On This Team, Nobody Has Blues
Ashley Swanson couldn’t believe the scene unfolding before her eyes.
Members of the Southern California Blues under-16 girls’ soccer team were joyfully leaping all around her, screaming, “We’re No. 1,” before a giddy dogpile ensued.
The San Juan Capistrano-based Blues had just defeated the Prince William Sparklers of Woodbridge, Va., 1-0, in overtime to win the under-16 title at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
“It was unbelievable,” said Swanson, a Blues co-captain who will be a senior sweeper this fall at Woodbridge High. “We weren’t expecting to make it that far and we did. I knew we could do it, but we had never been under that pressure before.”
In fact, the Blues were at their best under pressure.
April Pettigrew of El Toro High slammed a goal into the right corner of the net two minutes into the first overtime.
But the Blues still had to stave off the Sparklers for almost another half hour.
After a few intense moments in the first overtime, the Blues kept the ball out of their territory for the rest of the contest.
The Blues’ championship was the first for a Southern California under-16 team since 1991. There were several memorable moments during the tournament, including a game-winning goal by Kim Devine that helped the Blues advance to the title game.
“It was an experience I’ll never forget,” said Swanson, who was presented with a medal during the awards ceremony. “I was lucky to have it because I don’t know if I’ll ever have it again.”
The feeling of euphoria didn’t carry over to the Huntington Beach Wolfpack, which lost on penalty kicks to Scott Gallagher of St. Louis in the boys’ under-18 championship game.
“Overall, we’re pretty happy,” said forward Cliff McKinley, who led the Wolfpack with three goals in three games. “It’s just frustrating to lose in the championship on penalty kicks. That makes it even worse.”
The Wolfpack converted its first two penalty-kick attempts but failed to keep the momentum going when Gallagher goalie Brian Schoenbein saved a shot by Devin Kato. Gallagher went on to edge the Wolfpack, 5-4, in penalty kicks.
“Everyone’s telling us, ‘Great job,’ ” said McKinley, a Fountain Valley graduate who’s headed to UCLA, “but it’s going to take us a couple of weeks to realize how well we did.”
The Wolfpack won two games to advance to the championship.
COMPLETE TURNAROUND
The balance of power in Orange County girls’ basketball took a dramatic shift when Brandy Richardson got homesick.
Richardson, named Miss Hawaii girls’ basketball for the last two seasons by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, joined Brea Olinda’s basketball team on July 17, and appeared to give the Ladycats the dominant inside force they needed to make a run at a fourth consecutive state title.
But Richardson, a 5-foot-11 post player, didn’t last long. Brea finished fifth in San Diego at the 116-team Jack in the Box Classic on July 23, and Richardson caught a plane for Honolulu the next morning to resume her schooling at Kailua Kalaheo High.
“She tried, and she just couldn’t get her heart into it, so she’s back home,” said Ruby Richardson, Brandy’s stepmother.
Richardson certainly had the attention of coaches in San Diego. One West Coast Conference assistant coach said, “Tell me if you’ve ever seen a stronger high school player.”
With Richardson, Brea defeated Redondo Beach Redondo Union, the team that ended the Ladycats’ streak of 11 consecutive Southern Section titles, in the fifth-place game. More telling, Brea lost by only four points to Troy, which ended last season ranked No. 1 in Orange County.
“I saw her play a couple of times, and she was definitely a force,” said Pete Belanto, Capistrano Valley’s coach. “Brea probably would have been battling with Troy and Esperanza for the top spot in the county, but now they’re probably a notch below that.”
Richardson led Kalaheo to the league title in the 21-team Oahu Interscholastic Assn., before losing in the state finals last season. She averaged 21 points and 16 rebounds for the Mustangs (26-3) and was a three-time member of the all-state team. She was named the Star-Bulletin’s Ms. Basketball as a sophomore and junior.
Brea Coach Jeff Sink still doesn’t know that Richardson is gone. He left the last day of the tournament for an African photography expedition.
“Before he left, he let her know that he understood her reservations and wanted her to do what was best for her,” said Sink’s wife, Cathy. “He won’t be happy, that’s for sure.”
Richardson’s parents, Patrick and Lowana, are divorced, and Brandy moved with her mother to Orange County this summer. Lowana Richardson did not return to Hawaii. Brandy will live with her father and attend Kalaheo.
Richardson’s departure was particularly painful for the Ladycats because they lost starting forward Daveri Bonnewitz with a torn anterior cruciate ligament earlier in the summer, and she probably won’t be available until the end of the season, if at all.
“That’s the thing, if they had Brandy and Daveri, that’s a heck of a team because their guards, with Tara Hefferly, Jackie Lord and Jennifer Katsuyama, are great,” Troy Coach Kevin Kiernan said. “If they’re there, Brea’s right back where they were. I’m sure they’ll miss Brandy--she was tough. It would have been good for Orange County basketball for her to be here, because she was a heck of a player.”
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Staff writer Martin Henderson contributed to this report.
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