A6 — BAKER CITY HERALD
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2021
SPORTS
BAKER GIRLS BASKETBALL
Bulldogs sweep two on road trip
 Baker improves to 4-1 with
wins at Estacada, Molalla
half, scoring 14 of her 16 points.
Brooklyn Jaca added nine points, and
Taylor Gyllenberg had eight.
Saturday’s game at Molalla was much
By JAYSON JACOBY
more competitive, and thus a better
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
If there’s such a thing as a win that’s test for the Bulldogs, who broke open a
too easy, the Baker girls basketball team close game with a run late in the second
quarter, then held off a Molalla rally in
might have had one Friday, Dec. 10 at
the second half.
Estacada.
The 50-33 win boosted Baker’s record
The Bulldogs dominated the host
to 4-1, the only blemish a one-point loss
Rangers 59-4.
at Pendleton on Dec. 7.
Baker assistant coach Jason Ra-
“We want to have games where teams
mos, who served as head coach for the
Bulldogs games at Estacada and Molalla are going to come at us,” Jason Ramos
said. “We want to be in more games like
while coach Buell Gonzales Jr. was at-
tending a funeral, said the rout, although that one. It was a good test.”
It was also Baker’s third game in
easy on the court, also was diffi cult
three nights, and Ramos said that
because it was so one-sided.
although there were signs of fatigue, the
“It’s a tough game to coach the kids
Bulldogs didn’t falter.
through,” Ramos said. “You just have to
Leading 11-9 after one quarter, Baker
work on some things, to get better.”
Baker led 23-0 after the fi rst quarter. dominated the second quarter, 18-7, to
Jozie Ramos, who led all scorers with 18 lead 29-16 at halftime.
But Jozie Ramos, who scored 11
points, had 10 of those points in the fi rst
points in the fi rst half, also picked up her
eight minutes.
fourth foul in the second quarter.
Rylee Elms took over in the second
Ramos had to sit the entire third
quarter, and Molalla outscored the
Bulldogs 11-5 to cut the lead to 34-27
entering the fi nal quarter.
Ramos returned in the fourth quarter
and scored her fi nal basket.
Macey Moore had four of her 11 points
in the fi nal quarter, Gyllenberg had a
three-pointer, and Elms and Sydnee
Pierce each made two of two free throws
to thwart the Molalla rally. Gyllenberg
fi nished with nine points, Jaca had six,
and Elms fi ve.
“We’re getting better,” Jason Ramos
said. “We’re being a little more patient on
offense, which is good to see. There are
plenty of things to work on.”
Baker returns to its home court
Wednesday, Dec. 15 for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff
against Fruitland, Idaho.
The Bulldogs then join the boys team
for another cross-state trip, this one to
Klamath Falls. The Baker girls will play
Mazama on Friday, Dec. 17 at 6 p.m.,
and then Klamath Union on Saturday at
11 a.m.
Baker City Herald/Lisa Britton
Baker’s Macey Moore, seen here on Dec. 2 against
Homedale, helped lead the Bulldogs to wins over
Estacada and Molalla last weekend.
NYCFC wins MLS Cup, beating Portland Timbers in shootout
pagne and handed it to
Johnson, who took a drink.
Johnson has been in MLS
PORTLAND — After
more than a decade in Major since 2010, fi rst with the
Chicago Fire. He joined the
League Soccer, goalkeeper
NYCFC in 2017.
Sean Johnson was fi nally
“What a ride so far, this
able to lift the championship
journey was crazy this
trophy.
year. So many ups, so many
He earned an MLS Cup
downs,” Johnson said. “We
MVP award, too.
Johnson stopped a pair of talked amongst ourselves
Portland penalties and New before the game and just said
it’s a massive opportunity to
York City FC won its fi rst
make it all worth it. And this
MLS Cup title in a shootout
is what we live for, these mo-
after a 1-1 draw with the
Timbers on Saturday, Dec. 11. ments. To be to be the MVP
Alex Callens converted on his of the fi nals, I mean it means
the world, but it means so
attempt to clinch the shoot-
much more to lift the cup for
out, 4-2.
this for this club.”
Afterward, a teammate
Golden Boot winner
fi lled the cup with cham-
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
Valentin “Taty” Castellanos
scored in the opening half
and it appeared that NYCFC
was on its way to the league
championship in regulation,
but Portland’s Felipe Mora
scored in stoppage time to
give the Timbers hope.
Johnson, NYCFC’s cap-
tain, stopped PKs from Mora
and Diego Valeri in the shoot-
out after the two teams went
scoreless in extra time.
“I just wanted to make
sure that we stayed level,
we’ve been in that position
before. I told the guys that
we have the experience, not
to panic, not to get down on
ourselves, because there’s
more of an opportunity to go
Baker City's
Newest Brewery
forward and win the game,”
he said about guiding the
team to the fi nish.
NYCFC celebrated in
front of the goal after Callens
converted, while Valeri lay
in the middle of the fi eld in
disbelief. A group of New
York players broke off from
the party to salute their
fans, grouped in the opposite
corner of the stadium.
New York stayed on the
fi eld long after the victory.
Coach Ronny Delia stripped
down to his underwear and
lifted the trophy.
“I don’t regret that, it was
a big moment,” Delia said. “I
will keep on doing that if we
keep on winning trophies.”
NYCFC, which joined the
league in 2015, had never
advanced to the title game.
Castellanos, who had 19
goals in the regular season,
was back in the starting
lineup after missing the East-
ern Conference fi nal against
Philadelphia. The Argentine
striker was handed a red card
in the conference semifi nals
against the top-seeded New
England Revolution, which
NYCFC won on a penalty
shootout after a 2-2 draw.
New York’s 2-1 victory
over Philadelphia secured
NYCFC a place in the MLS
Cup fi nal. NYCFC was the
fourth seed in the East after
fi nishing the regular season
14-9-11.
The Timbers were also
seeded fourth after going
17-13-4 in the regular season.
Portland downed the top-
seeded Colorado Rapids on
Thanksgiving Day before
beating Real Salt Lake 2-0 at
Providence Park to win the
Western Conference and se-
cure home fi eld for the fi nal.
The Timbers won an MLS
Cup in 2015 and went to
the fi nal in 2018 but fell to
Atlanta.
“It feels cruel, it feels sour,
it feels diffi cult to accept. Be-
fore we learn something from
it, we need to feel and un-
derstand the emotions that
we’re going to have after this
match, not to achieve what
was our goal, to lift the tro-
phy at home,” Timbers coach
Giovanni Savarese said. “We
couldn’t have thought about
a more beautiful situation for
us than lifting that trophy.
So the fi rst thing is manage
our emotions and come to the
realization that it happened
this way. The game can
be cruel.”
Taproom Hours:
Wed-Fri 4pm to 8pm
Sat 2pm to 8pm
Closed Sun-Tues
Snacks | Beer | Cider
541-519-1337 | 1935 1st St, Baker City, OR
SNOW TIRES
are cheaper
than a wreck
Come and see us or call to schedule an appointment
Lew Brothers Tire Service
541-523-3679
210 Bridge St. Baker City, OR