Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/109699
1B Sports Tehama Tracker Thursday's results Friday February 15, 2013 BOYS SOCCER BOYS HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER D-I PLAYOFFS | Corning 2, Pleasant Valley 0 DIVISION I PLAYOFFS 5. Corning 2 4. Pleasant Valley 0 6. Foothill 0 3. Chico 5 Today's games BOYS HOOPS Red Bluff Shasta 7:30 p.m. Liberty Christian Los Molinos 7:30 p.m. West Valley Corning 8 p.m. GIRLS HOOPS Liberty Christian Los Molinos 6 p.m. West Valley Corning 6:30 p.m. NHL Sharks Chicago 5:30 p.m. On the tube AUTO RACING 2 p.m. SPEED — NASCAR, Sprint Cup, practice for The Sprint Unlimited, at Daytona Beach, Fla. 3:30 p.m. SPEED — NASCAR, Sprint Cup, ''Happy Hour Series,'' final practice for The Sprint Unlimited, at Daytona Beach, Fla. BOXING 6 p.m. ESPN2 — Junior middleweights, Delvin Rodriguez (266-3) vs. George Tahdooahnippah (31-0-1), at Uncasville, Conn. GOLF 9:30 A.m. TGC — LPGA, Women's Australian Open, second round, at Canberra, Australia (same-day tape) Noon TGC — PGA Tour, Northern Trust Open, second round, at Los Angeles 3:30 p.m. TGC — Champions Tour, ACE Group Classic, first round, at Naples, Fla. (same-day tape) MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 6 p.m. ESPN — Georgetown at Cincinnati MEN'S COLLEGE HOCKEY 4:30 p.m. NBCSN — Boston U. at Maine NBA 6 p.m. TNT — Exhibition, Rising Stars Challenge, at Houston Cards advance to D-1 semifinals By ANDRE BYIK DN Sports Editor CHICO — Corning's Diego Figueroa had a date with the back of the net Thursday, when the fifth-seeded Cardinals varsity soccer team shut out the fourth-seeded Pleasant Valley Vikings 2-0 at PV to advance to the Northern Section Division I semifinal round. Figueroa, a senior, knocked in both of Corning's goals with immaculate free kicks in the second half. "It's unfortunate," Vikings coach Mike Vought said. "It's not something you gameplan for. You don't think, 'Here's what we'll do if we give up a free kick or if we get a free kick.' You know, you just don't plan on winning games that way." For the Cardinals (163-2), it was "sweet revenge," as Corning's senior goal keeper Marvin Umana put it. Pleasant Valley downed Corning 3-0 in December in a nonleague game, and Cardinals coach Ascension Llamas said his team learned from that loss coming into Thursday's playoff matchup. Llamas said he wanted to feel the game out and play cautiously at first, something that the Cards didn't do in their previous game against the Vikings. "It was a little bit tougher than we thought, but I was confident in the team and we came through," Llamas said. But there was one more wrinkle that influenced play on the pitch — a strong and consistent wind. "The wind in the first half was pushing our way, so every time we blew (the ball) out it would always come back Daily News photo by Andre Byik Corning High's Diego Figueroa, left, moves the ball up the pitch Thursday against the Pleasant valley Vikings during the second half of play at Pleasant Valley High School. to our side," Umana said. The Vikings (11-4-1) had the wind at their backs in the first half, when Pleasant Valley controlled play and had seven strong chances on goal. "Each team that had the wind on one half ... dominated the half," Vikings senior Nick Lopez said, adding, "We just didn't get to play our game. They took us out of our game and they didn't get to play their game but they still beat us." Figueroa's first goal came in the 57th minute with a strike that sailed above the outstretched arms of the Vikings' keeper from well outside PV's right box. And while PV's intensity then picked up afterward, there would be no equalizer. Figueroa knocked in his second free-kick goal past the keeper's left in the 75th minute. Lopez said the Vikings WINTER GAMES were caught off guard by the kick and didn't get their wall set up in time. PV did have a chance to cut its two-goal deficit in half late in the game when senior Jake Lopez was awarded a penalty kick. But Corning keeper Umana had other thoughts. Lopez chose to shoot a grounder to the right. Umana was there with the save. "We practiced those all week," Umana said. "I saw that. Telegraphed that nicely." And so came the end of the season for the Vikings, who shared the Eastern Athletic League title with third-seeded Chico. "I'm really proud of this team for a lot of reasons," Vought said. "We were dealt a number of setbacks beginning in preseason, and then early in the year we suffered through some pretty serious injuries. Three bro- Daily News photo by