Bell Gardens Proves Formidable

For a team that has never lost in the Southern Section girls’ water polo playoffs, Bell Gardens still felt it had something to prove Thursday in its Division I first-round game at Lake Forest El Toro.

The Lancers came away successful, knocking off El Toro, 8-7, behind strong performances from goalkeeper Barbara Diaz and drivers Jeanette Diaz and Denise Madrid.

Barbara Diaz had 14 saves and Jeanette Diaz and Madrid scored every goal for the Lancers, who will play host to top-seeded Santa Ana Foothill in the quarterfinals Saturday at Montebello Community Center.

The Lancers (19-10) are the four-time defending Division III champions and were the premier team in the Southern Section for 2 1/2 years after the sport was sanctioned. They won their first 85 games before losing to Foothill.

Those early players and several on the current team developed their skills under Coach Gabriel Martinez at the Commerce Aquatic Center.

But most of the players from Commerce, including Barbara Diaz’s freshman sister, Sharon, now play for Montebello, where Sergio Macias, another Commerce coach, took over last season. With Bell Gardens returning only three starters and the team bumped to Division I, many believed the Lancers were ripe for a downturn as they finished second to Montebello in the Almont League.

“We wanted to show that we’re not as bad as people think we are,” said Madrid, who scored three goals and assisted on three.

-- Dan Arritt

Fourth-year Coach Ed Bell says his Upland girls’ soccer team has made progress in small increments.

The Highlanders (13-2-5, 5-1-2), second-place finishers to Etiwanda in a revamped Baseline League, will get a chance to see how far they’ve come today when they travel to play defending champion San Clemente (11-5-4, 5-2-3) in a Southern Section Division I first-round playoff game.

“This is probably the least athletic team I’ve had, but they’re a team that has the desire to play and a group that mixes well together,” Bell said. “They’ve come closer to reaching their potential than any other team I’ve had.”

The Highlanders have relied on goalkeeper Danielle Carty to preserve their victories. The 6-foot-1 junior, who is a newcomer to the position, has 11 shutouts.

-- Lauren Peterson

Armando Gonzalez, who resigned as football coach at Los Angeles Franklin in December, has been hired as football coach at San Juan Capistrano Serra, which will open in September with freshmen and sophomores.

Gonzalez, 52, was 159-35-3 in 17 seasons at Franklin.