WINTER SPORTS NOTEBOOK : Both Sides Clean Up in Muddy Title Draw

With a little time and tradition, soccer may yet end up as a popular professional sport in the U. S.

Meanwhile, at the high school level, soccer has already arrived.

Take, for example, last week’s Simi Valley Tournament. It was the sixth year of the 32-team tournament--and the fourth year in a row that it rained.

But Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley, rivals from the Marmonte League, met in the championship final and played on a muddy field to a 1-1 tie and a co-championship after two overtimes.

Coaches, players and fans walked away from the final satisfied. It gave hope for the season to Thousand Oaks, which has had disappointing meetings with Simi Valley in the past. For the Pioneers, it gave a preview of the kind of competition they will face in defending their league title.

Said Simi Valley Coach Andy Silva: “It was a super game. You’re never satisfied with a tie, but with a game like this, with the kids on both sides working so hard, you can’t deny them a tie.”

Add Simi Valley Tournament: Steve Bame, the goalie for Simi Valley, was named most valuable player of the tournament by the coaches. Bame endured 19 shots on goal against Thousand Oaks in the final game.

Others are taking notice of the 5-10 senior. Among several college coaches at the tournament was Wesley Harmon, coach of Bethany Nazarine College in Bethany, Okla. Bethany finished 12-8 last season and was among the top 25 in the nation among NAIA schools.

“He has very soft hands,” Harmon said of Bame. “He’s good on a crossing ball, organizing the defense and has good anticipation. He’s very good on reading a shooter.”

Which just about covers it for a goalie.

Other players Harmon was looking at include Simi Valley’s Robert Harris and John Spach along with Shaun Christianson of Royal.

Looking for new goals: Once they made life miserable for catchers. Now it’s soccer goalkeepers.

Two years ago, speedy Thousand Oaks soccer players Erik Maki, Mike Trevathan and Paul McCully were burning base paths as all-star baseball players for the Conejo Valley Senior League.

The transition to soccer has been smooth.

Maki is the team’s leading scorer with 11 goals in 15 games. Maki scored in the first game of the Simi Valley Tournament against Alemany. He scored a goal to tie Santa Paula in the second game of the first round championship bracket. Trevathan scored the go-ahead goal to win in the final minutes. McCully assisted on both goals.

In the next round, McCulley scored to beat Santa Monica. The next day, Maki scored the goal to tie Simi Valley in the final.

Trevathan is the only one of the three who also is playing baseball.

Boys City soccer playoff: The pairings for today’s opening round have Grant at Marshall; Westchester at Granada Hills; El Camino Real at San Pedro; San Fernando at Hollywood; Roosevelt at Chatsworth; Garfield at Kennedy.

All games are at 2:30 p.m.

It was easy: The L. A. Baptist soccer team, with a 33-0-3 Alpha League record compiled over the last three years, traveled to Montclair Prep for the league opener last Friday.

Once there, they won without taking the field.

Because of the mix-up, Montclair Prep officials thought the game had been postponed until after the holiday vacation.

The result was a 1-0 forfeit for the Knights.

“It didn’t bother me too much,” said L. A. Baptist coach Mike Osborne. “We came out of the game without any injuries.”

More than 50 Valley track and field athletes will compete in 24 events in the 27th Sunkist Invitational Track Meet at the L. A. Sports Arena on Jan. 17.

Several of those from the Valley area have a good shot at winning their event.

Dave Kenworthy, who was a pole vaulter at Crespi High last year, placed fourth in the 1984 Olympic trials and will compete against gold medalist Pierre Quinon of France at the Sports Arena.

Shanon Manship, of Thousand Oaks High, will compete in the 880 yard event. Her personal best is 2:14.31 in the 800 meters.

Saugus High’s Rodney Bradshaw will compete in the 120-yard high hurdles. His best time is 14.42 in the event.

Melissa Sutton of Newbury Park High will compete in the mile. Sutton, who placed sixth in the Kinney Cross Country Nationals, will run against Lisa Rizzo of Hart High and two-time California mile champion Shannon Clark of Mountain View High.

High school-level events start at 4:45 p.m., and world class events start at 7 p.m.