CPHS Soccer: Fernando Saldana scores four, Sandites slam Shawnee 4-1

Sophomore standout Fernando Saldana scored a career-high three goals and one penalty kick Tuesday night, leading the Charles Page High School soccer team (10-1, 3-1) to a 4-1 victory against Shawnee (8-4, 0-4).

Saldana recorded his first hat trick of the season with a penalty kick four minutes into the second half, and scored his third goal in the the 52nd minute. He had to sit out the prior game after earning three yellow cards in nine matches, and the scoring he missed out on against Norman clearly rolled over.

Shawnee started hot but quickly ran out of momentum. Kossi Kodoe had a shot on goal less than a minute in that spat off the post, and Ethan Tippit saved the corresponding corner kick. Kodoe wouldn’t be stymied for long, however, and netted the Wolves’ first and only goal in the 12th minute of regulation.

Jack Bratcher was aggressive early on, nearly scoring a header on a corner kick that barely cleared the top of the goal. He sent a pair of shots a hair wide in the 7th and 15th minutes.

Gustavo Saldana had a shot saved in the 21st minute, Gustavo Franco sent one wide in the 24th, and Luke Jeffus bounced one off the post in the 26th before the team finally hit pay dirt. With twelve minutes left in the half, Bratcher had one rejected off the post but Fernando Saldana sent it back on a diving header to tie the match.

Franco, Bratcher, and Fernando Saldana continued to bring the heat in the final moments of the first half. Saldana had a shot hit the top of the post, deflect into the ground inside the goal, then spit back out, and Sebastian Rodriguez saved two Bratcher attempts in the final three minutes. Finally, Saldana notched the go-ahead goal on a deflection with under a minute left.

The Sandites were the aggressors through most of the night and had eight corner kicks to Shawnee’s three. Rodriguez saved multiple shots from Jeffus and Bratcher in the second half, and Miquel Sanchez also had a shot travel a hair wide.

Sand Springs Soccer will host its final home match of the regular season Friday at 8:00 p.m. against nationally-ranked No. 12 Union (6-1, 4-0), currently the top team in the district. They also have road matches against Owasso (7-5, 3-1) and Capitol Hill (5-6, 2-2) next week before Playoff assignments are released.

District 6A-4 Standings
4-0 Union (6-1)
3-1 Owasso (7-5)
3-4 Sand Springs (11-1)
2-2 Edmond Santa Fe (5-7)
2-2 Capitol Hill (5-6)
1-3 Norman (7-3)
1-3 Sapulpa (5-7)
0-4 Shawnee (8-4)

Goals
10 Fernando Saldana
4 Jeffus
4 Bratcher
4 Gustavo Saldana
1 Munoz
1 Cox
1 Esparza
1 Franco
1 Quinton
1 Brooks

Penalty Kicks
3 Fernando Saldana
3 Fancher
2 Jeffus
2 Gustavo Saldana
1 Cox
1 Summerton

Total Scores
13 Fernando Saldana
6 Jeffus
6 Gustavo Saldana
4 Bratcher
3 Fancher
2 Cox
1 Munoz
1 Esparza
1 Franco
1 Quinton
1 Summerton
1 Brooks

CPHS Soccer: Sandites' historic ten win streak ends in PK shootout with Norman

The Charles Page High School boys’ soccer team (9-1, 2-1) suffered their first loss of the season Friday night in an overtime shootout against Norman (7-2, 1-2). The Sandites kicked off a ten-match win streak in the 2018 season finale and were undefeated for the first five weeks of the 2019 season in what could very likely be a record-setting run for the program.

It’s hard to say for certain that it hasn’t been done because historic records haven’t been properly kept in decades past. But since Sandite Pride News launched in 2014, their best record has been the 5-9 tally they reached in the past two consecutive seasons. Since then they haven’t won two district matches in a season till now.

The team that finally beat them is 16th in the United Soccer Coaches national rankings.

If the Sandites continue winning the way they have been, they could easily qualify for the State Tournament. Regardless of how the final three weeks shake out, this team has already left its mark as one of the most successful teams in program history.

On Tuesday the boys notched their ninth win of the season in an overtime shootout against Edmond Santa Fe (4-7, 1-2). Jack Bratcher notched the lone goal in regulation, and neither team scored in the two overtime periods. In the shootout Luke Jeffus, Fernando Saldana, David Fancher, and Cameron Summerton made penalty kicks to secure the win.

The team lost Saldana, their leading scorer, after he drew his third yellow card in nine games and was forced to sit out Friday.

The match went scoreless till the 67th minute of regulation when Sandite goalkeeper Ethan Tippit fouled Leyton Lawter and the Tigers were awarded a penalty kick. Jackson Kim put the visitors on the board and things looked bleak for the home team.

Kaleb Brooks came up clutch for the Sandites, netting his first goal of the season with only three minutes remaining. A yellow card was issued to a Norman player after Bratcher was fouled with six seconds left to play and Kaiden Cox took a free kick, but time ran out and the boys went to overtime for the second time this week.

Following two scoreless overtime periods and a hundred minutes of game time, the match came down to a penalty kick shootout. Sophomore Xander Quiroga took over at goalie for Sand Springs and University of North Carolina Asheville-commit Nate Holladay played defense for the Tigers.

Jeffus and Grady Wade made the first kick for each team, but Gustavo Saldana caught the top post on the second kick and Griffin Storm gave the Tigers the lead. Fancher got the Sandites back on track, Jackson Kim retaliated, then Summerton and Ted Foster missed wide.

