Misaki Provides Spark for Portland

Portland has traditionally been a powerhouse in women’s college soccer, but injuries and inexperience have limited the Pilots from reaching former heights this year.

Portland returned only five starters and eight letterwinners, including two goalkeepers, from a 19-3-2 squad that lost in four overtimes to North Carolina, 1-0, in the NCAA semifinals.

In addition, two freshmen expected to make an impact this season, forward Suzanna Heikari and defender Lauren Orlandos, missed a combined 13 games.

Enter Erin Misaki, The Times’ regional player of the year last season at Hart High. She took it upon herself to step up on a team in desperate need of leader.

“I’m not one of the most vocal players, but I’ve been trying to lead the team,” said Misaki, a former Parade All-American who helped Hart win four consecutive Foothill League titles.

“It’s hard coming in as a freshman and being a leader, but I needed to go out there and do it.”

Portland (10-7-1) is in danger of missing the postseason for the first time in eight years. The last time the Pilots lost more than six games was in 1983. Five of their losses have come against top-20 teams.

Despite the team’s struggles, Misaki remains optimistic.

“This is the best team I’ve ever been on,” she said. “We have 10 freshman. It’s a brand-new team. We never played together before this year. The longer we are together, the better we are going to be.”

The central midfielder has assumed a new role at Portland, transforming from a goal-scorer in high school to a playmaker in college. She leads the Pilots with eight assists, starting all 18 games.

“It just happened that way,” said Misaki, who has scored two goals this season. “I’ve always been more of a playmaker. There aren’t that many goal scorers in college.”

Misaki had two assists in a 9-0 victory over Oklahoma State and had a goal and an assist in a 2-1 victory over Washington.

Misaki, who was selected to the Nike Husky Classic all-tournament team in early October, returns to the Southland this weekend for games at Pepperdine on Friday and at Loyola Marymount on Sunday.

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Kim Daws (Louisville High) scored a goal in Duke’s 2-0 victory over UNC Greensboro on Saturday and had a goal and an assist in a 4-1 victory over UNC Charlotte on Oct. 27. The redshirt junior has two goals and two assists for the No. 21-ranked Blue Devils (12-8, 2-5).

Daws, a former Parade All-American and Times’ all-region selection, has started every game as a forward-midfielder this season. The two-year starter sat out the 1997 season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

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Two-time Times’ all-region selection Jackie Fodor (Chatsworth) has three goals and two assists for 11th-ranked USC (14-4). The freshman had an assist in a 3-1 victory over Oregon on Friday.

Fodor had two goals in a 4-0 victory over UC Irvine on Aug. 29 and had a goal in a 4-0 victory over Washington State on Oct. 17. Chatsworth’s all-time leading scorer has appeared in all 18 games this season, starting six.

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Sean Herrity (Simi Valley) scored a hat trick against his former team in UC Santa Barbara’s 4-0 victory over New Mexico on Oct. 22. Herrity transferred in 1998 after two years as a reserve for New Mexico.

As a sophomore, he finished second for the Lobos in scoring with five goals and three assists in only 500 minutes. The redshirt junior sat out the 1998 season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Herrity has seven goals and one assist for Santa Barbara (11-5), ranked No. 9 in the Far West.

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Defenders Adam Cooper (Calabasas) and Nick Paneno (La Canada) are keeping UCLA (15-1) on pace to win its seventh Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship in eight years.

The duo help solidify a Bruin defense that has been nearly impenetrable this season, yielding only 11 goals and recording seven shutouts.

Cooper, a redshirt senior and former Frontier League most valuable player, has a goal and three assists for the No. 2-ranked Bruins, who have a 12-game winning streak.

Cooper scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over New Mexico and has provided assists on game-winning goals in two other games.

Paneno, a high school All-American in 1995, assisted on the go-ahead goal in a 3-1 victory over Santa Barbara on Oct. 10.

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Zach Schwartz (Harvard Westlake), a sophomore defender, has played every minute this season for Dartmouth (3-8-3).