Soccer Star a Colorful Presence

She began her career without distinction, a naive freshman who dutifully agreed to execute a prank on a summer night when such a scheme seemed highly unexpected.

But by evening’s end, Corrie Hirokawa stood alone, admiring a roof littered with bathroom tissue, a lawn lined with traffic cones and a porch covered in sand, knowing she had played an integral role.

When police pulled up to the San Pedro home in the early morning hours, it became clear to the North Torrance girls’ soccer team that its plans were unraveling as quickly as the airborne two-ply tissue. Veteran players fled at the first sound of sirens, but Hirokawa never recoiled, calmly and effectively explaining to the officers that the house belonged to “Mizzy,” Coach Erick Miseroy.

Three summers later, Hirokawa, now a senior, was back at it again, masterminding a cellophane wrapping of the driver’s side door of Miseroy’s car -- a plan that aptly reflected the unique style of its architect.

Hirokawa’s originality shows up in funny ways. During each of the last four soccer seasons, she has dyed her hair in magenta streaks.

“It’s the loudest color,” said Hirokawa, who shunned the Saxons’ blue for a more vivacious tint. “I like to be bold. I don’t care what other people think about me.”

Which is fortunate, given the nickname that trails her around school.

“She’s ‘Corndog,’ ” said Miseroy, who handed Hirokawa the moniker during her freshman season. “She can’t tell a joke. We’ll already be laughing, and she’ll try a one-liner, and it never works.”

As much flak as Miseroy gives Hirokawa for her off-field antics, he cannot fault her play on the field this season. The senior forward has a team-leading 32 goals.

Hirokawa, 17, has come into her own this season, leading North Torrance (19-3-4, 8-2-3) to a second-place finish in the Bay League and the school’s third postseason berth in four seasons.

The playoff pairings will be announced Monday, and play starts with the wild-card round Wednesday. First-round games are Feb. 21.

North Torrance, with a chance to win its first league championship since 2001, lost, 3-0, in overtime to Redondo on Wednesday.

Hirokawa was scoreless in that contest but had one of her most dominating performances of the season in the teams’ first meeting -- a 2-2 tie at Redondo on Jan. 23. She scored twice on a Sea Hawk defense that hadn’t allowed a goal during league play. Her second goal came in vintage fashion, with Hirokawa pushing through an oncoming defender and finding open space for a 20-yard blast.

“She plays like a guy,” Miseroy said. “She’s aggressive and challenges everything.”

She now seems at ease with her role as North Torrance’s vocal leader. It’s a sign of Hirokawa’s unabashed self-assurance, which has developed despite a lack of stability during her adolescent years.

Hirokawa’s parents separated when she was in junior high. Her mother moved to San Francisco and Hirokawa decided to remain in Southern California with her father. Her maternal grandfather, Doug Cannon, has happily taken on the role of soccer caretaker. Cannon has missed only one game in her high school career.

His signs of solidarity transcend attendance. Before the finals of the South Torrance tournament last season, Cannon dyed his hair magenta to match his granddaughter’s.

Cannon smiles whenever he glances at the picture of the two of them, bright-haired in the sun. He speaks glowingly of Hirokawa, who has accepted a scholarship to play at Cal State Dominguez Hills, where her club soccer coach is an assistant.

“She’s handled her responsibility so well,” Cannon said. “I’ve really watched her mature.”