On Defense, They Sweep Opponents Off Their Feet

Matters in the Pacific Coast League have been unsettled since the Estancia girls’ soccer team rejoined the fray. Trabuco Hills, which won the league championship in 1990, and Estancia played to two ties last season and shared the title.

Heading into the teams’ first meeting of this season, at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Trabuco Hills, the situation is similar. Trabuco Hills (15-2-2, 3-0 in league) is ranked third in the Southern Section Division 3-A; Estancia (10-1-2, 3-0) is unranked but among the others receiving votes.

The match figures to be a defensive struggle. Last season, each team scored only one goal in each of the two matches.

The goalkeepers--Estancia’s Kristina Grigaitis and Trabuco Hills’ Shannon Pickett--were first-team, all-league selections and are supported by strong defenses.

“It’s going to be a war,” Trabuco Hills Coach Bob Daman said.

Two of the stronger defenders are Trabuco Hills’ Christy Lunceford, defensive player of the league last season, and Estancia’s Claudia Ruggiero, a first-team selection. They both play sweeper, which is the rear guard of the defense and the soccer equivalent of football’s safety.

Here is a closer look at Lunceford and Ruggiero.