Acorn boys fall to Mitty on penalty kicks in Christmas Cup
championship
After the Live Oak High boys soccer team had advanced to its first Homestead Christmas Cup title match in eight years, then battling Archbishop Mitty to a scoreless tie in regulation time, it seemed like harsh justice for the Acorns’ hopes to come down to a series of tie-breaking penalty kicks in the deepening Cupertino dusk.
After a few weeks of stellar play in the prestigious tourney, it all came down to a ball, a few yards of grass and the Mitty goalie between the Acorns and the Cup on Tuesday.
It was a little too much, as it turned out, and Live Oak conceded the tiebreaker 6-5 on penalty kicks and the Cup to Mitty.
“It’s a bad way to end a championship game,” LO coach Tony Goble said. “But we held our own with them. And we don’t want to peak this early in the season anyway.”
LO had its chances in the tiebreaker, as Mitty missed its first penalty kick, bouncing it off the left post and leaving the Acorns an opportunity. to win.
“The chance was there,” Goble said. “They missed their first PK so if we make our first five, we win.”
In fact, LO tallied its first three penalty kicks before the Monarch goalie guessed right and blocked Hassan Abdullahi’s try on the fourth Acorn PK.
Three kicks later, the Mitty goalie blocked Matt Altamirano’s try and rushed screaming from the net toward his teammates at midfield as the Acorns agonized.
Though the match will officially be recorded as a 0-0 tie, keeping LO unbeaten at 7-0-4 overall, it certainly didn’t feel like a win for the Acorns.
LO had won five straight Cup matches to make the finals after tying its opener.
Three Acorns earned all-tourney honors, including Garrett Frechette, Hassan Abdullahi and Anthony Avalos.
LO is scheduled to play the Alumni on New Year’s Eve at noon.
LO boys hoops
Coming off a third-place finish at Gilroy High’s Bob Hagen tourney, the Live Oak High boys basketball team had a big letdown on Tuesday night.
Turnovers and poor shooting combined to doom the Acorn boys in a 45-40 loss at Branham.
“We’re sputtering right now,” LO coach Brett Paolucci said. “We had our opportunities but couldn’t convert.”
LO (6-4 overall) fell behind 20-16 at halftime, then fell further back in the fourth quarter as the host team built a nine-point advantage.
“They pressured us and we made some mistakes,” Paolucci said. “They got some penetration and dished off to their big guys in the middle. They got into the key on us.”
The Acorns rallied to within a point late in the game but they were forced to foul and Branham made it free throws to salt the game away.
Branham hit 16 of its 18 free throws, while LO got to the charity stripe just 11 times, making seven.
LO will try to get back on track next week with a pair of games. The Acorns host Mt. Pleasant on Tuesday at 3pm, then play at Wilcox on Thursday at 3pm.
All three teams were originally scheduled to play in Gunderson High’s Grizzlie Holiday Classic next week but the event was cancelled.
LO wrestling
Despite competing with just four wrestlers, the Live Oak High wrestling team earned four medals and finished 17th out of 38 teams at the Terra Nova Tournament in Pacifica last weekend.
Medalists included:
- Jon Redmond, who took fourth at 189 pounds, winningn three of his five matches.
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Jason Hendersen, who took fifth and won the consolation bracket at 125 pounds, winning three of five matches.
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Hondo Dominguez, another fifth-place finish and consolation titleist at 119 pounds. He went 4-1 in his matches.
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And, Eddie Mendoza, who took eighth at 112 pounds with a 3-3 record.
“So far, we’re light on guys but the gujys we have are doing well,” first-year LO coach Robert Fernandez said. We’re going to make sure they’re the best wrestlers we can put out there.”
Next up for LO is the Antioch Delta Duals on Jan. 8, which the entire Acorn team will attend. LO will open its TCAL dual meet schedule at Salinas on Jan. 12, followed by more non-league action on Jan. 15.
The Acorn varsity will compete at the Jim Root tourney at Del Mar High in San Jose, while the JV visits the Los Gatos tourney.
In addition, Moriah Fernandez will wrestle at the Napa Valley Asics Classic, a prestigious girls tourney that features some of the top female wrestlers from the region.
