Girls Show Finesse on Soccer Field : Strategy Is Now Name of Game

Mira Costa High School Coach Kevin McBride says that girls’ soccer is becoming more and more like a chess game. If that’s the case, the South Bay is a haven for some of the sport’s grandmasters.

“The game is getting more strategic,” McBride said. “It’s like chess out there. Girls’ soccer is seeing more complex offenses and defenses, just like the boys’ game.”

A lot of those intricate game plans will be on display this winter in the South Bay, which traditionally produces outstanding soccer teams.

“The soccer talent the South Bay club teams produce is so good,” said McBride, whose Mustangs will meet perennial powerhouse Upland in the South Torrance Holiday Tournament semifinals Saturday. “So high school coaches are getting the cream of the crop, sort of by default.”

Here are a few teams in the area that are brimming with talent, whether by default or not:

West Torrance--Andy Bonchonsky coaches a veteran Warrior squad that returns six seniors to the field this year. Heading the returnees is goalkeeper Carolyn Hueth, who decided five games last year in penalty-kick contests.

Converted forward Cathy Graham shores up West’s back line at sweeper, where she is joined by a tough one-on-one marker, Spring Mautino. The Warrior midfield is anchored by senior Carla Swaim and junior Jill Henderson.

Bonchonsky’s main goal-scoring threat is Treena Stockton, a smart, versatile player. The coach hopes Henderson can join Stockton in tallying goals this season.

“We’re not exactly storming out of the blocks, but we’ll be in there if we stay healthy,” Bonchonsky said. “Basically, our team is just starting to enjoy playing the game.”

Mira Costa--McBride says his small, speedy Mustangs are “just getting used to playing with each other.” If that’s so, it could be a long season for Mira Costa’s opponents. Despite losing several players to graduation, Mira Costa won four of its first five games, and played West to a 2-2 tie in the final minutes.

McBride will have his two junior front line standouts for another year. Robin Kropp is a finisher whom Mira Costa looks to late in the game. And though Danielle Compton is only 5-foot-3, defenses often find the ball in the back of the net when they lose her in the shuffle.

Karen Greiner, a setter for Mira Costa’s volleyball team, patrols the midfield, and Jeanine Beaumont holds down the defense.

“I call them my cardiac kids,” McBride said. “They’re going to make me go in the hospital with a heart attack if they don’t quit these last-minute wins. They don’t quit. They go the full 80 minutes.”

Palos Verdes--The Sea Kings have already been tested by Mission Viejo, the top-ranked team in the Southern Section. Palos Verdes lost that game 2-0, but Coach Bruce Myrhe says if they can get some scoring punch, they could open some eyes this year.

Fortunately for Myrhe, his team is strong both in its midfield and back line. Senior center half Laura Goodale missed most of last year with a bad ankle, but she’s a skilled ball handler with a good shooting touch.

Goodale’s scoring partner at midfield is senior Wendy Cole, an All-Bay League right wing last year. Sweeper Robin Bronner, a junior, secures Palos Verdes’ defense.

Torrance--Dale Walker is gone after two consecutive years of fielding Southern Section runners-up. But first-year Coach Tom Lytle thinks he can have Torrance, which was decimated by graduation, ready to contend for the Bay League title.

Torrance’s veteran defense is led by senior fullback Jan Kloncky and senior sweeper Jennifer Kahow. The Tartars’ offense is headed up by aggressive forward Michelle Lorentz.

“It takes two or three players to cover (Lorentz) when she makes a run,” Lytle said. “Everyone else on the team will have to learn to work around her and the other seniors.”

Bishop Montgomery--Bob Myers’ Knights will have to work on finishing runs if they want to contend with Mater Dei in the Angelus League. But Bishop Montgomery has a young team, with eight juniors starting out of 11.

That means the Knights will rely heavily on senior center half Michelle McGarry and senior goalkeeper Chris Massaro for leadership. But Myers also has a “rising star” in sophomore midfielder Kelly Wood, who is strong and tenacious and has a good left foot.

Bishop Montgomery also has a tandem of talented junior defenders in Della Martinez and sweeper-stopper Courtney Hearn.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Myers said. “Patience is our virtue this year.”

Patience will also have to be a virtue for South Torrance, which graduated nine seniors two years in a row. Junior Mary Llewellyn and sophomore Rita Valdez hold down South’s midfield, and junior Felicia Falcone and sophomore Rachel Barmann head up the front line.

The Pioneer League will likely become a tangle between Redondo, which was ranked ninth in the preseason Southern Section-2A coaches’ poll, and rivals Miraleste and El Segundo.