GIRLS’ SOCCER / TEAMS TO WATCH : Grant, Chatsworth Vie in City

Girls’ soccer, one of the fastest growing high school sports across the nation, is alive and kicking in the area.

In the San Fernando Valley, Grant High will try to stave off perennial power Chatsworth in an attempt to repeat as City champion. The Chancellors still feel the sting of having their five-year reign ended last season, and are determined to regain the title.

Southern Section bragging rights will be contested by a number of teams, including Royal, Quartz Hill and La Reina.

CHATSWORTH

COACH: Jack Sidwell

RECORD LAST SEASON: 16-1-1

SYNOPSIS: After seeing their dominance of the City end last year, the Chancellors are back and again loaded with talent.

“All good things must come to an end,” said Sidwell, whose team fell in the City semifinals to San Pedro after winning five consecutive titles. “We took (San Pedro) much too lightly, but the players want to crank it up again this year.”

Though Chatsworth has lost two players to graduation and another pair to knee injuries, the cupboard is far from bare. All-City selections Melinda George and Kim Pickup lead the way. George, a senior and the team’s leading scorer last season (30 goals), will patrol the midfield with her sisters Michelle, a junior, and Pamela, a sophomore. Pickup, a junior fullback, will team with Lindsay Bolita on defense. Senior Krista Ogasawara and sophomore Denise Paul are expected give the Chancellors strength at forward.

GRANT

COACH: Wilber Quintanilla

RECORD LAST SEASON: 18-3

SYNOPSIS: Led by standout goaltender Kelly Kiley-Boynton and seven other starters, Grant seeks to defend its City Section championship. Kiley-Boynton, a senior, has been the bane of City shooters and impressed Quintanilla, her first-year coach.

“She can put some of the boys’ goalkeepers her age to shame,” he said. “She’s not afraid to do anything in the goal, her positioning is impeccable and she’s a complete athlete.”

Controlling the field in front of Kiley-Boynton will be sweeper Maricca Pichaikul and center midfielder Katy Walzey, both seniors. Senior Nicole Bucciarelli, returning City player of the year, should take care of the scoring from her forward position.

“We definitely have a shot at another championship, but we will play some very weak teams along the way and we can’t let those results go to our head,” Quintanilla said.

BUENA

COACHES: Ed Daane and Barbara Huskey

RECORD LAST SEASON: 21-3-5

SYNOPSIS: Channel League champions last season, the Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals of the Division II playoffs, losing to Esperanza on penalty kicks.

“We were so close and it was really sad to see it end that way,” Huskey said. “But a lot of the girls knew they would be back to take another shot at it.”

Eight starters return, including Monica Almaraz, the Foothill League’s most valuable player and an All-Southern Section selection. A senior who splits time between midfield and forward, Almaraz had 15 goals and eight assists last season. She will team with junior Kristina Quiroz (12 goals, 17 assists), another All-Southern Section pick, who also plays forward and midfield.

Key players on the back line are fullbacks Megan Monday, a sophomore, and Stacy Hebert, a junior.

CRESCENTA VALLEY

COACH: Judd Bogust

RECORD LAST SEASON: 12-6-3

SYNOPSIS: Depth? Experience? Talent? This is ridiculous.

The Falcons didn’t lose a single starter off last season’s team that tied Arcadia for the Pacific League championship. Of 18 players, Bogust suits up 14 juniors, three sophomores and two seniors. All but four played varsity as freshmen, and six players were all-league selections last season.

“Last year we achieved what we thought we should have,” said Bogust, whose team fell in the second round of the Southern Section Division II playoffs to Ontario. “This year we should get to at least the final four. We’ll need luck but you don’t get lucky unless you have preparation and practice behind you, and this group is deadly serious in practice. I think I’ve finally convinced them they’re running out of time.”

The Falcons are strong in the midfield. Junior Michele Cena, co-MVP of the Pacific League last season and a second-team All-Southern Section selection, is joined by junior Heidi Greco, a third-team all-section pick.

Junior goaltender Marla Nelson posted 11 shutouts and a 0.8 goals against average last season. Defenders and sisters Danielle and Hope Robertshaw are solid, with Danielle, a senior and the team’s MVP two years ago, coming back from a knee injury that sidelined her last season.

HART

COACH: Oliver Germond

RECORD LAST SEASON: 13-5-4

SYNOPSIS: A year after leading the Indians to unprecedented success in his first season, Germond faces a rebuilding task he hopes to have conquered by the time Foothill League play begins in January.

