Welcome to the Big League

Brette Newland talks about the Dana Point Dana Hills girls’ soccer team’s unbeaten run through nonleague and tournament play as if it happened in the good old days.

“It used to be so much fun when we were winning all our games,” the Dolphins’ senior sweeper said. “We were playing so well. I seriously thought we were going to go through the playoffs and win it all.”

Dana Hills rode an 11-match unbeaten streak that included a 2-0 victory over nationally ranked Scottsdale (Ariz.) Horizon in the final of the prestigious Santa Ana Foothill Excalibur tournament, a tie with nationally ranked Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley and a victory over regional powerhouse Santa Margarita, a winner of six Southern Section titles in seven years.

Since then, the Dolphins have won once in seven games. Talk of winning it all has given way to concerns about winning at all and qualifying for the section playoffs.

“It was a really rude awakening,” Dana Hills fullback Alise Corea said. “We were like, on our high horse, but we got knocked right off.”

Such is life in the South Coast League, the Southland’s strongest girls’ soccer league.

“The players know they have to show up every game,” Dana Hills Coach Cyndie Snow said. “There were a couple games where they did not show up, and they paid.”

Dana Hills (13-3-4, 2-2-3), a quarterfinalist in last year’s Division I playoffs, and defending Division I champion San Clemente (8-4-5, 2-2-3) are struggling to clinch postseason berths. The league is so tight and unpredictable that last-place Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills (8-8-3, 0-6-1) still has a chance to make the playoffs.

Adding to the problem is that Lake Forest El Toro (4-9-3, 3-2-2), which started 4-1-1, has forfeited one league victory and fallen from first to third.

“It’s such a battle, it really does almost seem unfair,” said Coach Susie Daher of Mission Viejo (11-3-5, 4-1-2), which is in first place after consecutive victories over San Clemente and Dana Hills.

As one of 10 leagues in Division I, the South Coast will have three guaranteed playoff berths in the 32-team field, with the possibility of a fourth team selected as one of two at-large teams.

This season’s crop of teams is experienced enough to handle the rigors. With the exception of San Clemente, which has four seniors, every South Coast League team has nine or more seniors and most players have extensive club experience. Coaches and players say the skill, experience and maturity that come with the almost year-round club competition are indispensable.

“The clubs are the ones that make or break the high school teams,” said Walid Khoury, coach of the Newport Beach-based Slammers Futbol Club. “The bottom line is, what kind of players are you getting handed, and how many of them are at your school?”

There are 42 youth soccer clubs based from Long Beach to San Juan Capistrano. Last summer, four of the six Snickers Cup age-group club national championships for girls between under-14 and under-19 age groups were won by Southern California teams, including the Slammers’ under-14 team and the Laguna Hills Eclipse under-15 team.

“Realistically, it’s not a requirement, but if I had to give advice to players who say, ‘Should I play club?’ I’d tell them yes,” San Clemente Coach Stacey Juhl Finnerty said. “You’re not going to get a kid who just took up soccer in junior high who’ll be on the varsity. Not in our league.”

Although players are not allowed to participate on club teams during the high school season, many athletes have commitments to Olympic Development Program training, which is allowed during the season and takes place on Sundays at sites as nearby as Mission Viejo but also as far away as Temecula and Lancaster.

“It’s pretty tough, I can seriously admit,” said Mission Viejo senior sweeper Nicky James, who has committed to Drake. “But in the long run, it gets to be worth it because the whole point is to win.”

In the South Coast League, that’s something that’s easier said than done.

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No Coasting

*--* South Coast League girls’ soccer teams have won or tied four out of every five nonleague games they have played this season, but something has to give in league play. The league’s standings: Team League Nonlg Overall Mission Viejo 4-1-2 7-2-3 11-3-5 Capistrano Valley 4-2-1 7-2-2 11-4-3 El Toro 3-2-2 1-7-1 4-9-3 Dana Hills 2-2-3 11-1-1 13-3-4 San Clemente 2-2-3 6-2-2 8-4-5 Trabuco Hills 0-6-1 8-2-2 8-8-3 Note: South Coast teams have a 43-13-11 record on the field in nonleague games; El Toro forfeited four wins, three nonleague

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