POPULAR GAME: Only 19 days left till...
POPULAR GAME: Only 19 days left till the World Cup, and soccer fans can’t wait. The game is a big deal in the Valley, and getting bigger. Lolly Keys, a national spokeswoman for the American Youth Soccer Organization, says about 41,000 Valley kids take part in league play, up 10% from last year. . . . “They have an aggressive campaign to sign kids up,” Keys said, “and you can play all year round.”
GREAT RUN: Well, you can’t win all the time. But the Chatsworth High girls soccer team certainly tried to prove that adage wrong. Since City girls soccer began in 1988, the team won every championship until this year. . . . But they finally lost in the semifinals to San Pedro. “It was a nice run,” said Co-Coach Jack Sidwell, “but all good things must come to an end.”
NATIVE SONS: Former Westlake High School teammates Eric Wynalda and Cobi Jones (above) are back together again, and this time, a little more than school pride is at stake. They are valuable members of the U.S. team. Both are fast, bold midfielders who love a shot at the net. A year older than Jones, Wynalda also has a leg up on Jones in experience, having played two seasons as a pro in Germany.
FAMILY TIES: There are no superstars on the U.S. team, says Cobi Jones, which means everyone must fit together exactly right. Otherwise, they could be booted out of competition pretty fast. “Most of us have been playing together for a few years,” Jones said, “so we’ve become like a family.”
SLIM AND NONE: Unity or not, the U.S. team isn’t likely to win the World Cup. In fact, according to Harrah’s in Reno, the odds are 40-1 against such a miracle. Actually, the odds would be even slimmer, said John Levy, Harrah’s sports book supervisor, if the competition weren’t being staged in this country. . . . Germany is favored at 3-1, with Brazil and Italy next at 4-1.
