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Panthers fall in soccer, basketball at CCS
By Dick Sparrer
Games don't get much more heartbreaking than this one.
The Presentation girls soccer team was a game away from the Central Coast Section Division III finals. But the Panthers lost to Santa Cruz 5-3 on penalty kicks.
Senior striker Jaime Moore, a co-captain for the Panthers, knocked in the first penalty kick for Presentation. Sophomore marking back Sara Hines followed with a goal and freshman striker Nicki Nigos hit one, too.
But Santa Cruz outkicked the Panthers to pull out the win and advance to the CCS finals against Cupertino. The game was scheduled to be played Saturday, but inclement weather forced its postponement.
The heartbreaking loss ended Presentation's season, but what a season it was for the Panthers under first-year head coach Tom Sepulveda. Taking over for coaching legend Manny Hernandez, Sepulveda led the Panthers to an 11-5-3 season.
Leading the charge for the Panthers all year were senior co-captains Moore, Julie Alves and Marie Gutto.
Gutto, the talented senior goalkeeper for the Panthers, blanked Santa Cruz throughout regulation in the CCS semifinals.
Seniors midfielders Allie Berthold, Megan Chimenti, Rachel Field, Kim Medica, Kelly Sweitzer and Cindee Yandow, senior marking backs Alves, Selena Ching, Sarah Hunt and Jenna Martarano were others playing their last high school soccer game for the Panthers.
Hines and Nigos will top a list a talented returners when the Panthers return to the field for the 2001-02 season.
Looking to replace Gutto in goal will be freshman Andrea Lee and sophomore Caitlin Matalone, and strikers Jessica Mason (sophomore), Jennifer Tuttle (junior) and Gina Yarber (sophomore) will all be back.
Returning midfielders include freshman Amanda Brandt, junior Morgan Brown and sophomore Aubrey Ellzey.
Panthers fall
The Presentation girls basketball season also ended last week when the Panthers lost 45-32 to Burlingame in the first round of the CCS Division III playoffs.
Katherine McLaughlin poured in 14 points to lead all Presentation scorers in the game. She tossed in five buckets, four of them from three-point range.
Nicole Yarwasky supported with six points for the Panthers and Katie Passalacqua and Liz Cirone hit four apiece. Katie Mello and Jennifer Logan had two points each.
The Panthers were outscored in every period in the game. They trailed 10-7 after a period and 20-14 at the half. Burlingame continued to pull away in the second half, outscoring the Panthers 9-6 in the third and 16-12 in the fourth.
The loss left the Panthers 14-12 for the year. Burlingame improved to 23-6 with the win.
Presentation had posted a 9-5 record in the Mount Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League. The Panthers split in the last week of the regular season, beating Oak Grove 52-35 before losing 41-29 to Leland.
Passalacqua poured in 13 points to lead the Panthers past the Eagles. Yarwasky hit 12 in the win and McLaughlin added 10.
Only Passalacqua could score in double digits in the loss to Leland. She hit 12 points against the Chargers.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
