December 19, 2003

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Palo Alto Online

Santa's wish list filled with soccer hopes

This is the second in a series of stories previewing the high school winter sports season. Today: girls soccer.

by Keith Peters

Santa's gift list is a long one this Christmas season, thanks to all the needs of the local high school girls' soccer teams.

At Palo Alto, coach Jeff van Gastel has one very specific item he'd like to have for his Vikings this season: goals. The Vikings, for example, took 18 shots in Tuesday's SCVAL De Anza Division opener at Los Altos and came away with a 2-0 upset loss.

At Gunn, coach Daisy Renazco's Christmas wish is good health for her players. She has been missing 4-5 players due to the flu and that can present problems with only 18 players on the roster.

At Menlo, coach Donoson Fitzgerald would love to have his team be more consistent with its goal scoring and, thus, gain a killer instinct in order to put away inferior teams quickly. Alas, the Knights settled for a 1-1 tie with lowly Terra Nova on Tuesday in a PAL Bay Division match.

At Menlo-Atherton, coach Jenna Carson could use goals and victories. The Bears were blanked by Burlingame, 6-0, Tuesday after going 1-5 in a tournament in Fresno last weekend.

And at Castilleja, coach Horacio Matta wants his team to be healthy in order to be competitive this season.

As for Sacred Heart Prep, Pinewood and Woodside Priory, a winning season seems to be at the top of the list for all after all three missed the CCS playoffs in 2002.

If one wanted to be greedy this holiday season, it would be van Gastel. Despite returning nine starters from last season's 17-1-4 squad that won the De Anza Division title and reached the CCS semifinals, the Vikings (2-2-2) currently are sailing with little wind in their sails.

"With nine starters returning, you would think this team would be unbeatable," said van Gastel, "especially with the league having a down year with many seniors graduating out last year. However, for whatever reason, we have not put it together."

While an 8-0 nonleague win over Fremont and that 1-1 tie with Aptos provided van Gastel with a glimpse of things to come, Tuesday's 2-0 loss to Los Altos changed all that.

"Bad defensive errors, giveaways and then missing numerous scoring opportunities," van Gastel said of the season's low points thus far. "I thought that loss to Gunn was bad, today was even worse.

"Last year's team played through a lot of adversity, but still survived to get results. They dug in last year, with a never-say-die attitude. This year, the attitude has changed and we are giving away easy goals. And, just not scoring."

Not only is Paly missing easy goals, but many are one-on-one high-percentage breakaways. Senior Kat Stolpa, who scored six goals in the romp over Fremont, was blanked against Los Altos and missed one wide-open shot on a breakaway.

Despite scoring eight goals against Fremont, Paly took 53 shots. In the tie with Aptos, the Vikings scored once on 19 shots.

"Our shot-to-goals ratio is 11-3 while our opponents' is 3-1," van Gastel said. "So you can see the problem there. Unless we regain our scoring touch and stop making mistakes on defense, this could be a long season," said van Gastel, who began his sixth season at Paly with a 77-20-12 record.

On paper, Paly may have the strongest team in school history with six returning all-league performers Leanna Racine, Lisa Johnson, Lindsey Stirrat, Tessa Buchin, Dani Hanabusa and Austinn Freeman. Racine, Johnson, Stirrat and Buchin all started as defenders last season, but have yet to jell as a standout unit.

Other starters include goalie Perris Aufmuth, Kathy Nolan, Robin Chang, Rachel Hamilton and Stolpa, who missed most of last season with an illness. One player who should be starting is midfielder Natalie Ferraiolo, who tore her MCL in November and won't be back until mid-January.

"That is a huge loss for us," van Gastel said. "Hopefully, though, with the talent that we have, we will put it together and defend our league championship. Right now, we are just looking to score some goals."
Gunn

Renazco may be in her first year as the Titans' head coach, but she's not new to the program. Renazco was an assistant coach last season when Gunn went 9-6-5 overall and lost its CCS opener.

Renazco inherits a team that lost 11 players, including two starters who were eligible to play this season but chose not to.

Going into Thursday's De Anza Division opener at Palo Alto, however, the Titans were 4-2-1 with victories over CCS champ Santa Teresa and CCS semifinalist Paly.

"The team is doing great," Renazco said. "They're determined to do better."

Improvement will be measured by how the Titans fare in the De Anza Division and how far they advance in the postseason. Renazco said her team's 2-1 win over Paly in the semifinals of the Palo Alto Winter Classic was a huge confidence builder - especially since Gunn was missing three starters due to SATs or college trips.

"But," Renazco said, "we don't prepare for specific teams. All I ask is that when they step onto the field that they play their best soccer."

