Girls’ Soccer Playoffs : Mission Viejo Faces Torrance in Rematch of 4-A Final

Last season, the girls’ soccer teams at Mission Viejo and Torrance high schools were the dominant powers of the Southern Section 4-A.

Mission Viejo dominated a bit more, however, as the Diablos defeated Torrance in its two meetings: at the Ocean View Tournament in December and at the 4-A final last March.

Today, Mission Viejo, the top-seeded team, and Torrance, ranked 10th, will meet in a 4-A semifinal match at Torrance at 3 p.m.

Mission Viejo (24-0-2), which has an unbeaten streak of 67 games dating to the 1985-86 season, breezed through its last two playoff games.

The Diablos, the two-time defending South Coast League champions, defeated Palos Verdes, 4-0, in the first round, and Corona del Mar, 5-0, in the quarterfinals last Wednesday.

Torrance (13-6-6), which won the 4-A title in 1984 and was a semifinalist in 1985 and 1986, is the No. 2 representative from the Bay League. Second-seeded West Torrance is the No. 1 Bay League team.

Torrance defeated wild-card entrant El Toro, 1-0, in last Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

Mission Viejo, a finese-oriented, ball-control team, is led by sophomore midfielder Julie Foudy, the Southern Section offensive player of the year. Kerri Kennedy leads the team this season with 18 goals, including four against Corona del Mar last Friday.

Sweeper Rae Hubocan, fullback Sheri Bertell and goalkeeper Tamar deFries lead the Mission Viejo defense.

In another 4-A match at 3 today:

Capistrano Valley (17-4-3) at West Torrance (14-4-6)--The Cougars, ranked fourth in a vote of 4-A coaches but seeded fifth in the tournament, upset third-seeded Upland, 1-0, in last Wednesday’s quarterfinals. Three of Capistrano Valley’s four losses this season were to Mission Viejo.

Goalie Pam Gladden and midfielder Cindy Attaway lead the Cougar defense. Sarah Stoney, a senior halfback who scored the winning goal on a direct free kick with 10 minutes remaining against Upland, leads the Cougar offense.

West Torrance, seeded second, lost to Mission Viejo in a quarterfinal match last season. The Warriors, a fast, defense-oriented team, have 13 shutouts this season.

West Torrance is led by senior Carolyn Hueth, a first-team Southern Section goalkeeper last year, and sophomore Teresa Bateman, who has scored 16 goals.

In a 3-A match:

San Gorgonio (27-1) at Esperanza (22-1-2)--Esperanza narrowly escaped being upset by Kennedy last Friday. The Aztecs, seeded second, finished regulation and overtime in a scoreless tie before defeating the Fighting Irish, 4-3, on penalty kicks.

Kennedy missed its first shootout opportunity, and Tymerie Busser, Esperanza’s sophomore goalkeeper, stopped its fifth for the victory.

Now Esperanza will meet San Gorgonio, the defending 3-A champion and third-seeded team.

In his four years at San Gorgonio, Spartan Coach Steve Lucey has compiled a list of impressive statistics, including a 93-7-6 overall record and four consecutive Citrus Belt League championships.

Esperanza, which last season finished 12-6-7 and lost in the first round, is by far the 3-A’s most improved team.

“Hey, they’re the CIF defending champs,” said Esperanza Coach John Coppage, who took over the girls’ program after coaching the Esperanza boys program to four Empire League championships in four years.

“And we’re a team with 10 sophomores. In that sense, I guess they’d be favored.”

But those who have played--and lost--to Esperanza know the Aztecs, a highly aggressive, counter-attacking team, are not to be taken lightly. The Aztec defense--led by Busser and sweeper Colleen Gamblin--has shut out 21 opponents and allowed only five goals this season.

In another 3-A semifinal Wednesday:

Buena (20-4-1) at Laguna Hills (19-5-1)--Buena, the Channel League champion, upset top-seeded Simi Valley (23-3-1), 3-0, in the quarterfinals last week. Laguna Hills, the two-time Pacific Coast League champion, defeated Alemany by the same score.

Beating Alemany, the 1987 3-A runner-up, gave the fourth-seeded Hawks a big boost. Laguna Hills was upset by Alemany in the quarterfinals last season.

“We went up there and took it to them,” said Kerry Krause, Laguna Hills coach. “They’re a real physical team and tried to intimidate us, but it didn’t work. We’re playing very, very well now.”

Laguna Hills is led by goalkeeper Lynn Lambert, stopper Xanne Brakke, sweeper Heather McIntyre and forward Joanna Noble.

Buena, which defeated Los Alamitos in the second round, is led by senior Patty Levias and freshman Ruth Loomer.