Cypress Taking Another Shot at State Soccer Title

Ray Haas, the Cypress women’s soccer coach, doesn’t have anything special in mind to motivate his team for the state tournament this weekend.

Haas and assistant Tino Younger won’t make any great speeches. “We’ve already made our season,” Haas said. “Now the question is: Do we want to do something more? Talent doesn’t always get the job done. It takes heart and intensity.”

Cypress has shown plenty of both this season after some stumbles. The Chargers were beaten by Ventura in the opening weekend of the season and also tied Orange Coast twice in Orange Empire Conference games.

But Cypress kept improving, especially on defense, and posted two 1-0 victories in the Southern California playoffs to reach the state tournament for the third consecutive year and the fourth time in the seven-year history of the program.

Cypress opens against Ohlone at 2 p.m. Saturday at Ventura College.

Cypress has never won a state title, but Haas is especially encouraged about this team’s chances. “They seem more inspired about the whole situation than any group I’ve had,” he said.

Another reason for such optimism is that Cypress (20-1-3) is playing outstanding defense. The Chargers have 15 consecutive shutouts and have given up only four goals all season.

There are two major reasons for such stellar play. First, Cypress dominates most games offensively and the defense hasn’t been pressed very often. The Chargers have a state-leading 128 goals.

The second reason for the determined defense is that Tracy Van Herk, who played at Cypress in 1993, has returned as an assistant coach for a few hours a week. “That has been invaluable,” Haas said. “She has a special insight into that area and that makes a big difference.”

The Cypress offense is led by sophomore Vedda Desatoff, a midfielder. She scored both playoff goals to raise her season total to 23 to go along with 21 assists.

Sheri Smith has 25 goals and Nicole Terry and Lori Harris each have 18.