On Defense, They Sweep Opponents Off Their Feet : Ruggiero: Junior acts as field general for Estancia, which has allowed only six goals in 13 soccer matches.

Claudia Ruggiero is the first to point out the major shortcoming of Estancia’s defense.

“Our defense lacks a lot of speed--we can all admit that,” Ruggiero said. “But we try to stop them before they can use that advantage.”

Thus far this season, the Eagles have done a fine job, allowing only six goals in 13 soccer matches.

Ruggiero, a junior sweeper, is the vocal leader of the Eagles’ defense. Because she is the last defender between the opponent and all-league goalkeeper Kristina Grigaitis, Ruggiero is in perfect position to see plays develop, and often can be heard screaming directions to teammates.

“I’m probably one of the more talkative players on the field, and playing sweeper gives me the chance to talk a lot and give advice when it’s needed,” Ruggiero said.

“Mostly, I encourage girls to keep moving and, by encouraging them to move around, it gets me going.”

Ruggiero is a solidifying force on the defense, Estancia Coach Jenny Tavares said.

“It’s hard to pinpoint,” said Tavares, who was Ruggiero’s first youth soccer coach. “She’s just an all-around player. If she weren’t sweeper, she could probably drop into any position.”

Ruggiero, who has scored two goals this season, also takes most of the Eagles’ free kicks and corner kicks.

“She likes to have things disciplined and she likes to get things done and it carries over to the other girls,” Tavares said. “It’s just kind of a spirit she generates.”

Ruggiero’s enthusiasm for athletics was apparent early in her life. According to her parents, she was the fastest Big Wheel rider on the block growing up in Chicago. She became involved in gymnastics and joined SCATS, a gymnastics program in Huntington Beach, when the family moved to Orange County in 1984.

But Ruggiero soon discovered soccer and gradually lost interest in gymnastics. (“I just wasn’t good at all the ballet stuff,” she said.)

Before her freshman season at Estancia, Ruggiero joined a club soccer team and continued to improve her skills. This year, her first time trying out, she qualified for the Southern California 19-and-under Olympic development team.

Ruggiero also plays volleyball--she was a second-team, All-Pacific Coast League outside hitter for Estancia last fall--and made the varsity softball team last season. Still, soccer remains her favorite sport.

She hopes playing on the Olympic development team will give her some exposure to college coaches at such top soccer programs as North Carolina, UC Santa Barbara and Stanford. Her academic record is solid--she maintains a 3.85 grade-point average and is active in student government.

But Ruggiero is most animated when she talks about soccer. She said she craves the contact of the sport--the chance to go one-on-one against an opponent--and likes the fact that the matches are played outdoors instead of in a gym.

“It’s a little hard for me to get as intense about a volleyball game as I do about a soccer game,” Ruggiero said. “And I think I’m better with my feet anyway.”