A VIEW-POINT FROM THE BACK OF THE NET: A REAL NOSE FOR THE GOAL EVAN RAYNR'S SCORING PROWESS BOOSTS PATRIOTS' HOPES.

Byline: Heather Gripp  Staff Writer

CALABASAS - When Evan Raynr was in middle school, he scored goals with such ease that his coaches sometimes would resort to benching him for part of the game or playing him at goalkeeper to prevent him from scoring too much.

Raynr's jump to high school competition this season hasn't done much to level the playing field for opponents. As a freshman forward for Viewpoint of Calabasas, Raynr ranks among the local boys' soccer scoring leaders and is attracting attention as one of the nation's elite.

Raynr has 18 goals - nearly twice as many as any teammate - and 13 assists. That's in just 10 games, because his time with the Patriots has been limited by national team and other commitments. He was in Las Vegas last weekend for the Olympic Development Program regional championships, and he missed the beginning of Viewpoint's season when he was called up to the U.S. under-15 national team for games in Florida. He's scheduled to play in Argentina next month.

``I knew coming into this year that he would probably be one of the more dominant players on the pitch,'' said Viewpoint coach Travis Kikugawa, who first coached Raynr when he was a sixth-grader. ``At the middle school level, you could tell he was a special talent. Whatever it was, being the point guard leading the basketball team or being the leading scorer on the soccer team, he was amazing. He's just an unbelievable athlete.''

Any doubts about how Raynr would fare among bigger, older high school players were erased during an early- season game against Littlerock, a much larger school coming off a Golden League championship and deep postseason run.

``He went right at 'em,'' Kikugawa said. ``That was kind of the game we sat back as coaches and said, 'OK, he can do it.' He's not intimidated by anyone.''

Raynr, part of an impressive freshman class, has Viewpoint aiming for a Southern Section title a year after finishing third in the Liberty League. The Patriots are 9-2-2 and ranked third in Div. VI.

Helping his friends win and improve is more important to Raynr than individual achievements at the high school level. He opted for a Viewpoint education rather than heading to a larger school with a more prominent soccer program, knowing his real chance to compete and be noticed is at the club level.

He uses high school matches to fine-tune his game. To keep from letting up, he sets specific goals for himself, such as not giving up a ball the entire game.

He wants to play professionally, but soccer wasn't his primary focus until recently. He grew up playing a number of sports and comes from a family with no soccer background, describing his father as soccer-impaired.

``Soccer's always fun,'' Raynr said. ``It's always fun as a kid to run around and use all your energy. But I didn't really get serious about it and start to think that this is what I might want to do with my life until probably the last six months. That's when I really started trying to perfect every aspect of my game. Obviously, I've got a lot I can improve.''

The Patriots are more than pleased with what they've seen.

``He's very elusive, with or without the ball,'' Kikugawa said. ``He's one of those players, he's almost as fast with the ball as without it. He's great with his feet. He's great in the air. You put him near the goal, and he'll score.

``And he makes his teammates better. He's a great team player. He's just a phenomenal person, on and off the field.''

Heather Gripp, [phone]

heather.gripp(at)dailynews.com

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Freshman Evan Raynr, a U.S. U-15 national-teamer, has scored 18 goals with 13 assists in 10 games for Viewpoint.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer