Prep Review : Mission Viejo Soccer Coach Tries to Keep Streak in Perspective

Put yourself in the place of Jim Dutton, Mission Viejo High School’s girls’ soccer coach.

You’ve won three consecutive Southern Section titles. Your team has extended its national record of games without a loss to 81, dating back to January of 1986.

Are you the happiest soccer coach on earth? Well, not in all respects.

The reality, Dutton said, is that the streak has caused some problems, both for himself and the team. It seems the pressure to keep from losing has become more of a burden than it’s worth.

“I think it’s really getting to the point where, because of that pressure, no one’s having fun on the field anymore,” he said. “I feel some pressure myself, but it’s worse for the girls, especially the freshmen. I feel sorry for them. . . . It’s really tough to live up to all these expectations.”

Last Thursday, Dana Hills came close to ending the streak. Dana Hills had a 2-1 lead with less than 5 minutes to play, but Mission Viejo’s Maggie Doherty scored off a corner kick to tie the score, 2-2.

Dutton said he realized during the game that his players couldn’t relax and play their game because of the streak.

“It’s getting to be more a nightmare, really. Everyone’s so scared of doing something wrong, or making a mistake, they over-press,” he said.

Dutton said he hopes to convince his players that the most important thing is not extending the streak but being one of the league’s top three teams to advance to the Southern Section playoffs.

“Realistically, with the youth we have, we’re not going to go undefeated for much longer. The competition (in the South Coast League) is just too good. If we can go through league with two or three losses and still make it to the playoffs, then we should be OK.”

Saturday, before Mission Viejo met Corona del Mar in a nonleague game, the normally low-key Dutton appeared more relaxed than ever.

“I just want the girls to go out and have fun,” he said. “The game doesn’t count toward anything. If they get their ears pinned back, that’s fine. I want the pressure off of them.”

Mission Viejo won, 2-0.

The victory extended the Diablos’ streak to 81 games without a loss.

But, hey, who’s counting?

Add Mission Viejo: Tuesday at 3 p.m., Capistrano Valley plays at Mission Viejo in a South Coast League game. Capistrano Valley is the sixth-ranked team in the Southern Section 4-A, and has finished second to Mission Viejo in league play the past 3 seasons.

New Wave: As if its 82-55 rout of Bishop Amat Friday wasn’t entertaining enough for Mater Dei High School basketball fans, Monarch supporters involved themselves in a show of their own during the game at Mater Dei.

Each time a Bishop Amat player came to the free-throw line, Mater Dei fans stood and, without a word, began wildly flapping their arms.

Other than the muffed ruffle made by the hundreds of shirt sleeves waving through the air, not a sound was made. Not a boo, not a hiss, not a holler.

Did it affect Bishop Amat?

Well, that’s debatable. The Lancers made only 17 of 32 free throws (53%). Not great, but not much worse than the Monarchs, who made only 12 of 21 (57%) without any distractions.

What kind of character instigated the Monarchs’ new silent wave?

Father John Weling, the school’s oh-so-spirited principal, introduced the idea to the student body during a pep rally Friday afternoon.

“Yeah,” Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said after the game. “It’s great to have a principal like that.”

Tracking the Stars of ‘88: Adam Keefe, Bobby Joyce, Mike Goff. . . . Where have last season’s high school basketball stars gone? How are they doing?

Here’s a quick look at the current status of the members of The Times’ 1988 All-County boys’ basketball team:

--Adam Keefe. The former Woodbridge star is doing well at Stanford, having emerged--to no one’s surprise--as one of the top freshmen in the Pacific 10 Conference. Keefe, a 6-foot 9-inch, 230-pound forward, is averaging 7 points, 5 rebounds and 17 minutes a game.

A broken nose suffered in preseason drills forced him to wear a facemask in his first 2 games. He scored a college career-high 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting and had 9 rebounds against Furman Dec. 29.

--Steve Guild, formerly of Marina, is redshirting his freshman season at Pepperdine.

“Even though we’re not using him this year, we can tell he’s one of the best passers on the team,” said Dave Campbell, Pepperdine assistant.

--Joe Small, formerly of Bolsa Grande, is averaging 18 points at College of Sequoias in Visalia. During the Santa Barbara tournament Dec. 8-10, Small averaged 25 points in 3 games, scoring 30 against Long Beach and 31 against Santa Barbara.

--Bobby Joyce, formerly of Santa Ana, is leading Riverside College in scoring (17-point average), rebounds (11), blocked shots (2.3) and steals (2.2). Although last spring he signed a national letter of intent to attend Nevada Las Vegas, Joyce failed to meet National Collegiate Athletic Assn. freshman eligibility requirements. He plans to enroll at UNLV next season.

--Kevin Rembert, formerly of Mater Dei, is at Arizona Western College at Yuma. Rembert also signed with a 4-year college (San Diego State), but because of academic ineligibility chose to play his freshman season at a community college.

Rembert, who is averaging 11 points for Arizona Western, said he plans on enrolling at SDSU in the fall.

--Mike Goff was the county’s leading scorer (28.2) and rebounder (16.7) last season at Magnolia. Now at Fullerton College, Goff leads his team in scoring (16-point average) and rebounds (7). He had a season-high 35 points against College of the Canyons Dec. 27.

--Leo Parker, formerly of Tustin, is averaging 15 points and 6 rebounds a game at Ventura College.

--Brian Kenney, formerly of Servite, is redshirting his freshman year at UC San Diego.

--Chris Tower, formerly of Westminster, is at the University of New Mexico.

--Gylan Dottin, formerly of Saddleback, is leading the University of San Diego with 14 points a game.

“Hey, I’m enjoying it here,” Dottin said. “You know it’s more responsibilities though, having to budget my time for practice, homework, laundry. . . . Living in the dorms, that’s the interesting thing, it’s just a big party house. But since we have practice every day at 6 (a.m.), that keeps you out of trouble.”

Wanted: Hoop Fans at Irvine: Despite Irvine’s 15-2 record in boys’ basketball and No. 3 ranking in the county, the Vaqueros haven’t received much student support. Steve Keith, in his second season as Irvine coach, doesn’t want to complain, but . . .

“We have a good group of parents that come out, and a core of faculty and administrators, but you can count the students in the stands on one hand,” he said.

Why so little interest?

“Well, we have no basketball tradition, or least no tradition of success here,” said Keith, who led Irvine to the playoffs for the first time in school history last season.

“It’s not something that comes overnight, though. I mean, yes, I would like to see more student support, but all I can do is put the best basketball team on the floor. If after a while, the students don’t respond to that, then maybe there’s a problem.”

Bingo binge: The Anaheim Union High School District board has approved organized bingo at Katella High School every Saturday evening, according to Tom Danley, Katella athletic director.

The athletic booster club is sponsoring the games, which began Saturday, and the Athletic Letterman Club--a service organization of varsity lettermen at Katella--has volunteered to help with setup and cleanup.

Danley said that profits would supplement all extra-curricular activities, from athletics to academic clubs.