Last week, the Sea Kings opened their season with a 13-4 shellacking of Chadwick and followed that with an 8-4 win against defending Bay League champion Mira Costa. On Tuesday, Palos Verdes defeated Hill neighbor Peninsula in a 14-6 rout and dropped in at Redondo Thursday, taking a 14-1 victory in the process.

Opponents have acknowledged Palos Verdes’ superiority, and it has all but made the Sea Kings more confident.

“We’re going to take the Bay League,” said attacker Jon Spangler, who had three goals Tuesday. “We’re not going to let up. We should be a challenge for any team out there.”

Spangler and hard-shooting junior Nolan Semel aren’t the only ones back this year. Palos Verdes (5-0) retained nearly all of its team that went to the Bay League championship, and the Sea Kings look deep with attacker David Scott — five goals this week — and midfielder Adam Wagoner back from injury.

“We don’t need one player to score for us. It’s not so much one man dodging through three guys. It’s more open now and anyone with the best shot can take it,” Spangler said.

A new face is Head Coach Lane Jaffe, who held the same position at UCLA last year.
“We’re stacked at attack with three returning attackmen [Sammy Romer, David Scott and Spangler] and six offensive middies that can contribute,” Jaffe said. “Our middies, [Wagoner, Semel, Ryan Rheingold, Brandon Hixenbaugh and Peter Trelenberg], are aggressive and they’re our workhorses. We’ve got a lot of team speed as well.”

The Sea Kings also believe Alex Marin might be the best goalie in the area. “He’s a pure stopper, quick and takes up a lot of the goal, and does a good job creating transition for our offense,” Jaffe said.

Should the Sea Kings maintain their success, Palos Verdes won’t have to just settle for the Bay League title. This year the winner of the Bay League plays the Mission League champion, then goes on to play an Orange County team in an unofficial championship game at the Home Depot Center.

Peninsula Rebuilding

Peninsula (3-2) made it to the semifinals of the Bay League Tournament, and the Panthers are confident they can succeed. But the Panthers have to overcome the departures of Matt Hovsepian (Virginia Wesleyan) and Victor Poon (UCLA).

“We’re in a transition this year and working out the kinks,” said Peninsula midfielder Aaron Sawelson, who had three goals in Tuesday’s loss. “We’re a tight group and have a strong midfield with Alex Richard, Colby Marshall and myself, but we lost a lot of good players. We’re not up to par with prior years. PV is out of our league, but we’re going to battle with Mira Costa.”

Saweslon likes the play of Greg Lin, a defender/midfielder with a penchant for physical play. “He means business out there,” Sawelson said. At this point in the season, Peninsula’s offense will be coming from its midfield, which Richard said was unusual. Scott Spielman, he added, could emerge up front.

Peninsula Head Coach Alex Fountain is in Asia and could not be reached for comment.

Chadwick Improving

Addition by subtraction is the motto at Chadwick. After going 3-12 last season, the team had a number of seniors decline to join its campaign this year, but the Dolphins are now 3-3 after a 10-5 win at Culver City. Nima Majd and Garrett Wymore had three goals each.

“We’re definitely playing well as a team this year, and we’re doing it with a younger group, which is surprising,” Head Coach Brian Kelly said.

The Dolphins still need polish, but Kelly said they can compete with Peninsula — who they lost to 9-6 — and Mira Costa.

Kelly is also big on goalie Ben Goodman, a junior who makes up for his size with quickness.