Lesson Learned

There was an air of cockiness about the soccer field at Temecula Chaparral High last season and it eventually caught up with the high-flying Pumas.

Although ranked No. 1 in Southern Section Division II, Chaparral lost for the second year in a row in the second round of the playoffs.

“That hurt a lot,” Coach Tony Rossi said.

Memories of last year’s bitter setback hang over the current team as it readies for its 3 p.m. second-round Division II match today at Brea Olinda.

This time, however, the Pumas (22-4-1) refuse to count their medals before they earn them.

“It was tough losing like that last year ... kind of depressing,” said central midfielder Chase Douglas, one of two returning starters who haven’t forgotten the 3-2 loss to Cathedral City. “We had such high hopes and we kind of took it a little too lightly.”

Douglas said last year’s team wilted under the pressure that increases during the playoffs, particularly in a low-scoring sport such as soccer, where a single mistake -- no matter how well a team is playing -- can turn momentum quickly.

“We have a level of confidence,” Rossi said of this year’s team. “But we are very aware that we have to work hard to play well each game.

“That was quite a talented team last year, but there was a little bit of arrogance. That is good to a point, to build confidence, but you need to back it up every game and, obviously, we didn’t do that.”

But the soccer program has enjoyed success since the school opened six years ago. Rossi, a former player at Cal State San Bernardino, has been the Pumas’ only coach, and he has an overall record of 114-23-12.

Rossi figured this would be a rebuilding season, particularly because Chaparral doesn’t have a freshman team. An influx of talent, however, forced Rossi to cut more players than he could keep.

Hard-working players stepped up from the junior varsity and combined with returning players such as Douglas, sweeper Josh Pulido and goalkeeper Logan Frank, who started as a sophomore but was a reserve last season.

Despite a late December swoon, the Pumas won the Southwestern League title. With eight seniors on the roster, they are averaging slightly less than three goals and have given up only 13 goals. Frank has 12 shutouts.

Pulido, who has signed with Oregon State, said the players have bought into Rossi’s team-first concept.

“Last year, there were cliques on the team,” said Pulido, who will try to play with a sprained left ankle that he injured in practice Tuesday. “Like small little groups that stayed to themselves. This year, even with the new guys, we get along well. We hang out together on the field and off.”

Togetherness -- or the lack of it -- is a common complaint among high school soccer coaches because of the large number of players who spend the other nine months of the year executing various styles of play for a wide variety of club teams. High school coaches try to blend those styles, but more fail than succeed.

“My philosophy is that we try to dictate the style of the game and make the other team adjust to us,” Rossi said.

Players with big egos have difficulty succeeding in such a system, which usually doesn’t work with a mish-mash of club players.

However, among his 19 players, Rossi counts only four club programs, which is a small number compared to similar schools.

Those club teams are spread from Temecula to La Jolla, but Rossi is pleased with how quickly his players have molded into a solid unit.

“Our team chemistry is No. 1 and our guys are so together this season,” he said.