remaining in the second golden goal period, as he rocketed a shot from about 10 meters in front of the cage into the back of the net.

The JSerra Girls Flag Football team continued its' undefeated march on Thursday, as the Lions defeated the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers by a score of 33-12 at JSerra Catholic High School. JSerra is now 21-0 on the season and extends its program winning streak to 49 consecutive games dating back to last year. The Lions and Trailblazers engaged in a tight first half battle. Sierra Canyon opened the scoring with a touchdown on its first possession, but the Lions answered with 1:51 remaining in the opening period, as sophomore quarterback Kate Meier lofted a 37-yard scoring strike down the middle to sophomore wide receiver Tessa Russell to give the Lions a 7-6 lead. Sierra Canyon recaptured a 12-7 lead with 6:43 remaining in the first half, but JSerra answered less than two minutes later. Meier connected with senior Avery Olson on a 17-yard touchdown reception to give the Lions a 14-12 lead. Sierra Canyon threatened to re-take the lead in the closing seconds of the first half, but on 4th and goal inside the five-yard line, senior Stella Day leaped high to knockdown a pass and secure the Lions two-point advantage at the half. Senior Kai Beary pushed the Lions lead to 20-12 with 8:53 remaining in the fourth quarter with a five-yard scoring reception from Meier. Junior Anna Paquette turned in a big defensive play on the Trailblazers ensuing possession with an interception, and Meier capped the Lions ensuing march with a one-yard scoring run to give JSerra a 26-12 lead with 2:55 remaining. Olson sealed the contest with 32 seconds remaining, when she snatched a 34-yard touchdown reception from Meier. Meier completed 21-of-29 passes for 274 yards. Olson recorded a team-high six receptions for 84 yards, with Russell adding five catches for 74 yards. Senior Stella Day produced a team-high five pass breakups and an interception.