Royal, Westlake Hope to Reach a Settlement in 4-A Soccer Playoffs

The similarities are striking--and as even as the number of black and white squares on a soccer ball. Even now, weeks after the beginning of the 1986-87 season, Royal and Westlake highs still haven’t managed to determine which is the best team in the Southern Section.

They can’t even decide which is the best team in the neighborhood.

Each team has played 20-plus matches, with neither gaining a clear advantage in the victory totals. They finished in a dead heat for first in the Marmonte League and split their meetings.

Each has held the No. 1 ranking in the boys 4-A Division soccer coaches poll. . . . Both have several highly regarded players. . . . Each coach is widely respected, yet relatively new. . . . Both defeated Simi Valley, a Marmonte power and championship finalist last season.

But kick back for a while and check back in a couple of weeks. What couldn’t be settled in the regular season might be settled March 6, the date of the Southern Section final at Gahr High.

Westlake (19-1-2) and Royal (21-1-2) will be seeded first and second, respectively, when the 32-team playoffs begin today--setting up a potential championship match between the Marmonte rivals.

That prospect is hardly a revelation to the parties involved. In fact, both teams practically expect to line up across from the other in the final.

“We’ll try to take care of our bracket and we’ll leave Westlake to handle the other,” second-year Coach John Calpin of Royal said. “Westlake has a good team. We might just run into them later.”

First-year Coach Mike Williams of Westlake hasn’t exactly dismissed the possibility of a re -rematch, either.

“I’ve watched videotape from the Royal loss quite a few times,” Williams said. “We learned a couple of things, too. They taught us a few lessons last time out.”

That was last month, when Royal defeated Westlake, 3-1. Westlake could have captured the Marmonte title outright with a win, but the Royal victory again threw the league--and the Southern Section rankings--up for grab. Westlake won the first meeting, 1-0.

Since the teams tied for the league title--the co-championship was the first soccer title for Royal--a little-known tie-breaker was used to settle the matter of seeding the teams. Some dusty bylaw was found deep within the Marmonte League archives--so obscure, in fact, that Williams can’t understand (much less explain) the ruling.

Westlake won the decision.

“It’s complicated,” Williams said. “I’m not exactly sure what the exact point breakdown was. All I know is that we won.”

Westlake was seeded first on the basis of a complex league rule that assigns points for wins and ties based on the final record of Marmonte opponents.

Williams isn’t the only one in the dark. Last week, the Southern Section mistakenly named Royal the league winner based on its own tie-breaker system, which instead uses total goals scored in league, Williams explained.

“I guess it’s like a city ordinance taking precedence over a county ordinance,” Williams said. “I actually expected us to be the No. 2 seed, but I’ve said all along that I’ll take it any way I can get it.”

The controversy wasn’t helped when the Southern California Soccer Coaches Assn. named Royal the No. 1 team in its weekly poll, issued Monday.

Top-seeded teams have the home-field advantage in the playoffs. Since Westlake has no lights or stands at its football field, however, the team will play most of its games at other Marmonte school sites. In today’s first-round match, Westlake will play Hawthorne (12-10-2), which finished third in the Ocean League, at Newbury Park. Royal will play host to Buena (13-2-4), which finished second in the Channel League. Both matches are scheduled for 3 p.m.

On the field, the distinctions between the teams are more pronounced. Westlake employs a gambling offense that attacks the way a basketball team runs a fast break. Eric Wynalda, Westlake’s all-league senior striker, broke the school record for goals (30) and points (60) in a season and is rated among the top strikers in the country by collegiate recruiters, Williams said.

Midfielder Wally Androski scored 10 goals and had 13 assists for Westlake, which has 10 seniors among its 11 starters. On defense, goalkeeper Chris Volk allowed .85 goals per game and recorded seven shutouts.

“We’re a really high-strung team,” Williams, 25, said. “Royal is much more regimented, very controlled. The kids here are climbing the walls wanting to play that first game right now.”

Royal’s on-field persona is a reflection of its coach. Calpin, 46, played professional soccer in England for 14 years and has spent most of his life coaching and playing the game. Calpin resurrected a struggling Moorpark program in 1982, taking a 3-17 team to a league title before taking the reigns at Royal.

It’s no surprise, then, that Williams characterizes Calpin’s team as patient.

“Our actions this year have spoken for themselves,” Calpin said. “We had a very good season, and I feel our players are as good as anybody’s.”

Royal’s field general, senior midfielder Shaun Christensen, has the credentials for the job because he also was the quarterback and kicker on the football team.

“Shaun orchestrates our offense, and he has great creative ability,” Calpin said.

Christensen scored 23 goals to complement the play of juniors Matt and Cam Rast, twins who have given Royal a 1-2 punch at striker and sweeper. Senior goalkeeper Allan Tagg has 17 shutouts in 24 matches.

Calpin, in contrast to Williams, is hesitant to use superlatives in describing Royal. He prefers adjectives like “quality,” or “accomplished.” If regimented Royal does meet wild Westlake in the final next month, the adjectives employed might be one of the few discernible differences between the two.