After Slow Start, St. Francis Appears to Be on Mission

Anyone who counted out St. Francis High after the Golden Knights opened Mission League play with two losses acted too quickly.

St. Francis has won five of six games and has reemerged as a potential playoff team and league titlist.

The Golden Knights (5-3 in league play) have jumped into fourth place, 1 1/2 games behind first-place Notre Dame (6-1-1) and just behind Crespi (5-2) and Loyola (6-2) with four games remaining.

“I think that after two losses, especially with the scores we lost by (4-1 and 2-1) people were probably thinking this was our rebuilding year,” said St. Francis Coach Glen Appels, whose team knocked Loyola out of first place with a 2-1 victory over the Cubs on Monday. “The people that really know our team and our program know it’s going to take more than two losses in the Mission League to count us out.”

The Golden Knights are fighting for more than a league title. A Southern Section playoff berth is at stake. Only three Mission League teams are guaranteed playoff berths.

Loyola would go into the Division II bracket and Crespi, Notre Dame and St. Francis would be in Division IV.

“It’s unfortunate that the system doesn’t allow the best 32 teams in the playoffs,” Appels said. “But there is no way to make that judgment fairly.”

At-large berths will be rewarded if fewer than 32 teams automatically qualify. Last season, 37 teams automatically qualified in Division IV, forcing five wild-card games to be played.

Even if an at-large berth is granted, the first berth would likely go to the third-place team in the Serra League.

That league has only four teams, but two are among the best in the state--Santa Margarita and Mater Dei--so the third-place team in the Serra League is often given priority over other leagues.

“Somebody’s going to get left out playing in such a tough league,” Crespi Coach Rob Kodama said. “The reality is there are so many teams that are going to make it that aren’t that strong.

“We have a seven-team league and our fourth team may not make it. Our fourth-place team could win [the Southern Section title], just like [the fourth-place team from the Serra League] could win [the section title]. My feeling is if you don’t finish in the top three, you don’t deserve to go anyway.”

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Courtni Asbury of Campbell Hall is proving to be a dangerous two-sport athlete. Asbury, who started at outside hitter for the volleyball team, is making a statement on the soccer field.

The junior forward has 19 goals and seven assists.

“She brings leadership and goal-scoring abilities to the team,” said Coach Russ Gordon. “She’s a coach’s dream. She’s tenacious and fast.”

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Ross Greaney, Rio Mesa boys’ coach, took part in an open tryout for the Galaxy on Thursday. In 1998, Greaney played for Galway United in the Irish first division.

“After all the headaches with coaching I’m thinking about getting back into playing,” Greaney said. “I’ve realized how much easier playing is than coaching.”

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The Top 10

Rankings of soccer teams from

the region

BOYS

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RK LW School (League) Rec. 1 1 El Camino Real (West Valley) 19-3 2 2 Crespi (Mission) 14-4 3 5 Reseda (Valley Mission) 17-5-2 4 4 Quartz Hill (Golden) 19-1-2 5 3 Royal (Marmonte) 18-3-3 6 8 St. Francis (Mission) 14-5 7 6 Rio Mesa (Pacific View) 11-6-2 8 7 Notre Dame (Mission) 12-6-1 9 9 Ventura (Channel) 12-4-4 10 10 Newbury Park (Marmonte) 13-4-2

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GIRLS

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RK LW School (League) Rec. 1 1 Buena (Channel) 19-1-2 2 2 Westlake (Marmonte) 11-0-3 3 3 Harvard-Westlake (Mission) 11-1-4 4 4 Hart (Foothill) 10-5-4 5 6 Chaminade (Mission) 13-4-2 6 10 Canyon (Foothill) 16-1-2 7 5 Valencia (Foothill) 17-3-1 8 8 El Camino Real (West Valley) 14-1-1 9 9 Quartz Hill (Golden) 13-2-1 10 7 Louisville (Mission) 11-6-1

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Records through Monday