Boys & Girls Soccer: The week that was

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Damien’s boys’ soccer team is off to a bad start. The 2005 and 2006 Southern Section Division I champions are 1-3-1 heading into Monday’s meeting with West Covina (3-2).

Last year the Spartans started the season with an 11-game game unbeaten streak. They rode the hot start to the playoffs thinking three-peat, but lost to the eventual Division I co-champion, Loyola (which beat Damien, 2-0, last week).

So, does the slow start signal the beginning of the end for Damien? Hardly.

But they are beatable right now, and that’s not a good thing considering that the Spartans will participate in two very tough tournaments soon (the Upland tournament after Christmas and then the West Coast Classic after New Year’s Day).

That makes the game against the Bulldogs an important match. After losses against Upland (4-0-1) and Loyola (5-0-2) last week, Damien needs to win this game to get some momentum.

Players of the week

Samantha Prochnow, Sr., Long Beach Wilson.

Prochnow scored four goals and had one assist in four games. Her week was highlighted by a hat trick against Marina in pool play of the Mater Dei Premier tournament. Prochnow has six goal this season. Last year, she had 14 goals and 10 assists as she made All-Moore League first team and All-Southern Section second team.

Speaking of Long Beach Wilson ...

The Bruins (7-0-2) are going for their second tournament championship of the season on Monday. Last Monday they captured the Aliso Cup with a 2-0 win against Buena. This championship will be a lot tougher to obtain. The Bruins will match up with Premier tournament host Mater Dei (5-2-6), the defending Division I champion, at Mater Dei at 5:30 p.m.

Super Sophomore

Keep an eye on Esperanza goalkeeper Jerrod Stith (pictured right). The 5-foot-10 sophomore made seven saves against Servite (7-0-1) last week to keep the Aztecs (5-1-1) in the game. Stith wasn’t able to stop this goal, but Esperanza came back to tie the game. Stith has been called upon a lot this year. Earlier in December he had to make nine saves to preserve a 2-1 win for the Aztecs.

Quicks outs

Santa Margarita’s boys’ team had to settle for a 1-1 tie with Concord De La Salle on Saturday. Austin McAnena put the Eagles (3-1-1) up 1-0 in the 12th minute, but the Spartans (3-0-4) tied it on a penalty kick in the second half. ... An interesting game on the boys’ side is Santa Ana (5-0-1) at Orange Lutheran (6-2-2). Recently Santa Ana Valley beat Mater Dei 5-1 and Santa Ana beat Valley 1-0. Interesting, right?... On the girls’ side, a must-check game is the previously mentioned Wilson vs. Mater Dei, which is a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal game that the Monarchs won, 1-0.

- Jaime Cardenas

-- Images from www.sportslogos.net and www.ehsaztecsoccer.com.