‘Casseroles’ Serve Up Spirit From Mater Dei Sideline

Buried in the back of the freezer, under seven layers of plastic wrap, behind the half gallon of crystallized ice cream and under a two-year-old piece of fish, that is where you usually find a casserole.

However, attend a Mater Dei girls’ soccer game and you’ll see seven casseroles lined up on the Monarchs’ bench.

Teammates Katie O’Dorisio, Gayln Dedeaux, Sarah Goethals, Sara Donovan, Amy Hoff, Julie Perry and Jessica Herrera have dubbed themselves “The Casseroles” because, in their opinion, they are the very last thing Monarch Coach Austin Sharp is going to reach for when he needs a player.

The Casseroles are permanent bench warmers. None of them has played more than two or three minutes in a regular varsity game. They all got to play in the Ocean View tournament, but that was as a ‘B’ team, while the ‘A’ team was at the Ventura Buena tournament. Since then, none has played at all.

They have all played soccer at Mater Dei for four years, but this is their first season on varsity and their last chance to compete--they are all seniors, a requirement of being a Casserole. Another requirement is that you don’t play, and on a team that carries 25 players, there are going to be some who don’t get in the game.

Yet, the girls’ aren’t complaining. Their nickname has given them an identity and a reason to stay on the team.

“Instead of being bitter about it, we are having fun,” Hoff said. “We knew coming in we weren’t going to play. And after playing for three years, I wasn’t going to quit. That’s a lot of work not to have anything to show for it. I wanted to be on varsity.”

The nickname came about before the season began, when the players found themselves always being bunched together in practice with nothing to do.

“We were the leftovers,” Hoff said. “We were never really included in the real practices. That’s how the whole thing started.”

There are arguments about who came up with the unusual tag. Hoff and O’Dorisio each claims to be the originator. It started off with talk of fruitcakes and meatloaf, before Casseroles became the moniker. And that has led to a flurry of one-liners.

When they are warming up for a game, they are “thawing” or “in the microwave.” When a player gets disciplined, they are put in the “deep freeze.”

But despite all the joking, the Casseroles have become an important part of the Monarch team. There is a nonstop flow of cheers and jeers coming from the bench, and Hoff said Sharp told them they are the best bench he’s ever had.

“It’s fun to know people are cheering for you,” Hoff said. “Sometimes the team gets annoyed with us because we are so loud, but everyone supports what we are doing.”

“We are trying to make a negative into a positive,” said Dedeaux. “On any team there is always someone who doesn’t play, so this is a way to make it work.”

There is a dilemma facing the group in their final home game against Santa Margarita today, a game that will decide the Serra League title. It is a tradition to start all the seniors in the team’s final home game. Sharp has 13 seniors on his team--seven who never play.

“We are really curious,” Dedeaux said. “Someone isn’t going to get to play. And it’s such an important game.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Troy (15-4-1, 5-0-1) will visit No. 10 Sunny Hills today at 3:15 p.m. in a game that should decide the Freeway League title. Each team is undefeated in league, and they played each other to a 1-1 tie in their first meeting. The Lancers (20-0-3, 5-0-1) have won eight of the last 10 league titles.

The Sea View League race continues to get tighter as Newport Harbor (9-4-4, 3-0-2) hosts top-ranked Woodbridge (11-1-4, 4-0-1) on Thursday at 3:15 p.m.

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If you have an item or idea for the girls’ soccer report, you can fax us at (714)966-5663 or e-mail us at melanie.neff@latimes.com

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GIRLS’ SOCCER TOP 10

Orange County Sportswriters’ Poll

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Pos. School (League) Rec 1. Woodbridge (Sea View) 11-1-4 2. Mission Viejo (S. Coast) 12-1-5 3. Santa Margarita (Serra) 13-2-2 4. Capistrano Valley (S.Coast) 11-2-5 5. Edison (Sunset) 15-1-5 6. Corona del Mar (P. Coast) 19-1-3 7. Newport Harbor (Sea View) 9-4-4 8. Aliso Niguel (Sea View) 15-3-1 9. El Toro (S. Coast) 17-6-1 10. Sunny Hills (Freeway) 20-0-3

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Others: Costa Mesa (12-3-4), Esperanza (11-4-5), Troy (15-4-1), Brea Olinda (16-4-3)