COLLEGE SOCCER: BRAVO TURNING HEADS MISSION SHOOTS FOR STATE TITLE.

Byline: SEAN CEGLINSKY Special to the Daily News

Jhonathan Bravo exudes a certain calmness once he sets foot on the soccer field.

The sophomore appears at ease and comfortable with the ball moving up across midfield and into the attacking third. And once an opportunity to score presents itself, or he has a chance to set up an open teammate for a shot on goal, Bravo takes full advantage.

The Mission College midfielder from Peru has proved as much time and time again this season with 15 goals and 20 assists for the Eagles (21-1-3) heading into today's state junior college semifinals against Taft (17-3-3) at Fresno Pacific University.

``He's the mastermind behind this offense,'' Mission coach E.B. Madha said. ``He understands what we want to do. I'd rank him as one of the top players in the state but other coaches have come up to me and told me that they think he's one of the best players in the nation.''

Bravo was named Western State Conference Player of the Year and is being recruited by several NCAA Division I programs, most notably Cal State Northridge and UC Santa Barbara. The Galaxy and Chivas USA of the MLS also have expressed varied levels of interest.

``I've worked hard to elevate my game this year,'' Bravo said through an intepreter. ``I'll do to whatever I can to make it to the next level. First, we want to win a state title.''

Bravo has had plenty of options to choose from so far. Sophomore Julian Lopez leads the state in scoring with 26 goals and nine assists, freshman Oscar Garcia has 16 goals and Bravo's brother, Gerrardo, has scored eighttimes for Mission, which is No. 2 in the national rankings.

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