Chaminade Has a New Attitude and New Results

It may be hard for the average soccer fan to digest, but the Chaminade boys’ team has emerged as one of the best in the region.

The Eagles aren’t overachievers. They are loaded with talent, just like nearly every Chaminade team over the last decade. But this group has overcome the program’s dismal history through hard work and good coaching.

The Eagles (11-3, 4-0) are off to their best start ever, alone in first place in the Mission League for the first time.

They are full of confidence, having received their highest ranking ever, No. 5 in the region by the Times. They also worked their way into the Southern Section Division IV Coaches Poll, debuting at No. 4.

Strangely, the team, which hasn’t qualified for the playoffs since 1989, has drawn inspiration from the school’s girls team. Chaminade’s girls have won three consecutive Southern Section championships.

“We have to sit there all year long and hear about how well the girls do,” Chaminade Coach Mike Gwaltney said.

“We see them practice every day. They’ll have practices that aren’t at the level of our team and we use that to motivate us and turn our intensity level up. They are not having the season we are.”

Chaminade’s boys showed their ability by beating Orange County powerhouses over winter break in the Marina tournament, an event all but a few of the region’s teams avoid because of tough competition.

Chaminade beat Bellflower, Los Amigos, San Marcos and Anaheim Katella to win the third-place final. The Eagles’ only loss was to Santa Ana Mater Dei, 4-1.

“It allowed us an opportunity to find ourselves,” said Gwaltney. “We were away from the teams we know well and had a chance to just play. We are a blue-collar group. It’s all coming out of heart. We are just a hard-working group.”

Despite the success, the Eagles probably weren’t taken seriously in the region until they captured their biggest win in school history Friday, a 1-0 win over top-ranked St. Francis.

Much of the turnaround can be attributed to Gwaltney, the eighth Eagle coach in the last seven years. He is in his second season at Chaminade.

The Eagles finally have a role model and a coach with a knack for winning.

Gwaltney led Anaheim Servite to the playoffs all eight seasons he coached there, compiling a 55-26-12 record. Servite was in the midst of a five-year playoff drought when he took over.

Under Gwaltney’s guidance, Servite earned a No. 1 ranking in the Southern Section Coaches Poll for 30 consecutive weeks and was named the No. 1 team in the region by a local newspaper.

“Coach Gwaltney has inspired us to work hard in practice, give up part of our social lives,” said captain Brian Borreson.

“He has made us want to win and has given us the desire to play hard. He’s made us want to achieve the highest goal possible for our team and ourselves.”

The Eagles, who start only three seniors, will need that attitude when they enter the unchartered waters of the Mission League race as the team to beat.

“This has been huge. We are starting to pick it up,” Gwaltney said. “If we continue to play with heart we are going to be tough to beat.”

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The Top 10

Rankings of region soccer teams

BOYS

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RK LW School (League) Rec. 1 4 Birmingham (West Valley) 10-4-2 2 3 Buena (Channel) 12-4-3 3 2 El Camino Real (West Vly) 12-3-4 4 5 Ventura (Channel) 14-1-4 5 NR Chaminade (Mission) 11-3 6 1 St. Francis (Mission) 13-3-3 7 7 Thousand Oaks (Marmonte) 9-2-3 8 6 Reseda (Valley Mission) 6-3-1 9 8 Calabasas (Frontier) 13-0-1 10 9 La Canada (Rio Hondo) 10-1-1

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GIRLS

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RK LW School (League) Rec. 1 1 Buena (Channel) 20-0 2 2 Harvard-Westlake (Mission) 11-2-3 3 3 Westlake (Marmonte) 11-1-2 4 4 Louisville (Mission) 9-2-6 5 5 Chaminade (Mission) 12-4-3 6 7 Crescenta Valley (Pacific) 10-2-3 7 6 Hart (Foothill) 8-5 8 NR Agoura (Marmonte) 10-2 9 9 Chatsworth (West Valley) 6-3-1 10 10 Ventura (Channel) 11-4-1

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