GOOD SPIRITS; PARACLETE PALS WILL MOVE ON TO CSUB TOGETHER.

Byline: Chris Cocoles Daily News Staff Writer

They can remember being on opposite sides of a soccer match just one time, as 10-year-olds in an AYSO all-star function.

Beyond that, for the past five years, Paraclete High's Alicia Mac and Margo Horner have been inseparable, soccer being just one of these friends' common links.

``They do everything together. They play soccer together. They laugh together. They get goofy together,'' Paraclete coach Deana Jacoby said. ``They've probably cried together. And they probably even fight together, sometimes.''

Right now, Horner and Mac are leading Paraclete back to the Southern Section semifinals for the second straight season.

The Spirits, who have been at least to the quarterfinals in each of Horner's and Mac's four varsity seasons, meet Chaminade on Tuesday for a berth in the Division IV championship game.

Next year, their union will continue when they move on to Cal State Bakersfield, with which they both have signed a letter of intent.

They have only one more thing to take care of before they move on: A section championship.

``Hopefully this year it will happen,'' Mac said.

Four years ago, when Mac, Horner and the rest of Paraclete's standout senior class - Kirstin Velotta, Brianne Reed, Stephanie Cassone and Amanada Pollock - showed up for the first day of practice, Jacoby saw the makings of something special.

Jacoby started the Paraclete program in 1989, and though the Spirits made the first of three consecutive quarterfinal appearances the year prior to the Class of '99's arrival, this was a glimpse of a brighter future.

``When they came in, those girls were ready to do something. It wasn't just `Oh, let's go out there and play some soccer,' '' Jacoby said. ``It must have been a good birth year. When we looked at them as freshmen the first couple practices, I was like, `Oh wow!' ''

The exclamation points haven't stopped since.

``These are kids who have stuck with the sport. As we get these players who are willing to make the sacrifices, they've done whatever they need to improve the program,'' Jacoby said.

Horner and Mac's first soccer kinship was as eighth-grade teammates on a club team, the Antelope Valley Ambush. They continue to play on that team, now known as Tahuichi.

Their Paraclete experience has tasted a little sweeter each season. As juniors, Horner and Mac finally advanced past the quarterfinals before the Spirits ran into St. Bonaventure.

``Our freshmen year was great. Then every year we've gotten stronger and stronger,'' said Horner, who will finish her brilliant prep career with close to 80 goals.

Paraclete's maturation into the dynasty it has coincides with the development of Horner and Mac into two of the region's most complete players.

Jacoby has utilized their versatility. Mac has played mainly as a fullback and sweeper and Horner can play all over the field, although her scoring punch has kept her primarily up front.

``I can move them all around,'' Jacoby said. ``I have always Plan B available when it comes to these girls.''

Horner and Mac helped make Jacoby's job easier because of their tireless work ethic.

They have been known to beat the coaches and the rest of the team to the practice field, where they've spent as much time having fun as refining their game.

``Usually we just fool around and have fun,'' Mac said amid giggles by both girls.

But Mac and Horner take their soccer, as well as their tri-captain responsibilities with Velotta, seriously.

Cal State Bakersfield coach Jeremy Gunn, who landed Lisa Ament out of Paraclete last season, watched the Spirits play Mary Star High in an early-season match and was sold on Horner and Mac.

Attracting interest from colleges is never easy in a valley isolated from bigger schools in the Los Angeles area.

``Those mountains separate us in more ways than one,'' Jacoby said. ``(Playing together in college) is a beautiful thing for them.''

They always talked about the possibility of packaging themselves as a team to prospective schools and Bakersfield was the right fit.

However, there's at least one game left, and the Spirits are hoping for two and that elusive trip to the section finals.

``It's going to be bittersweet. It always is,'' Jacoby said of the graduating seniors. ``Watching your kids grow up is like watching your players grow up. It's going to be happy. It's going to be sad.''

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PHOTO Paraclete High teammates Margo Horner, left, and Alicia Mac have played soccer together for the past five years.

Jeff Goldwater/Daily News