FALL SPORTS NOTEBOOK : This Chatsworth Goalie Doesn’t Crack

Eduardo Meza wasn’t able to play goalie for the Chatsworth High soccer team at the beginning of the season. He had egg on his face, although he had done nothing to be embarrassed about.

Meza was wearing yolk because he chose a window seat on a bus traveling from Chatsworth to his home in Los Angeles. As a goalie, Meza knew the dangers of an open net. He didn’t anticipate the hazards of an open window.

During the ride, some kids on the street pelted the bus with eggs. One whizzed through the window and struck Meza in the eye.

“I was looking to my left,” Meza said. “I turned to my right and got hit. It came out of nowhere.”

The resulting eye injury kept Meza out of action for the Chancellor’s first three games and forced Coach Richard Doran to scramble his lineup.

Meza has since returned--with protective goggles--and has allowed just three goals to help lead Chatsworth to a 7-1-1 record. The Chancellors are in first place in the West Valley League with a 6-0-1 record.

“At the beginning of the season, I thought we had the potential to be good, but I didn’t know how things would turn out,” Doran said. “Last season we lacked leadership from among the seniors. This year we’re getting it from Eduardo, Dave Tazsoldan and Torben Pedersen.”

The biggest reason for the team’s success has been the back-to-the-basics approach of Doran.

Last year, the Chancellors were 7-7-1 overall and 6-4 in league. They were eliminated by Jefferson in the first round of the City Section playoffs.

This year, Doran spent the early weeks of practice reintroducing his players to a style of soccer that stresses play from the perimeter, rather than the middle of the field.

“We try to open up the field and make the other team spread out defensively,” Doran said. “Players sometimes forget that that’s how the game is supposed to be played. Everyone wants to be where the action is.”

Meza agrees--but only if the windows are closed.

What’s Bruin Dept.: It may seem as if baseball season just ended, but at UCLA a number of former prep players from the Valley area have been participating in the Bruins’ winter program and figure to play prominent roles for the team.

The players include utility man Charlie Fiacco and third baseman Scott Cline of Camarillo; infielder Hector Cano of Grant; former Hart catcher Todd Zeile; infielder Torey Lovullo of Montclair Prep; and pitchers Mike Magnante of Burroughs, Dana Ridenour of Sylmar and Craig Good of Rio Mesa.

UCLA opens its season Feb. 4 at Pepperdine.

Four girls tennis teams from the Valley area will play today at 2 p.m. in various divisions of the Southern Section semifinals.

Westlake, the defending 3-A champion, will play host to top-seeded Mater Dei. Thousand Oaks will be at San Marino.

Chaminade plays host to Indio in the 2-A division, and La Reina is at Diamond Bar in the 1-A.

The winners of today’s matches will advance to the finals Tuesday at the West End Tennis and Racquet Club in Torrance.

Briefly

Karen Trapenberg, a senior at North Hollywood, is seeded fourth in the City individual girls tennis finals Dec. 5 at The Racquet Center in North Hollywood. . . . Crespi is ranked second in the Southern Section 3-A preseason boys soccer poll. Crespi was runner up last season. Other teams in the Top 10 include: 4-A--Simi Valley, seventh; 2-A--Chaminade, eighth; 1-A--Agoura, second; L.A. Baptist, fourth; Oak Park, 10th. In the Girls 3-A, Simi Valley is ranked first and Royal is sixth. In 2-A, Oak Park is second and Agoura fifth. . . . Kim Fields of Viewpoint and Michiyo Kobayashi of Simi Lutheran were named to the All-Heritage League first team in girls volleyball. Roberta Chisam, Viewpoint volleyball coach, was named co-coach of the year.