Trailing 3-2, it came down to Bratcher. The standout sophomore was right on target, but Holladay made the save to knock off one of only two undefeated teams remaining in Class 6A. The only remaining undefeated is nationally-ranked No. 5 Jenks (7-0).

The Lady Sandites (5-6, 0-3) suffered their fourth-straight shutout loss and are still looking for their first district win. Since defeating East Central 6-0 in mid-March, the girls have fallen 0-2 to Enid, 0-7 to Sapulpa, 0-2 to Edmond Santa Fe, and 0-4 to Norman.

Sophomore forward Brooke Goodman scored the first two goals for Norman, putting the Tigers on the board in the 11th minute and notching a brace just 80 seconds later. Aly Burkhart made a penalty kick six minutes into the second half and Megan Jones scored a header in the 67th minute. Despite the loss, sophomore goalie Ali Day was exception with numerous saves against the potent Tiger offense.

Sand Springs Soccer will return to action Tuesday with a district trip to Shawnee. Norman will travel to Edmond Santa Fe on Tuesday. Girls will play at 6:00 p.m. followed by boys at 8:00 p.m.

OSSAA District 6A-4 Girls Standings
3-0 Owasso (10-1)
3-0 Sapulpa (10-1)
2-1 Norman (5-5)
2-1 Edmond Santa Fe (3-5)
1-2 Union (2-4)
0-2 Shawnee (3-5)
0-2 Capitol Hill (3-5)
0-3 Sand Springs (5-6)

OSSAA District 6A-4 Boys Standings
3-0 Owasso (7-4)
3-0 Union (5-1)
2-1 Sand Springs (9-1)
1-2 Edmond Santa Fe (4-7)
1-2 Norman (7-2)
1-2 Sapulpa (5-6)
1-2 Capitol Hill (4-6)
0-3 Shawnee (8-3)

CPHS Boys Stats

Goals
7 Fernando Saldana
4 Jeffus
4 Bratcher
4 Gustavo Saldana
1 Munoz
1 Cox
1 Esparza
1 Franco
1 Quinton
1 Brooks

PKs
3 Fancher
2 Fernando Saldana
2 Jeffus
2 Gustavo Saldana
1 Cox
1 Summerton

Total Scoring
9 Fernando Saldana
6 Gustavo Saldana
6 Jeffus
4 Bratcher
3 Fancher
2 Cox
1 Munoz
1 Esparza
1 Franco
1 Quinton
1 Summerton
1 Brooks

CPHS Girls Stats

Goals
6 Horn
3 Esparza
3 Metcalfe
2 Lynch
1 Watts
1 DeShazo
1 Patton
1 Burgess
1 Horton
1 Lee
1 Slankard
1 Poletek

PKs
3 Horn
2 Lynch
1 Watts
1 Gelsthorpe
1 DeShazo

Total Scoring
9 Horn
4 Lynch
3 Esparza
3 Metcalfe
2 Watts
2 DeShazo
1 Gelsthorpe
1 Patton
1 Burgess
1 Horton
1 Lee
1 Slankard
1 Poletek

Coaches Morrow and Green step down from Sandite Basketball and Volleyball

Mar. 09, 2018. CPHS Girls' Basketball Coach Dustin Morrow coaches his team in a State Quarterfinals game against Choctaw. (Photo: Scott Emigh).

Charles Page High School has lost two successful head coaches this season. Head Volleyball Coach Janna Green resigned shortly after the fall season and Head Girls' Basketball Coach Dustin Morrow announced his resignation Monday. 

Green came to the Sand Springs School District in 2014 after a three-year stent at Owasso High School. She took over a program that went 14-26 the year before and finished with a winning record of 24-14 in 2016 for Frontier Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors. The girls went 15-18 in 2017. She holds an all-time high school coaching record of 117-110 and 65-72 at Sand Springs. Green is now the Director of Court Sports at Titan Sports and Performance Center in Tulsa. Assistant Coach Alyssa Bargas has also left the program after four years. 

Feb. 06, 2017. SSPS Board of Ed member Bo Naugle presents CPHS Volleyball Coach Janna Green with the Sandite Spirit Award. (Photo: Scott Emigh).

Morrow was also named FVC Coach of the year for the 2016-2017 season after winning the conference, going 24-2, and taking the girls to their first State Tournament appearance since 2011. Morrow took over the program in 2013 and took the team to a 10-14 record after going 3-42 over the two seasons prior. The Lady Sandites finished 18-8 with another State Tournament appearance this past season. Morrow holds a career record of 81-45. He will remain with the district as a science teacher.

"I want to thank the athletic department, my assistant coaches, the players and the entire community for supporting our basketball program during my 6 years as head coach," said Morrow in a public statement. "Having said that, I have decided to step down from my coaching duties. The future is bright for these young ladies and I'm excited to watch them compete for conference and state championships - as a fan! Thanks again and GO SANDITES!"

Sandite of the Week: Julia Wolf scores hat trick in 4-0 shutout

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Charles Page High School sophomore forward Julia Wolf had the best Sandite Soccer performance of the season last week, scoring a hat trick against Nathan Hale (0-4) in a 4-0 non-district match. Libby Colson added the fourth goal for the Lady Sandites' second shutout of the season. 

Wolf leads her team in scoring this season with five goals, despite missing a game and a half due to an injury. Wolf scored two goals in a season-opening 6-0 shutout against East Central, and is the only player to score more than two goals in a single match this year. 

Sand Springs is 3-1 this year and will kick off district action Tuesday in a Highway 97 Rivalry match at Sapulpa (3-2).