Wolfpack Wins Opener at Nationals

Cliff McKinley scored the first hat trick of the tournament to lead the Huntington Beach Wolfpack under-18 boys’ soccer team to a 3-0 victory over FC Delco Black of West Chester, Pa., on Tuesday, the first day of the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

McKinley, who graduated from Fountain Valley High and will attend UCLA in the fall, scored his first goal in the 11th minute. He also scored in the 51st and 81st minutes for the Far West Regional champions.

Today the Wolfpack will play Charlotte SC Blue, a 1-0 winner over Scott Gallagher of St. Louis. Round-robin play continues through Friday, followed by the championship games on Sunday.

The Southern California Blues under-16 girls’ team from Dana Point defeated the Cleveland Internationals, 1-0, on a goal by Santa Margarita’s Katie Rivera in the 34th minute.

The Blues will face the Dallas D’Feeters in the second round Thursday.

VOLLEYBALL

Former UC Irvine standout Ali Wood and teammate Danalee Bragado of Redondo Beach won both matches on the first day of qualification at the FIVB women’s beach volleyball stop at Espinho, Portugal.

Wood and Bragado opened with a 15-1 victory over Hungary’s Nathalie Dambendzet and Gyogyi Polanyi, then edged England’s Monique Oliver and Denise Catherine Austin, 17-15.

Wood and Bragado will meet Bulagaria’s Petia and Lina Yanchulova in today’s quarterfinals of the qualification round.

BASEBALL

The Orange County Scorpions, a summer collegiate baseball team that plays its home games at Saddleback College, will participate in the 66th National Baseball Congress World Series, Saturday through Aug. 12, in Wichita.

The Scorpions, featuring many local players and coached by Mo Geoghegan, were the champions of the Western Semi-Pro League with a 15-5 record, 29-9 overall.

TABLE TENNIS

Danny Tran, 16, of Brea recently won the 1,500-rated event at the U.S. Open Table Tennis tournament in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Lake Forest’s Michael Amren and Fullerton’s Arthur Ascuncion, both 15, also participated at the U.S. Open, which featured players from the United States, Europe and Asia.

The boys are coached by Attila Malek, a former U.S. national champion who is a director at Power Pong, a table tennis training center in Newport Beach.

SOFTBALL

Former Fresno State softball player Erika Blanco has been hired as an assistant softball coach at Cal State Fullerton.

Blanco coached at Bullard High in Fresno the last four years and her teams went 145-15-1.