Andre Byik Corning High advances to the Northern Section Division I semifinal round with its 2-0 win against the Pleasant Valley Vikings on Thursday. ken legs, had some players that had some personal issues and kind of broke the team apart early on. But we managed to get stronger despite those losses." Corning, which fell in the section title game last year, continues its run through the playoffs with a match against the topseeded Shasta Wolves (14-1-2) at 3 p.m. Tues- day. "I believed in our team that we could make it to the next round," Figueroa said. "Whoever didn't believe in us, we just proved them wrong." ——— Sports Editor Andre Byik can be reached at 5272151, ext. 111 or at spor ts@redbluffdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TehamaSports GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL No decision yet on NHL players in Sochi Olympics NEW YORK (AP) — A decision on whether NHL players will head to the 2014 Sochi Olympics isn't likely this week, but a first day of discussions went well. Talks between the NHL, the NHL players' association, and officials from the International Ice Hockey Federation and the International Olympic Committee stretched into Thursday night as the parties worked toward getting NHL players back to the Olympics for a fifth straight time. There are obstacles in the process, but the sides will get back together on Friday to talk some more. ''We had good discussions,'' NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told The Associated Press in an email Thursday night after talks wrapped up. ''We expect to continue tomorrow.'' While the NHL and the players might want to participate in the Olympics again, they have to figure out if it makes sense for them to interrupt another season to make it possible. ''I don't expect any resolution or decisions this week,'' Daly wrote to the AP earlier Thursday. In these negotiations, the NHL and the players' association appear to be aligned in their position. The Sochi Games are one year away. While a final decision isn't required this week, one will have to be reached in the near future. It is believed hockey federations will need to know by May what players will be available for their teams. The current discussions are being held between NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr, IIHL President Rene Fasel and officials from the IOC. After enduring a long lockout that produced a shortened regular season this year, the NHL is weighing whether it is worth shutting down the game for more than two weeks next season to allow its players to go to Russia for the Olympics. The time difference will force the games to be played at off hours in North America, and the NHL would like to receive concessions from the IOC that haven't been made before. In return for sending its players to the Sochi Olympics, the NHL is trying to acquire video, photograph and website rights for the games. The IIHF and the IOC retain those exclusive rights now. The NHL began sending its players to the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan, and continued through the 2010 Vancouver Games. Even though the NHL received great exposure by having its players take part in an Olympics in North America, disrupting the season does come with a cost. The stopping of the season, the potential injury risk to players, and no tangible upside for the NHL are all factors that create doubt about whether the investment is good for the league. One topic that isn't on the agenda during this week's meetings is NHL realignment. The relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg before last season has created travel troubles for the Jets and their Southeast Division rivals that need to be resolved. The league's board of governors thought it had the problem settled when a realignment plan that would change the current system from six divisions to four conferences was formed in December 2011. But the players' association rejected the plan, leaving all clubs in place for this season. Daily News photo by Andre Byik Lady Spartans host Pink Out! The Red Bluff Lady Spartans basketball program hosted its third annual Pink Out! game Thursday at Red Bluff High School. The event raises funds for the St. Elizabeth's Imaging Center and was created by senior Spartan Jessica Macdonald. The Spartans hosted the Shasta Wolves in what was both team's season closers. Shelley Macdonald, Jessica's mother, said the event proved more popular than in previous years. Red Bluff's varsity team won 44-43. Daily News photo by Andre Byik