“This is a new team,” said Germond, who guided Hart to a share of the league championship with Canyon and to the Division III Southern Section quarterfinals. “Last year we had a lot of speed, but now it’s going to be quick touches (of the ball) and a lot of movement by the players to get open.”

Leading the way will be midfielders Nancy James and Laura Qualls. James, a senior, went from a scoreless sophomore year to scoring 18 goals last season. Qualls, a sophomore, was the only freshman to start for the Indians last season and joined James as all-league selections.

Senior goaltender Kathleen Baldwin also will have an impact in her fourth season on the varsity and second as starting goalkeeper.

LA REINA

COACH: Joe Larenta

RECORD LAST SEASON: 21-2

SYNOPSIS: Larenta and La Reina planned on playing for the Division IV title last season, so being bumped in the semifinals by Chadwick came as a blow.

Before feeling sorry for the Regents, however, consider that the team has won four consecutive Tri-Valley League titles, hasn’t lost a league game in that time and has only lost four games in four years to Division IV opponents.

La Reina lost two players from last season’s powerhouse, including 1993-94 Division IV player of the year Michelle Nuesca, who scored 48 goals.

Key returnees will be junior center-midfielder Samantha Conroy (32 goals) and senior goalie Jennifer LaFemina. LaFemina, Division IV goalie of the year in ‘92-93, was second in voting for the award last season and posted a goals-against average of 1.1 per game.

Senior stopper Katie Russell, a second-team All-Southern Section selection last season, will push the ball up the field to sophomore forward Alicia Bueschen, who set La Reina’s freshman scoring record with 26 goals last season.

MOORPARK

COACH: Jay Greene

RECORD LAST SEASON: 11-10-1

SYNOPSIS: Greene took a team loaded with freshmen to second place in the Frontier League and the second round of the Division IV Southern Section playoffs last season. He is looking to advance farther this winter. “We were very young and the year was completely developmental,” Greene said. “This year we expect to improve on what we did.”

Needless to say, virtually the entire Musketeer lineup returns. Sophomore forward Elizabeth Christensen utilizes speed and tenacity on the front line, while classmate Amber McKenzie distributes well from the midfield.

Jennifer Cooney, a former goalie, spent last season adjusting to playing in the field, but has become a solid fullback with an offensive flair.

QUARTZ HILL

COACH: Maury Cauchon

RECORD LAST SEASON: 17-4-1

SYNOPSIS: In his first season, Cauchon inherits the defending Golden League champion, a team that has nine starters back. Junior midfielder Melissa Montes, freshman sweeper Shauna Murray and junior goaltender Veronica Rethi will give the Rebels strength up the middle. Junior forward April Smith keys the offense. Montes and Reihi, all-league selections last season, led Quartz Hill to a season-opening 2-1 victory over Moorpark last week and Cauchon likes what he sees.

“We have a good, positive attitude and play quick, counter-attacking soccer,” he said. “I’m very optimistic about the season.”

ROYAL

COACH: Andy Silva

RECORD LAST SEASON: 13-4-4

SYNOPSIS: After 13 years as boys’ coach at rival Simi Valley, Silva moves cross-town to guide the girls’ squad at Royal. Expect the Highlanders to send eight players on the attack, led by junior midfielder Tiffany Tackett, and, once she returns from knee surgery, senior striker Kelly Adamson.

Tackett likely will start at the center-midfield position, where her skill at distributing the ball will be a major benefit. Other impact players include senior fullback Jessica Crespo and freshman forward Alicia Bartholomew, only the fourth freshman to earn a spot on one of Silva’s teams in his 22-year coaching career.

SIMI VALLEY

COACH: Mark Johnson

RECORD LAST SEASON: 19-5-5

SYNOPSIS: A powerful force in the Marmonte League for more than a decade, Johnson’s team was well on the road to further glory last winter until the Northridge earthquake left its players’ lives in disarray. Ranked second in the Southern Section and 5-0-1 before the earthquake, Simi Valley managed only a third-place finish in the league.

“Nearly everyone had damage to their houses and many of the girls’ families were living out of hotels,” Johnson said. “Suddenly playing soccer wasn’t that important but it helped give them some stability in their lives.”

Bounced out of last season’s Division I playoffs in the second round, Simi Valley expects to bounce back behind midfielder Monica Gerardo. Gerardo had 15 goals and 16 assists last season and followed up the campaign by playing for the U.S. under-20 national team.