HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER PREVIEWS : Birmingham Got Help From Italy, Royal From Across Town : Girls: Coach Andy Silva’s grasp of the game puts a playoff berth within up-and-coming Highlanders’ grasp.

Andy Silva has landed right side up--again. From high school to college, job to job, Silva, 48, has made a series of smooth transitions, although none more emotionally challenging than his last.

In 1992, after 15 years of developing the Simi Valley High boys’ soccer team into one of Southern California’s strongest programs, Silva divorced himself from the school where he was coach, teacher and athletic director.

After deciding that the combined responsibilities of coach and athletic director were too much for one person, Simi Valley administrators told Silva that he must choose between roles.

Instead, Silva left for cross-town rival Royal High, where he is in his second season of coaching the girls’ soccer team.

“I was somewhat bitter when I left but I hold no grudge toward anyone now,” said Silva, who coached a final season at Simi Valley in 1992-93 while teaching at Royal. “I had to discipline myself to pick up and go on.”

Silva moved to Royal expecting he would be given administrative duties when the school added a ninth-grade class. That hasn’t happened, but he is happy anyway.

Royal’s program is thriving in the competitive Marmonte League as Silva excels at teaching the subtleties of soccer.

“That’s where I’m having fun,” said Silva, who guided the Simi Valley boys’ team to two Southern Section title matches. “Teaching the girls the game, seeing their eyes light up with that look of, ‘Now I understand.’ ”

Last season the Highlanders finished 13-10-1 and narrowly missed the playoffs. But a team that battled injuries and a lack of unity early on became a cohesive group that improved dramatically.

“From start to end, the team was so much better that the record didn’t matter,” Silva said. “Their ability to do what we asked of them improved 100%.”

Royal this season will be led by midfielders Tiffany Tackett and Theresa Bartholomew, defender Bridget Nibler and goalie Melissa Endy, all seniors who earned all-league honors last season.

Silva’s Simi Valley teams, known for their precision plays off corner kicks, direct kicks and throw-ins, were a fixture in the playoffs.

“The things we drill on in practice you don’t just read in a magazine,” Tackett said. “Andy knows all about the game and the situations that come up in it.”

Few situations faze Silva, who played soccer for Cal State Chico in the early 1970s and taught and coached at Baldwin Park and El Monte highs from 1972-79.

“Andy has a laid-back style and I’ve never seen him lose his temper,” Bartholomew said. “Last year a lot of the games didn’t go well but he always seems cool and calm.”

Silva misses the faster pace of boys’ soccer, but he has discovered trade-offs.

“The girls listen better, they’re still learning the game and are open to suggestions,” Silva said. “The guys think they know it all.”

TEAMS TO WATCH

* BUENA

1994-95 record: 28-3-2

The Bulldogs should win their fourth Channel League title in six years and make another playoff run; last season they lost in the Southern Section Division II title match. Eight starters return. Seniors Teresa Almaraz and Krista Janik (15 goals) start at striker. Junior Barbara Almaraz (seven goals, 10 assists) and senior Kristina Quiroz (10 goals, 14 assists) anchor the midfield. The defense is strong with junior Megan Munday at left fullback and senior Stacy Hebert at right fullback.

* CRESCENTA VALLEY

1994-95 record: 19-2-3

It’s last call for a group of nine seniors who made the varsity as freshmen and expected to have played for a Southern Section title by now. Ten seniors return from a team that lost in the Division II quarterfinals. The team’s most gifted player might be junior striker Stephanie Rigamat (18 goals, 17 assists). Senior midfielders Michele Cena (16 goals, 20 assists) and Heidi Greco also excel. Senior fullback Makenzie Mallory anchors the back line.

* CHAMINADE

1994-95 record: 16-5-4

The Eagles last season won their first Mission League title by a narrow margin and will need a strong performance to repeat. Ten starters return on a team with 12 underclassmen. Senior sweeper Vanessa Thiele (eight goals, nine assists), a first-team All-Southern Section pick and the 1994 league player of the year, is the backbone of the team. Chaminade will be doubly dangerous if senior midfielder Tami Pivnick (22 goals, 15 assists) can recover from a serious knee injury she suffered in March.

* LA REINA

1994-95 record: 19-3-1

Nine starters and seven seniors return and Coach Joe Laraneta expects the team to advance to at least the semifinals in Southern Section Division IV. “We have enough firepower to stay with anybody and our defense is good enough to keep people out when we absolutely have to,” said Laraneta, whose team was upset in the second round of last season’s playoffs. La Reina is sparked by sophomore Aimee Thompson, a midfielder-forward who scored 24 goals last season and is one of the top under-16 players in the state. She is joined by senior midfielder Samantha Conroy (26 goals) and junior forward Alicia Bueschen (19 goals, 21 assists).

* CHATSWORTH

1994-95 record: 18-1-3

The Chancellors’ only loss last season came against Grant in the City 4-A title game, after sweeper Kim Pickup was ejected in the first half and the team had to continue with 10 players. Pickup (eight goals), now a senior, and seven other starters return for a shot at redemption. Chief among the returners is center midfielder Michelle George (15 goals), one of the City’s swiftest players and, like Pickup, a 1994 first-team all-region selection by The Times.

BEST OF THE REST

Paraclete, seeking its fourth consecutive High Desert League title, welcomes back 10 starters, including three three-year players on defense. . . . Harvard-Westlake will battle Chaminade and Notre Dame for the Mission League title and is led by senior All-Southern Section players Natalie Kim, a midfielder, and Jessica Post, a striker. . . . Notre Dame has 10 players who were members of the school’s 1994 Mission League track champions. Sophomore midfielders Melissa Rubey and Sarah Morgan are among the region’s best players. . . . Quartz Hill has 12 experienced players back from a team that tied for the Golden League championship. . . . A mix of depth and young talent might make Agoura a Marmonte League force. Junior striker Christine Larralde and freshman striker Emily Toon will press opposing defenses. . . . Santa Clara was 17-3-3 and a Southern Section Division IV semifinalist last season. Cande Ruiz, Niecee Madrigal and Candice Garcia lead the Saints. . . . Danica Liberman, last season’s Marmonte League defensive player of the year, and all-league midfielder Stacia Spangler are two reasons to keep an eye on Westlake.