Co-captains Kira Price and Monica Quinonez will have a lot to do with that. Both are returning starters who will have to help the six players up from the JV squad settle in with the varsity.

Price was the Co-Junior of the Year in the De Anza Division last season, the only returning Gunn player to receive all-league recognition.

Other veteran returnees include starters Laura Baer, Katja Davis, Morgan Holland, Sara Horwath, Liz Lowe, Becky Ngoon, Sara Prescott, Daisy Robinton and Shannon Quirk, the team's only goalie.

Others rotated through the lineup include Orlie Kapitulnik, Irena Kvam and Pam Jue, among others.

With a lot of seniors gone from last season, the division is more even this season than in past years. That should make Gunn's task a bit easier.

Still, Renazco says, "This will be a season when we'll have to prove ourselves every time we step on to the field."
Menlo

In his 13th year, Fitzgerald is the dean of local soccer coaches. This season also has the potential to be one of the best, despite the loss of Division I scholarship player Michal Oda-Burns to a season-ending knee injury.

"She created tones of scoring opportunities last season," Fitzgerald said of the UCLA-bound Oda-Burns. "But, we still couldn't finish a lot of those opportunities."

The Knights have a similar problem this season, despite their excellent 7-1-1 start (prior to Thursday's makeup match with Carlmont).

"Every game, our defense keeps us in the game," Fitzgerald said. "Against Terra Nova (a team Menlo beat by 6-0 in a tournament earlier), we had 15 shots and scored one goal. Our success rate is too low. The problem is we need to convert the chances we create."

The one positive aspect of Menlo's scoring, though, has been the number of players who are contributing. Junior Kate Bentley, who scored against Terra Nova, leads the team with six goals and five assists. Senior Sara Horton has five goals and two assists, sophomore Erica Swanson has four goals and four assists while senior Ashley Graumann has four goals and two assists and sophomore Molly Lapolla has three goals.

"We have lots of kids who can score," Fitzgerald said. The Knights also are blessed with a solid defense, anchored by seniors Chrissy Guibara and Ashley Porter.

"I don't feel like I have any weak players in the lineup," said Fitzgerald, who also singled out juniors Kelley Finch, Kelly Clendenning and goalie Lizzie Pace, plus sophomore Megan Texeira and freshman Ariel Rogers for their contributions thus far.

Fitzgerald sees defending champion Carlmont as the PAL Bay Division favorite, while Burlingame and Aragon will give Menlo a battle for one of the three automatic CCS berths. The Knights finished third a season ago on their way to a 14-5-4 record.

As for the league race?

"It's wide open," Fitzgerald said.
Menlo-Atherton

The Bears lost PAL Bay Division Goalie of the Year Rebecca Rundle to graduation and second-team all-leaguer Kate Rasmussen to an injury. While Rasmussen is expected back in January, the Bears have a lot of ground to make up if they are to reach the postseason.

Menlo-Atherton is off to a 1-2 start (2-9 overall) in the Bay Division following Tuesday's 6-0 loss to Burlingame. Prior to that, the Bears won just one of six matches in a Fresno tournament.

With only 16 players, the Bears can't afford to lose too many players to injury. When Rasmussen returns, that should help the offense that features returnees Katherine Daiss, Jessica Haren and Courtney Morse.

The rest of the roster includes Abby Robinson, Meghan Gieber, Wendy Funk, Jenny Hess, Kaitlin McGhee, Devon Davey, Molly Porzig, Lori Dapkus, Celia Eusebio, Johana Rodriguez and goalies Alejandra Cruz and Kirsten McGhee.

The Bears went 6-6-2 in the Bay Division last season and 9-10-2 overall, just missing the CCS playoffs.
Woodside Priory

The Panthers also appear to have a numbers' problem with only 15 on its roster. But coach Damian Cohen says that's actually a plus this season.

"My first goal has already been accomplished and that is to have more than the nine to 10 players that we played with last season," Cohen said.

So, check that off Santa's list and add this: "I would like to see Abby Mills (our captain) be in contention for MVP of the league and, I know that we can't play at the same level as NDSJ or Mercy-Burlingame, but I would like to see us make a push for third place. That would be nice."

Priory went 6-6 in the West Bay Athletic League last season and 7-8-1 overall. The Panthers are off to a 2-1-1 start.

Joining Mills in the starting lineup have been seniors Allie Coats and Lori Teraoka, juniors Lauren Hecht, Tessa Berman, Helene Jernick, and Stephanie Schultz, plus sophomores Callie Strawn and goalie Rachel Moody, and freshmen Katie Lampert and Christina Tobacco. Freshman Ivy Bilikam also has started some matches.

