U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL LOS ANGELES 1991 : Short Labor for Spencer, Who Scores 3 Early Goals : Field hockey: Chatsworth resident sits out most of second half after jump-starting West teammates toward victory.

Chatsworth’s Brian Spencer scored early and often in the opening match of the U. S. Olympic Festival field hockey tournament Saturday at Loyola Marymount.

Spencer, a forward on the West team, scored three goals in the first half of the West’s 3-0 victory over the South at Sullivan Field.

And the 1984 Olympian should be dishing out scores more of high-fives off the field in the next few days. His wife, Josephine, is expecting the couple’s third child momentarily.

“We thought she was going to have it last night,” Spencer said. “But it was a false alarm.”

It was fortunate for the West team--whose 15-player roster is composed of 13 players from the Valley area--that Spencer wasn’t up all night Friday in a delivery room.

At 29, the two-time member of the Pan American Games team is one of the oldest and most experienced players in the Olympic Festival and his knowledge came in handy against the South squad, which comprised the U. S. Junior (21-and-under) team.

“We knew that we had a big advantage on them in terms of experience,” Spencer said. “They train in Colorado for most of the year, so they’re in great shape, but we took advantage of that by letting them overrun some plays today.”

Spencer scored his first goal at the seven-minute mark of the first 35-minute half, and his second came five minutes before halftime. He struck for his third goal with five seconds remaining in the half.

Nick Butcher, a 15-year-old forward from Simi Valley, assisted Spencer with a crossing pass on the second goal, while Spencer caught South goalie Robbie Ryan out of position on the third score, outfighting Ryan for the ball near the edge of the striking circle and putting it into the open net.

“Usually, I score on deflections, where I basically just deflect a crossing pass into the net,” Spencer said. “I just happened to get to the ball before him on that last goal.”

Spencer--who is recovering from a strained left hamstring muscle--only played for the first nine minutes of the second half before coming out of the match.

Although the West team failed to score with Spencer sidelined, Butcher displayed a lot of future promise, blowing past the South defense several times. He had an excellent opportunity to score with approximately 10 minutes left in the match, but his shot was high and wide right of the goal.

“Nick is going to be a good one,” Spencer said. “He has great stickwork for someone his age. All he needs to do now is grow. Playing in this type of competition should help him a lot.”

The West will play the North, a 5-1 loser to the East, in a pool play match at 10:15 a.m. today. The East will faces the South at 8:30 a.m.