Taking It to Extremes at Capistrano Valley : Girls’ soccer: Larsson kicks Cougars into gear, reversing downward dive that began after winning 4-A championship in ’89.

Monika Larsson has experienced extremes in her four seasons with the Capistrano Valley girls’ soccer team.

As a freshman in 1989, Larsson was a starter when the Cougars defeated Simi Valley, 4-3, in overtime to win the Southern Section Division 4-A championship.

Since the joy of winning the title, Larsson has enjoyed few such moments. The Cougars have switched coaches after each of the past three seasons and have finished fourth in the South Coast League the past two seasons. They hit bottom last season by not qualifying for the playoffs.

But the downward spiral is showing signs of reversal. The Cougars opened the season with shutout victories over Esperanza, ranked sixth in the preseason 4-A poll, and third-ranked Mater Dei. With two matches remaining before the South Coast League season opener Jan. 9 against Mission Viejo, Capistrano Valley is a healthy 9-1-3.

“I knew this year was going to be better than last year,” Larsson said. “Anything would be better than last year. It wasn’t because we didn’t have any skills--our team was pretty good--it was that we just didn’t click. We had no chemistry.”

Larsson credits John Bolger, the Cougars’ fourth coach in four seasons, with spurring the turnaround. Bolger, a veteran boys’ club soccer coach, earned a national coaching license from the U.S. Soccer Federation last year, and Larsson says his dedication to the game is refreshing.

“I call him at home and he’s working on soccer stuff,” Larsson said. “He knows the game and he’s a great guy.”

Bolger also can be credited with the biggest save of the season by acting quickly to avert an accident during a bus ride home from a tournament earlier this month.

The bus driver collapsed and fell out of his seat, leaving the bus carrying Bolger and eight Capistrano Valley players to drift across three lanes of Interstate 5. Moments before the bus would have hit the center divider, Bolger jumped into the driver’s seat and brought the bus under control.

Except for the driver, who suffered cuts to his head and was hospitalized, no one was injured.

Because of the incident, Bolger received a significant amount of media attention. He was interviewed on local radio and television news programs, newspapers praised him in editorials and the story was even aired by National Public Radio.

But Bolger sounds as if he would rather talk about the Cougars, the first girls’ team he has ever coached. Bolger, who originally coached his son John-Eric, now a senior on the Capistrano Valley boys’ team, in youth soccer, teaches a ball-control style of the game.

He believes if the Cougars can maintain possession of the ball for a majority of the match, the opponent will eventually tire and its defense will break down. This style of play requires an emphasis on the fundamentals in practice and Larsson said that has caused some grumbling among the players.

“It’s just little stuff and everybody says, ‘We learned this when we were 5 years old,’ ” Larsson said. “But it’s amazing how it helps us when we get out on the field.”

Larsson, who was a first-team All-South Coast League selection last season, is the team’s best player and a co-captain. One of only three seniors on the team, Larsson has scored 15 goals in the Cougars’ 13 matches. Although records are sketchy, Larsson believes she led the team in scoring last season with only nine goals.

“We try to work the ball to her feet even when someone’s right on her back,” Bolger said. “Monika’s strong enough to be able to turn with the ball. She’s got the ability to beat people, to shield the ball and beat them.

“Then she has this awesome shot.”

Larsson hopes her skills will allow her to continue playing in college and Bolger believes she will be able to play for a Division I school. Larsson worries, however, that the subpar season last year may have hurt her stock.

She is interested in attending a school with a strong soccer program such as Santa Clara, Stanford or California but wants to be certain she won’t end up a benchwarmer.

“If I’m not wanted, I know I’ll be sitting on the bench and I cannot handle sitting on the bench,” Larsson said. “I want to be out there playing. If that means I have to go out and kill myself to get prepared or practice 24 hours a day every day, I will.”