BOY’S SOCCER PREVIEW : Harvard on Solid Footing Despite Graduation Losses

The pinch of graduation is definitely being felt on the Harvard-Westlake High boys’ soccer team. Fifteen seniors, eight of whom were starters, graduated in June.

Most of those players helped guide Harvard to the Southern Section Small Schools Division championship in the 1989-90 season and a berth in the 2-A playoffs last season. Only nine players--three seniors and six juniors--return from last season’s 15-6-1 team.

David Moran, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound senior striker, is a returning All-American who scored a team-leading 24 goals. He also is on the state Olympic development team for players 18 and under. Moran is the first Harvard soccer player to achieve All-American status.

The soccer field, however, is not the only venue where Moran gets his kicks. Moran also is a talented track and field athlete who anchored Harvard’s 1,600-meter relay team to a second-place finish in the 1-A championships in May. He also has leaped 6-2 1/2 in the high jump, 21-1 in the long jump and 43-6 3/4 in the triple jump. He has run 51.22 seconds for 400 meters.

“He’s such a good athlete,” soccer Coach Barclay Mackinnon said. “He’s very strong and he’s very fast.”

In the fall, Moran played on the football team as a wide receiver and defensive back. He caught two passes for 33 yards, rushed once for 31 and intercepted a pass.

“His favorite sport by far is soccer,” Mackinnon said.

Mackinnon said he will try to mold a deep--but young--Harvard team around Moran, defensive midfielder Mark Greninger and sweeper Jeremy Kroger.

Greninger is a junior and Kroger is a sophomore who tried out for the under-16 national team in Dallas two weeks ago.

“What we’re looking to do is target those three players,” Mackinnon said. “All three of those guys handle the ball very, very well.”

Junior midfielder Dwight Angelini is a mainstay of the offense. Angelini, who had 14 goals and 14 assists last season, qualified for the Olympic development under-14, 15 and 16 teams.

“He may be the best player Harvard’s ever seen,” Mackinnon said. “He’s a technical wizard with the ball.”

Despite a minor recession on the field, the Wolverines are rich in goalkeepers.

Junior Chris Miller returns as the starting goalie and junior David McIntyre was the most valuable player on Harvard’s junior varsity last season. Freshman goalie Jay Rosen is a member of the under-16 Olympic development team and was on the under-15 squad a year ago.

“Normally, when you have a lot of young players, you make a lot of young mistakes. We may take some lumps early because we’re young,” Mackinnon said. “I certainly have a lot of talent, but we’ll see if we can hold up against teams that are senior laden and have a lot of high school experience.”

TEAMS TO WATCH

Royal--The Highlanders seem to need a road map to find their way to the second round of the 4-A playoffs. The Highlanders were upset in the first round the past two seasons.

Five returning All-Marmonte League players could make a difference for the Highlanders, 19-4-1 last season.

Goalie Steve Hambly, a second-team all-league selection as a punter on the football team, recorded 13 shutouts. Wade Stark, an all-league kicker on the football team, returns as the league’s most valuable defensive player and a first-team 4-A selection.

Dan Morris, a running back in the fall, led Royal with 16 goals from his striker position last season, and wide receiver-turned-forward Ryan Campbell had nine goals.

“We didn’t expect to have them back this early,” Coach Kevin Corley said of the foursome that switched from football after Royal’s loss in the first round of the Division II playoffs.

All-league midfielder Lucas Pedersen had a team-high nine assists in the 1990-91 season.

Simi Valley--Andy Silva, in his 12th season as coach, has his most inexperienced team. Sixteen seniors graduated and only two lettermen return.

Youth could be served because the junior varsity has posted a 42-0-3 record the past two seasons.

“It’s like I’m starting from scratch, (but) I’m not counting out our chances of doing well,” Silva said. The Pioneers have won nine Marmonte League titles--including the past three--and landed in the 4-A final twice under Silva.

Goalkeeper Mike Jones and midfielder Sean Taketa return from last seasons’s 22-3-1 team that advanced to the 4-A semifinals.

St. Francis--The Golden Knights have 12 returning players, eight of whom are starters, and are looking for a fourth consecutive league championship after winning the San Fernando League title last season and the championship of the now-defunct Del Rey the previous two seasons.

Senior forward Kevin Caberto and junior midfielder Tim Durkin, both all-league selections last season, were the Nos. 1 and 2 scorers for St. Francis, which advanced to the second round of the 2-A playoffs. Durkin has four goals in St. Francis’ first three matches.

Goalie Justin Johnston, a senior All-American candidate, has three shutouts in the first three matches. The Golden Knights’ defensive backfield remains intact with Denis-Martin Monty, Dennis Faigal and Jeff Schmidt.

“We have a lot of balance,” Coach Glen Appels said. “We have five or six guys that can hurt you. It’s difficult to shut down a team with that many good players.”