In El Camino Soccer Circles, Raul Haro Is Spelled <i> Hero</i> : Playoffs: The L.A. Heat wanted him when he was only a high school junior. Now that he’s 19, Raul Haro is nearly unstoppable. Almost single-handedly, he has brought the Warriors within reach of another state title.

For the most part, Raul Haro is shy around reporters. The El Camino College soccer standout isn’t very talkative, though he’s quick to say that stardom is wonderful.

He knows. An incredible knack for scoring has made the 19-year-old famous at El Camino for the last two years. It also brought him lots of notoriety throughout high school.

“Yeah,” Haro said with a big grin, “it’s a pretty great feeling. It’s pretty fun too.”

Living in the limelight has become a way of life for the former San Pedro High star, who has led the Warriors in scoring for the last two seasons. According to El Camino Coach Norm Jackson, Haro is responsible for the Warriors’ triumphant campaign this year.

“Credit to the boy Haro,” said Jackson, a former assistant coach for the professional L.A. Aztecs. “That’s why we’re here.”

El Camino wasn’t favored during the preseason but proved the forecasters wrong by finishing on top of the South Coast Conference with a 10-1-1 record (16-2-1 overall) and earning a spot in the regional playoffs Nov. 22.

The Warriors capped the regular season with a 5-1 victory over College of the Desert on Tuesday. Haro scored twice in the game.

Without the 5-foot-7, 150-pound Haro, the Warriors wouldn’t have made it to postseason play, according to Jackson. In seven years as coach, El Camino, a junior college soccer powerhouse, has won two state titles (1985 and 1987) and reached the state finals four times.

But this year was supposed to be different because only one returning starter, Haro, was back from last year’s SCC champion club that went 14-3-3. Stopper Miguel Hernandez, the only other returning player, was a reserve last year.

That left the Warriors with an almost all-freshman team that has proven to be tough defensively but lacking in offensive spark.

Except for Haro, that is. He’s a one-man offensive show who has made up for the loss of all-American forward Mark Sharp, who is at UCLA now.

“Raul is just a guy that can score goals,” said Jackson, who coached the West soccer team at the Olympic Festival in 1986 and served as a U.S Soccer Federation coach for two years. “He’s the best finisher I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen some good ones.”

As he did last year, Haro leads the team and the conference in scoring. He’s made almost half of the Warriors’ points this season (22 of 45) and will be a force in the playoffs.

The sophomore has performed outstandingly in every game and almost single-handedly earned two of El Camino’s league victories.

Both were against conference rival Cerritos. The first time, with about two minutes left in a scoreless tie, Haro took on a defender and, as usual, converted. El Camino walked away with a 1-0 victory. The second time, the Warriors won, 3-0, on three Haro goals.

“He’s scoring goals when we’re not in the game,” Jackson said. “He’s actually winning games for us. We’re always in the game with Raul Haro.”

It hasn’t been as easy as Haro’s statistics may indicate. He doesn’t exactly glide freely across the field; he’s usually double-teamed by fierce defenders.

“I get a lot of elbows,” Haro said, “and a lot of holding of shirts and kicking when the ref isn’t looking. Defenders try to take me out of the game when the ref isn’t looking.”

So far, it hasn’t worked. Even as a freshman, Haro made a tremendous impact on the competitive SCC. He led the league with 29 goals and helped the Warriors reach the semifinals of the state tournament. He was also an all-American and all-league selection.

“I just go out there and give it everything I got,” said Haro, whose father, Raul, a former professional soccer player in Mexico, has been his biggest inspiration. “It’s a team sport, you know, not just one player.”

But every team has a prominent athlete whose statistics draw attention. Haro started playing that role in high school, where a successful career put him on the wanted lists of several top-notch collegiate programs.

UCLA was one of those, but Haro’s grades weren’t up to par, so he opted to play at a junior college rather than sit out one year under Proposition 48.

“What sparked interest in him,” said UCLA Coach Sigi Schmid, who has led the Bruins to the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. playoffs in the last six years, “is his ability to score. He gets into the opponent’s penalty box, and he becomes very dangerous.

“When I watched Raul in high school, he scored almost every time. For example, he’d score three goals in four chances. He’s very good at finishing his opportunities.”

At San Pedro, Haro was the City’s most valuable player twice and a three-time all-City and all-league selection. He led the Pirates in scoring three straight seasons and holds the school’s career goal record (105).

As a junior he led San Pedro to the City title, and he helped the Pirates reach the City championship finals two other times. He was also a kicker on the football team for three years.

“He’s a born striker,” said San Pedro Coach Henry Nozaki, who has also coached the East all-star team for the last two years. “He’s got great skills and tremendous speed. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s the best player we’ve had.

“I mean, the L.A. Heat wanted him when he was only a junior. I told them: ‘No way. He’s only a high school junior!’ But that’s how good he was.”

Nozaki, who has watched all of Haro’s college games, says he’s improved greatly. The coach believes he’s more of an all-around player than in high school.

“This year it has become much more evident,” Nozaki said, “that El Camino would be just another team without Raul Haro.”

Once the season is over, Haro plans to return to the San Pedro Yugoslavs, a perennial semi-pro club he played for last season. He also plans to be on UCLA’s roster next fall, grades permitting.

But first he has junior college playoffs to score in. He also wants to savor fame at this level.

“I love it,” Haro said. “I love playing the sport, and I love scoring.”