Coach Invents Way to End Losing Streak

Three weeks ago, the Esperanza girls’ soccer team went into a tailspin that could have knocked the Aztecs out of the playoffs. But last week, the Aztecs bounced Orange County’s top-ranked team out of the playoffs.

Esperanza upset second-seeded Capistrano Valley, 3-1, in the first round of the Southern Section Division I playoffs.

So what shook up the Aztecs and put them on track for their current five-game winning streak?

“We had just lost our third Sunset League game in a row,” Esperanza Coach Trevor Ickes said. “So the next day, we knew the kids were really down and thought that we’ve got to do something different, to get back to doing just the positive things.

“So we set up about 1,000 cones all around our practice field and they came out there and thought we were going to do a lot of running. But we had designed a soccer-golf course. And for 2 1/2 hours, we just played soccer golf.”

Esperanza beat Sunset League champ Edison the next day to begin the five-game winning streak.

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Another contributing factor to Esperanza’s resurgence is the return of senior midfielder Kristen Holstrom. Her return coincided with the beginning of the five-game winning streak.

“Kristen dislocated her hip taking a penalty kick in the Excalibur tournament,” Ickes said. “The seniors have really stepped up.”

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Esperanza’s upset didn’t shock some county coaches.

Capistrano Valley Coach Jack Peterson knew the Cougars wouldn’t be at full strength because two of their top players--sophomores Ashley Casas and Kristen Moore--would miss the first week of the playoffs for training with the Olympic Development Program 16-and-under national team in Florida.

“We’ll just have to try and get by without them,” Peterson said last month.

The Cougars also received a tough draw and most likely would have had to face Pacific Coast League champ Aliso Niguel in the second round and another tough Sunset League opponent, Los Alamitos, in the quarterfinals.

“Until the semis, there’s no chance for recovery,” Los Alamitos Coach Mossy Kennedy said of the three-game stretch in seven days. “That’s made extra difficult when you’re playing physical teams like these.”

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Capistrano Valley wasn’t the only highly ranked Orange County soccer team to make an early exit from the playoffs.

Santa Ana, which finished the season ranked second in the county, lost to Lawndale Leuzinger, 1-0, in the first round of the boys’ soccer Division I playoffs Friday.

Although the Saints are 29-9-5 during the past two regular seasons, they have lost in the first round of the playoffs in the last two seasons.

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Heritage Christian boys’ basketball Coach Mark Berokoff anxiously waited for the playoffs, especially after his team went overlooked in the Southern Section boys’ basketball polls for most of the season.

But his team’s late-season run is drawing some attention, and that could be just the beginning.

Junior Matt Winter, who made a school-record 10 three-pointers last week and scored 46 points in a 86-82 overtime victory over Walnut Southlands Christian, has helped the Patriots win two consecutive playoff games.

“I think Matt is one of the three top players in this division,” Berokoff said. “It’s also exciting because we get everyone back next season.”

But the Patriots aren’t done with this season yet, advancing to Tuesday’s Division V-A quarterfinals to face West L.A. Baptist.

“We’re still not peaking just yet,” Berokoff said. “Hopefully that will come Tuesday.”

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It was their first playoff victory since 1966, but there were no special congratulations offered after Loara’s 68-54 victory over Riverside Poly in the first round of the Division I-A boys’ basketball playoffs.

“Well, I didn’t see anyone from the ’66 team here tonight if that’s what you mean,” Loara Coach Ed Prange quipped.

Times Staff Writers Dave McKibben and John Weyler contributed to this report.