March 2022 Newsletter: OLP Athletics

Water Polo
Your 2021-2022 OLP Varsity Water Polo season came to a close in a heartbreaking, overtime loss under the lights in the CIF Quarterfinals to San Marcos High School at the Coggan Family Aquatic Center in La Jolla.

And while the ending may not have gone the way we were hoping or thinking it would, this was the most incredible season of Water Polo yet. From a 15 win season, to Spartan Invite Champions, to League Runner Up, to first CIF victory, to prolific goals scoring, suffocating defense, overwhelming positive vibes, laughs, tears, friendships, and so much more - this team is special.

These polo pals were a pleasure to coach, a joy to be around, and show what this sport is all about! Thank YOU for helping us become this amazing team, and we look forward to all the fun to come. Let’s show some love to these spectacular ladies who went out and did the damn thing.

Girls, thank you for giving me your very best and for making things spectacular. Thanks for letting me be a part of your team.

Long live the pilots.

Dance
The OLP Dance Team is halfway through their competition season and it has already been such a successful year for the Pilots! Most recently, the OLP Dance Team attended the California Association of Dance/Drill Team Director’s 1000 Oaks Dance Challenge and took home big wins! Varsity received four first place awards in XSmall Contemporary, Medium Hip Hop, Trio, and Large Pom. They also received three second place awards in Small Jazz, Small Lyrical, and Medium Lyrical. Special shout-out to JV for placing first in all three of their categories!! Dance Team has one more regional competition in March, followed by CADTD State and WCE Nationals in April. Go Pilots!

Soccer
Featured in this issue are our 2021-2022 OLP Novice Soccer Team’s mids and forwards. Co-captain Angela Jooste '24 excelled at defensive mid and can also play forward. Angela has long and powerful corner kicks and goal kicks. Angela has a joyful personality, is a pleasure to coach, and was selected Most Inspirational Player by her teammates. Center mid Elise Rodrigues '25 was our runner-up for MVP. Elise is experienced, dedicated, and extremely skilled. Elise is able to win the ball against the toughest opponents. Elise has a deep understanding of the game, and she is a natural team leader. Isabelle Schlichting ’25 has a great touch on the ball, can play anywhere in mid or defense, and has great soccer vision. Bianca Vega ’25 is a skilled mid with smooth ball handling skills who can also unleash surprising speed at forward. Bianca has deep soccer intelligence, and it is insightful to listen to her opinion. Carmela Fallica ’25 is a natural at soccer, who is dominant at either mid or forward. At practice, the side with Carmela will probably win. Daniela Sclater ’25 has many years of club soccer experience and is a great mid. Mila Leandro ’25 has solid skills, and she helped us immensely at both mid and defense. Marina Cardenas ’24 was a pleasure to have on our Team, and she improved tremendously at both mid and defense. Maggie Callaghan ’25 could be one of the best players in the league at either center back or defensive mid. Maggie has the physicality, explosiveness, and strength to win her one-on-one balls and to stop dangerous attackers in their tracks. Isabella Bayona ’25 was selected Most Improved Player by her teammates. Isabella has exceptional speed and athleticism, and at the end of the season, she started at right back. Eliana Pani '25 was previously featured as a defender, but she is also our best right forward due to her speed and skill. Elisabeth Downing ’25 is an outstanding and dominant center forward who has a passion for soccer and a unique ability to score goals. Co-captain Helena Baez ’24 was selected MVP by her teammates. Helena runs track in the off-season and has amazing speed to show for it. Helena and Elisabeth were our top goal scorers, and it was very exciting to watch them take on defenders. Our season highlights included tying the League Champion, Patrick Henry HS, and being runner-up in the Frosh Championship game. Thank you, God, for all of Thy blessings! A.M.D.G.

The JV Soccer Pilots ended their season in mid-February in strong fashion. Overall, the Pilots ended 1-3-4 in their tough league against Cathedral, Coronado, Point Loma, and Mission Bay. During the season, our top goal scorers included Gigi Gonzalez ‘25 with a record 17 goals, and Luci Dunn ‘25 with 7 goals. Our two keepers, Sioban Downing ‘23 and Ashley Vinck ‘25 kept the other teams in check with record saves on penalty kicks. Our team recognized Maddie Bergener ‘24 as faith team leader, Emma Persichilli ‘24 as most inspirational, Liz Pulido ‘24 as most improved, and Gigi Gonzalez ‘25 as most valuable player. Great job this season, Pilots!

The Varsity Pilots ended the season with a heartbreaking penalty shootout loss to Mt. Carmel in the Division 1 CIF Quarterfinals. Anna Evenson led the team in scoring this season with 7 goals and Haley Phillips led the team with 7 assists. Sarah Melcher was a standout performer all season long and was dynamic defensively and in the attack. We are going to miss our stellar Senior Class of Anna Evenson, Brooke Gierczak, Gracie Brutto, Haley Phillips, Katie Acosta, Kendall Bitter, Megan Fuson, and Sarah Melcher. GO PILOTS!

Basketball
The Varsity Pilots finished the 2021-2022 season with a 3rd place finish in the Western League. 

The JV Girls finished the 2021-2022 season with an overall record of 11-13. In Western League play the team finished in third place with a 5-4. The team finished on a high note winning its last two games in a row. The team had three call-ups for the Varsity team’s playoff game - Alexandria Morland-Tellez ‘25, Katelyn Baldeaux ‘24, and Gabriella Hanna ‘24. The girls gelled quickly as a team early into the season and supported each other throughout all our games. The team played with high energy in every game and were a pleasure to watch!

The Novice Basketball team demonstrated the full scope of their growth and experience over the course of the 2021-22 season. There were numerous great games this season that were exciting to watch and play. One of our early games even went into overtime demonstrating the type of fierce competitors we have on the team. Our Pilots went into every game with confidence and a growth mindset that enabled them to learn both person-to-person defense, a 2-3-zone as well as a 2-2-1 full court pressure defense. On offense, the team learned how to create and maintain space on the court to create opportunity and look for open shots against multiple forms of defense from other teams. Our guards became swiftly adept at running fastbreaks down the court to get quick layups (Mollie, Elise, Brooke, Izzy & Carli). Our shooting guards swished jump shots and made key passes (Jordan, Christina, Sophia, Abby). Our post players worked on rebounding and pivot moves to get open and score under the basket (Alyssa, Bayleigh & Mallory). Overall, the season was filled with amazing energy, fun memories and new basketball skills and knowledge. Thank you to all of the friends and family who came to each game to support the Novice Basketball team and bring an atmosphere of support and positivity. Congratulations Novice Basketball on a fantastic season! GO PILOTS!

Surf
Some of the most dedicated surfers make up our Surf Team this year. We have exceptionally cold temperatures in the water this winter, and yet the team is out there giving it their all at practices and competitions every Saturday morning from October to March. Their dedication has paid off, and this season they have competed against extremely skilled surfers and our girls and guys have come out on top. Right now the team is 3-1 this season. And they will be competing for the league title on Saturday, February 26th in Carlsbad - come out and support the team! The 2021-2022 surf season has been one for the books, and all coaches are excited to see our surfers continue this momentum into next season as well.