Photograph by Thom Becker
Fremont's Marissa Peralez controls the soccer ball in an early season game against Del Mar. And it was the Lady Birds controlling Cupertino 2-0 last week.
By DICK SPARRER
Amy Andrzejewski and the Fremont girls' soccer team got off to a solid start this winter.
The Lady Birds lost just two of their first eight games and took a 5-2-1 season record into the El Camino Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
But things didn't go too well for Fremont in the first week of the league season. The Lady Birds were shut out by Saratoga, then by Lynbrook.
And not only did that season record slip to 5-4-1, but the Birds' league record was a dismal 0-2.
So Andrzejewski and her mates went out last week and did something about that dismal start--they beat up on Cupertino for a 2-0 victory to jump into the league victory column
Andrzejewski came through with a goal and an assist to help the Lady Birds jump out to a 2-0 first-half lead, and they cruised through a scoreless second half to their first win of the league season.
Andrzejewski scored off a Pam Ganz assist in the first half, then assisted Monica Cunha on another goal before intermission.
But the thrill of victory was short-lived for the Lady Birds, who lost 4-0 to Wilcox two days later to slip to 6-5-1 for the year and to 1-3 in league play.
Fremont lost 2-0 to Saratoga in its league opener, then was blanked 3-0 by Lynbrook a couple of days later.
The Homestead girls were shut out twice last week in the De Anza Division of the SCVAL. The Mustangs lost 8-0 to Gunn and 2-0 to Palo Alto to drop to 0-5 in the division.
The league season has been tough for the Mustangs, who are 6-0 in games played outside the league.
But Homestead opened the division season losing 5-0 to St. Francis, 1-0 to Mountain View and 4-0 to Los Altos.
In boys' soccer action, both Fremont and Homestead remain winless in the early stages of the SCVAL season, but both teams own a couple of league ties.
Fremont lost 3-0 to Saratoga to open the El Camino Division season, but came back to battle Gunn to a scoreless tie.
It was more of the same for the Firebirds last week. Fremont lost a tough 2-1 decision to Cupertino, but fought Wilcox to a 0-0 draw to finish the week.
Shawn Hargrove knocked in a first-half goal to give the Firebirds a 1-0 lead at the half against Cupertino. But the Pioneers battled back to tie it, then take the lead with two goals in the second half.
Fremont is now 0-2-2 in league play and 3-2-3 for the year.
Homestead is also 0-2-2 in the league season, but in the De Anza Division of the SCVAL.
The Mustangs fought Mountain View to a scoreless tie in their opener before losing a 1-0 heartbreaker to Los Altos.
Homestead and Lynbrook played to a 0-0 tie to open play last week before Palo Alto topped the Mustangs 3-1 later in the week.
Daniel Castillo knocked in a second-half goal off a Patrick Ho assist, but it wasn't enough for the Mustangs. Paly scored in the first half, then added two goals in the second half to clinch the win.
Homestead is now 4-4-4 for the year.
Girls' basketball
Junior forward Chi Tran pitched in 19 points and junior guard Natalie Woo supported with 12 points to lead the Fremont girls' basketball team to a 54-48 win over Saratoga in El Camino Division play last week.
Kim Johnson chipped in with nine points for Fremont and Sarah List tossed in a couple of three-pointers to finish with six points. Sheila Hess added four points, Beatriz Corro three and La-Nolia Ufondu one.
The Firebirds trailed by a point after a period, but outscored Saratoga in each of the last three quarters to pull out the six-point win.
But Fremont slipped to 2-2 in the division and to 5-8 for the year later in the week after losing 60-40 to Milpitas.
Tran and Johnson shared game-high honors with 12 points apiece, and Woo added eight. List finished with four points and Hess and Charlotte Salvacion hit two each.
The Trojans opened up a 17-5 lead in the first period, but Fremont cut the 12-point lead to eight by intermission. Milpitas, though, outscored the Lady Birds 15-12 in the third and 19-10 in the fourth to win by 20.
Homestead, meanwhile, won its only league game last week, beating Palo Alto 68-50, and the Mustangs backed that up with a tight 47-46 nonleague win over Pinewood in overtime.
Hilary Parker pumped in 19 points and Brie Ahern added 14 to lead Homestead to the 18-point win over Paly. Ahern had a three-pointer among her six field goals in the game.
Freshman Marie Levey chipped in with 10 points for the Mustangs. Michele Wald hit seven, Yvonne Chen six, Erin Morikawa and Yumi Minn five apiece and Kelly Hadden two.
The win left the Mustangs 2-1 in De Anza Division play, but Homestead's more impressive win came later in the week against Pinewood.
The Mustangs battled back from a seven-point halftime deficit to outscore Pinewood 14-10 in the third and 15-12 in the fourth to tie it, then clinched the win by outscoring Pinewood 6-5 in the extra period.
Ahern bombed a pair of threes on her way to 19 points and Parker joined her in double digits with 10 points. Wald added eight points to the cause, Minn had seven and Morikawa hit three.
Boys' basketball
Tully Banta-Cain popped 12 points and Jabbar Burton added 10 to lead the Fremont boys' basketball team to a 57-53 win over Monta Vista in El Camino play.
Rich Lockmanese tossed in nine points for the winners and Darren Lang had seven. Melvin Rabena had a three-pointer among his six points. Reynold Carlos finished with five points, Michael Hardwick four, Ben Skinner three and Warren Rick one.
Lockmanese had jammed 12 points earlier in the week, but the Firebirds lost 59-45 to Cupertino. Rabena hit a pair of threes on his way to 10 points and Burton added nine points, including a three. Lang and Skinner hit four points apiece, and Banta-Cain, Danny Douglas and Hardwick scored two each.
The Firebirds are now 2-1 in the division and 11-6 for the year.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, January 22, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.