Aracely Aceves, Sara Rappaport and Marissa Zappas round out the roster.

"As with any season," Cohen said, "the goal is for the girls to improve, to understand the game better and, of course, to have some fun. Every week I give them a written test, just so that they can learn the game a bit better.

"That is my goal, really. Most of these girls have never really played the game of soccer. Ultimately, we will be a better team than last season. In fact, we have already shown that."
Castilleja

The Gators went 0-5 in the preseason, but played most of their matches without five injured players - three of whom underwent ACL surgery over the summer.

Matta finally had a complete roster of 18 players this past week, but the Gators still aren't completely healthy. Fortunately for Matta, the Christmas break comes at a good time.

"I think we should be alright for the league season," he said. "We don't look very good on paper right now, but I think we'll be better. We have enough players to be a good team, but we need to be healthy."

Senior Kate Thorman and juniors Nicole Kalinske and Rupa Penumarthy all had ACL surgery during the summer. Senior Lindsey Thomson-Levin and sophomore Helen Ashton, meanwhile, have been out with other injuries. Of that group, only Ashston is a non-starter.

Freshman Kelly Schryver has been the team's leading scorer with Kalinske out.

Welcoming the injured players back to the lineup are fellow starters Paige Mission, Genny Orr, Lisa Pfefferkorn and goalie Claudia Skieller, all seniors. Sophomore Christina Skieller also starts while freshmen Julia Lee and Kelly Fitzgerald rotate through the final starting spot.

Castilleja went 7-2-2 in the WBAL last season, suffering its first league losses in two years. The Gators still advanced to the CCS playoffs, but lost their opener.
Pinewood

The Panthers have struggled through a tough preseason and gone 1-5-2 under veteran coach Michael Tetzlaff, prior to Thursday's nonleague match against visiting Downtown College Prep.

Pinewood, however, is actually ahead of where it was last season when the Gators went 0-6 in the preseason before winning six of 12 games in the Private Schools Athletic League.

The Panthers, however, return 11 players and have only six newcomers. That experience should pay off once the PSAL season begins Jan. 9.

The senior returnees include goalie Jessica Guild, midfielders Christina Eichler, Kyla Rogind and Hana Holubar; defenders Andrienne Ho and Renee Floyd; and forward Katie Whitlock.

Back for their junior season are forwards Sarah Cousins and Rachel Milstein. Sophomore returnees include forward Ragini Kathail and midfielder Carrie Weiss.

Sacred Heart Prep

If Gators' coach Sean Cole had a Christmas wish for his team, it might be a switch from the West Catholic Athletic League to anywhere else. The Gators were 0-15 in the WCAL last season, arguably the toughest soccer league in the Bay Area with powerhouses Presentation, St. Francis and Mitty.

Sacred Heart posted just one victory last year, but is off to a 1-5-2 overall record (0-2 in league) heading into Saturday's home WCAL match against Mitty at 11 a.m.

Returning to improve upon last year's record are Diana Chamorro, Ashleigh Comstock, Lauren Habig, Kirsten Harmon, Sarah King, Kim Lautze, Brenda Soto and Stefanie Vertongen.

With only 15 on the rosters, newcomers like Lia Cassanego, Marie Hamilton, Kelly Jandro, Bianco Moiseff, Shannon O'Holleran, Emily Reagan and Ally Walters will have to contribute right away.
Boys soccer

Menlo-Atherton coach Juan Camahort will be able to enjoy his Christmas break this season. A year ago, his Bears were 4-3-1 going into the holidays; this year they're 6-2.

"Our slow starts have been a problem in the past," said Camahort. "This year we're starting fast. I just hope we can finish strong, too."

The Bears improved to 3-0 in the PAL Bay Division with a 3-1 victory at Sequoia on Wednesday.

"We're looking good," Camahort said. "We're starting to get our act together."

Menlo-Atherton grabbed a 1-0 lead on a goal by Xeronimo Castaneda. After Sequoia rallied to tie, the Bears pulled away for good on goals by Javier Hil and Alex Ruck.

Camahort praised the defensive work of sweeper Darren Borcherdt and goalie Anthony Nikolchev. Ricardo Correa also did a good job filling in for injured starting stopper Spencer Collom.

In a SCVAL De Anza Division opener, Palo Alto received two goals from Ed Chang and solid defense from Justin Nolley, Cameron Taylor and David White in a 4-0 win over visiting Los Altos. The Vikings outshot the Eagles, 25-5, while improving to 6-1-1 overall and 1-0 in league.

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