Wolverines Must Get Offensive

As dean of sophomores at Harvard-Westlake High, Ned Smith has to deal with his share of problems, but he should have no problems with his soccer team.

Jill Oakes, Imani Dorsey and Sara Deckers will make sure of it. They are the heart of Wolverines’ nearly impenetrable defense.

Oakes, a sophomore All-City transfer from Birmingham and an under-15 national pool player, bolsters a defense that gave up only 17 goals last season.

Portland-bound Dorsey, an under-17 regional player and Mission League most valuable player last season, played sweeper in front of Deckers, an All-Southern Section goalkeeper who yielded only five goals last season.

“Certainly. . . on paper this is the best team we’ve ever had,” said Smith. “We have the best defense in all of high school. I hope things end up working out that way.”

The team returns nine starters from a 21-4-2 squad that suffered a disappointing penalty-kick loss to Bishop Montgomery in the Division IV semifinals.

The Wolverines are the top team in the region, favored to repeat as Mission League champions and reach the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year.

The only thing that can stand in their way is a difficulty scoring. The Wolverines found the net 47 times in 27 games but the majority came against weak opponents.

Senior Molly Cahan, an All-Mission League selection, is the best of a corps of elite midfielders. For offense, the team will rely on two freshmen, forward Tracey Lansing and midfielder Gina Farias-Eisner.

“Whether or not we can score goals will be a question,” Smith said. “We have two wonderful freshman who can score, but they are only 13 or 14 years old. Put them up against big, physical defenders and things change.”

Offense shouldn’t be a problem for Buena.

The Bulldogs return eight players from a 23-3-3 team that dropped a 2-0 decision to Walnut in the Division II quarterfinals.

Buena has the strongest offense in the region with juniors Natalie Sanderson, Lisa Engel and Ashleigh Garmon returning.

Sanderson, the region’s premier forward and a member of the under-16 regional team, has 53 goals in her career--34 last year.

Coach Trisha Butterbaugh claims Sanderson could score 60 goals this season.

The Bulldogs, however, struggled at times on defense last season. Butterbaugh said some of those holes have been plugged with freshman Rachele McDonald and sweeper Lerin Mundell, a member of the under-16 state team.

Look for Buena--which is shooting for its seventh consecutive Channel League Title--to challenge for a section championship.

If Chaminade can survive a rough December schedule and make it to Mission League play without any injuries, the Eagles will be the favorite to challenge Harvard-Westlake. Chaminade has won four Southern Section titles in as many seasons.

Coach Mike Evans packed the Eagles’ preseason schedule with two league champions and two Southern Section champions to prepare for league play.

The Eagles return seven starters from a Southern Section Division IV championship team.

Evans hopes to give the team a boost by moving senior goalkeeper Sara Leibowitz to forward.

Leibowitz, who recorded a school-record 21 shutouts last season, scored 26 goals as a freshman at La Reina. She joins forwards Kelly Lavery and Kim Taylor.

Louisville might have its strongest team since Cindy Daws led the Royals to a Co-Mission League Championship in 1993.

The Royals return 10 starters from a 14-4-2 squad and have a strong offensive threat--April Millado, a sophomore All-Mission League and under-15 regional player.

Forward Celeste Hayden, a transfer from Notre Dame, could take a load off Millado’s back.

Nicole Farenbaugh, Mission League defensive player of the year, is back at sweeper and Natalia Fernandez is the team’s best midfielder.

Nicole’s sister, sophomore Jenny Farenbaugh is a quick and versatile outside midfielder who will create headaches for defenses.

Coach Aerick Brown, in his first season, inherits a Westlake team favored to win its second consecutive Marmonte League title. The Warriors return eight starters from a 22-2-1 team that lost, 1-0, on a last second goal to Hart in the Division II quarterfinals.

Junior Sara Silverhill, who had 18 goals and nine assists, is Westlake’s top offensive threat and senior Jenna Wirtz is expected to secure the midfield.

The Warriors’ defense was hit hard when Danielle Della Corna, a senior All-Marmonte League defender, tore a ligament in her knee, but All-Southern Section goalkeeper Katie Peck and freshman Christina De Vries should pick up the slack.

Talented Hart should have no problem overcoming the loss of Erin Misaki. The defending Foothill and Division II champions are loaded with skilled players.

Coach Costa Nicolaov, in his first year, has nine starters back.

Rebecca Gould, Ali Pavoni and Mandy Mansfield are the top players but the Indian bench runs deep. Katie McKeon and Diane Sangvinetti are other talented players.

Chatsworth has to overcome the loss of Jackie Fodor, City player of the year who is at USC. Fodor’s sister, sophomore Jenna Fodor, has the talent to carry on.

Coach Robert Hayes, in his first season, replaces Jack Sidwell, who led the Chancellors to four consecutive City championships.

After being academically ineligible and forcing the Chancellors to use field players in goal last year, goalie Tina Essington returns.

Senior Shannon DeVos is the team’s top offensive threat and freshman Lindsey Redlin is expected to make an immediate impact at forward. Junior Tony Schmidt is the top defender.

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AT A GLANCE

* THE PROVEN: Junior Maytal Shvartz, El Camino Real’s top defensive player last season, makes the move to center midfield. . . . Kelli Cox, junior forward from Quartz Hill, was the Golden League player of the year last season with 21 goals and 15 assists. . . Midfielder Jamie Rendich of Canyon earned second team All-Foothill honors last season as a freshman. . . Julie Herrold, a senior at Crescenta Valley, was an All-Southern Section midfielder last season. . . Junior Laci Fults of Lancaster, scored 23 goals last season. The three-sport athlete has earned All-Golden League honors twice. . . Jenna Hunter of Nordhoff had 26 goals and 11 assists and was Frontier League MVP as a junior.

* THE PROMISING: Anna Bacchetta of Lancaster, a foreign exchange student, played club soccer in Italy. . . Sarah Hoofring transferred to Oak Park from Louisville, Ky. The senior midfielder played on a top club team in Cincinnati. . . Look for freshman midfielder Jordan Stanley of Crescenta Valley to make an immediate impact. . . Chaminade is high on freshman midfielder Lauren Trinen. . . Ashley Baker, senior midfielder from Campbell Hall, has the potential to become one of the top players in the Delphic League. . . Senior forward Laine Montgomery, El Camino’s top offensive player last season, has shown improvement. . . Junior Heather Sims of Agoura was a third team all-section selection last season.

The Top 10

Preseason rankings of region girls’ soccer teams

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RK School League 1 Harvard-Westlake Mission 2 Buena Channel 3 Westlake Marmonte 4 Chaminade Mission 5 Hart Foothill 6 Louisville Mission 7 Crescenta Valley Pacific 8 Chatsworth West Valley 9 Canyon Foothill 10 Ventura Channel

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