Excalibur Tournament Is a Proving Ground

Rich Manning wanted a holiday homecoming, and this was just the ticket.

Wearing a red windbreaker and stoic expression, he spent Monday and Tuesday strolling the sidelines at Santa Ana Foothill High, site of the 14th Excalibur girls’ soccer tournament.

Manning, Los Alamitos’ coach from 1994 to 1997, had a vested interest in the Griffins’ impressive run to the tournament final. He led the school to two Southern Section championships and sent eight players to Division I colleges. But reminiscing wasn’t his main objective. Manning was there to plan for the future.

“This is the perfect time of the year to start looking at juniors and some of the seniors who have fallen through the cracks,” said Manning, women’s soccer coach at Utah.

A collection of college coaches and scouts -- including representatives from Stanford and USC -- joined Manning at the 32-team tournament that is widely regarded as the top girls’ soccer invitational in Southern California and one of the most competitive in the country.

In Wednesday’s tournament final, San Clemente defeated Los Alamitos, 4-2, in penalty kicks after a 2-2 tie. It’s the first Excalibur championship for the Tritons, last season’s Southern Section Division I co-champions.

San Clemente (8-2-3) trailed, 2-0, late in the second half but scored twice in the last 15 minutes to tie the score. Triton goalkeeper Shayla Sabin stopped two penalty kicks, including the final one that clinched the victory.

“It was all instinct,” said Sabin, who was selected to the all-tournament team. “I’ve been doing this since I was 11.”

It was the third penalty-kicks win in as many tournament games for San Clemente, which beat La Costa Canyon, 4-3, in the semifinals after a 1-1 tie.

For Sabin and her teammates, Excalibur was another measure of success. For the rest of the field, it was a hardy warm-up for league play. For Southland soccer standouts, it was a three-day exhibition of talent.

With just over a month before the college signing period begins, Excalibur is the perfect time for seniors to impress recruiters. It’s even more vital for juniors, such as San Clemente’s McCall Zerboni, a Times All-Star selection last season, who are the focal point of the scouts’ attention.

“I’m here to look at the ‘05ers,” said USC women’s soccer Coach Jim Millinder, whose roster is flooded with Southland players. “There is a lot of pressure for players to make decisions during their junior year.”

The exposure at Excalibur works both ways. College coaches cannot approach players until after the tournament ends, and they cannot announce their recruiting class until the first week of February. But they can take the first step by showing their faces at this showcase event.

“This tournament is so important because the college coaches are on hand,” San Clemente Coach Stacey Finnerty said. “Most of the [coaches] don’t get to see them play during the season. This is great exposure.”

As Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley Coach Gui Gui Ferreira knows, a good showing at Excalibur can propel a player to the top of a recruiting class. The Cougars won the tournament in 1998 and 1999, and Ferreira said a handful of his players were signed largely on the basis of their performances.

Ferreira, whose team finished fourth in this year’s field, said he plays his seniors more minutes during the tournament to get them increased attention.

“A college coach can tell within 10 or 15 minutes if the player is for real, but the more they see her the better,” Ferreira said.

That was the case for Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills goalkeeper Ashley Thompson, who gave up three goals in five games at Excalibur. Coach Dan Moreno said he began to receive inquiries from college coaches on hand about Thompson, a senior who wants to stay in the Southland.

“Scouts had seen her in West Coast premier under-19 [league play], but not in high school,” Moreno said. “She hasn’t played this strong in three years. I said, ‘Ashley, this is your stage.’ ”

Moreno said he understands the importance of a strong showing at Excalibur. He made profiles for each of his players, including statistics and grade-point averages, for recruiters to take home.

While his team finished in 10th place, Moreno realizes this probably was the biggest week of his team’s season.

“If you’re well-known, you’ll get the press anyway,” Moreno said. “Smaller schools like us, we need the exposure here.”