SOUTHERN SECTION GIRLS’ SOCCER PLAYOFFS : After Team Meeting, Marina Goes on a Roll

It was after a particularly unnerving league loss that Bobby Bruch decided a little fireside chat with his Marina girls’ soccer team was in order.

Bruch gathered his players after their loss to Edison at home gave the Vikings a 3-2 Sunset League record and planted doubts about where they were headed.

As third-seeded Marina (22-4-3) prepares to play in its first Southern Section title game--the Division I championship against Claremont starts at 6 tonight at Cerritos Gahr--Bruch cites the Edison loss as the turning point of the season.

“After that game, I called a team meeting,” he said. “I asked them to decide if they were going to go for it or not. We had seven league games left, and we had to win them all to have any chance of winning the Sunset League.”

The team aired its frustration at having fallen short of its goals the previous season--having lost to Esperanza in the first round of the playoffs--and how it wasn’t about to let history repeat itself.

Marina’s response?

“That was our last loss,” Bruch said. “We’ve won 10 games since.”

The keys to the turnaround were subtle. Marina stopped making simple defensive mistakes and started converting scoring opportunities.

The right mind-set has also played an important role in the Vikings’ success. Marina would like to go one step better than Tuesday’s 3-1 semifinal upset over El Toro.

“We’ve been using some psychological techniques to get ready for the matches,” he said.

For its meeting with Claremont (22-1-4), the No. 2 team from the Baseline League, Marina looks to seniors Amy Peterson (22 goals) and Sarah Heilman, sisters Camy and Marcy Crouch and junior Rhiannon Tanaka.

DIVISION II

Century League champion and second-seeded Canyon will have to wait until 2 p.m. Saturday to get a shot at its first section title.

The Comanches (25-2) take on Pacific League champion and top-seeded Arcadia (24-1-1), who lost last year’s 3-A final to Torrance, 3-2.

Midfielder Michelle Kennedy, who scored with 13 minutes left in Tuesday’s semifinal victory, leads Arcadia.

For Canyon, Kim Campbell (34 goals) and Krista Broughton are key offensive threats. They each scored two goals in Tuesday’s 4-0 shutout of Sunny Hills.

While the championship is Canyon’s first concern, the Comanches and goalkeeper Tina Thompson have 22 shutouts this season. They could tie an Orange County season shutout record in the title game. Laguna Hills had 23 shutouts in the 1986-87 season. With 28 shutouts last season, Torrance holds the section record.

“We didn’t concentrate on them,” Canyon Coach John Williams said. “If we made an effort, we probably could have had more.”