HIGH SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT: DISPLAYING AN AWFUL LOT OF HEART FLINTRIDGE SACRED HEART WINS DESPITE INJURIES, DEPARTURES.Byline: Erik Boal Special to the Daily News LA CANADA - The magnitude of how much heart an athlete displays often is dramatized in high school athletics. Coaches are too quick to label players as the ``heart and soul'' of their team, or say they ``play with more heart than anyone I've coached.'' These claims diminish the value of such praise when it's really merited. Kathy Desmond and Frank Pace have been coaching girls' soccer at Flintridge Sacred Heart The Sacred Heart is a religious devotion to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of the divine love for humanity This devotion is predominantly used in the Roman Catholic Church and also used in the Anglican Church. of La Canada long enough to know which athletes and teams truly deserve recognition. They'll tell you their group this season is among the few. The Tologs had to replace five starters after winning 14 games last season and qualifying for the Southern Section Div. I playoffs for a second consecutive year. Then Desmond and Pace learned they'd also have to replace sophomore defender Stefanie Chan, who was sidelined this season with various injuries. By midseason, four more players from last year's playoff play·off also play-off n. Sports 1. A final game or series of games played to break a tie. 2. A series of games played to determine a championship. Noun 1. roster had left the team to, Pace said, ``reassess reassess Verb to reconsider the value or importance of reassessment n Verb 1. reassess - revise or renew one's assessment reevaluate their priorities.'' Injuries also deprived Flintridge Sacred Heart of New Mexico-bound striker Hannah Hand and junior sweeper Angie Torres for several games. ``It scared me for a little bit, but we didn't want that to carry on,'' said Hand, the program's all-time leader with 84 games played Games played (most often abbreviated as G or GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. and 52 victories. ``I think all the girls had to look at their priorities. But we got down to the core and the heart of the team. And now I can say this is the closest team I've ever been around.'' Injuries played havoc during the Tologs' Mission League campaign. In a Feb. 4 game at Harvard-Westlake of Studio City, Flintridge Sacred Heart played most of the second half with 10 players - all of their healthy athletes. ``There are no excuses in games,'' said Pace, who joined Desmond - the Mission League's winningest coach, with 113 victories in 11 seasons - seven years ago. ``Whether it's kids playing hurt or leaving on a trip or having SATs or rainouts forcing you to play four times in eight days, you're all dealt the same hand. It's all unfortunate.'' The Tologs relied on the leadership of seniors Hand, Katie Carey and goalkeeper For the close-in weapon system, see . In many team sports, a goalkeeper (termed goaltender, netminder, goalie, or keeper in some sports) is a designated player that is charged with directly preventing the opposite team from scoring by defending the Cissy cissy Noun pl -sies Adjective same as sissy Adj. 1. cissy - having unsuitable feminine qualities effeminate, emasculate, sissified, sissy, sissyish, epicene Butler, and juniors Torres, Lauren Bustos, Giselle Galanto and Linzee Luper to overcome obstacles and turn the season around. Sophomores Alexa Eckman and Maddie Gonzales, and freshmen Carly Crowder, Camille Davis, Heather Riley, Mimi Roukoz and Carter Vettese also contributed. ``In December, we didn't have an identity,'' Pace said. ``But we finally got that team-defining win (Jan. 26 at Alemany of Mission Hills), and that's when things, in my mind, really started to turn. Each kid learned to play a role, and it took everyone of their roles for us to win.'' The Tologs won seven of their final nine regular-season games to finish second in the Mission League for the first time in program history. They set records for victories in league (six) and overall. ``(Since the Harvard-Westlake game) the heart that we've put into every game has been just incredible,'' said Butler, who has 10 shutouts and the lowest goals-against-average (0.65) in program history. ``I really don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what the one thing was that changed it. But there was this miraculous mi·rac·u·lous adj. 1. Of the nature of a miracle; preternatural. 2. So astounding as to suggest a miracle; phenomenal: a miraculous recovery; a miraculous escape. 3. change to everyone being out there and wanting it like never before. And I think if we look back (in five or 10 years), this is truly the team that has the most heart.'' Said Bustos, who - with Hand, Luper and Torres are the only four players in Flintridge Sacred Heart history to reach the playoffs three years in a row: ``We have a stronger mindset mind·set or mind-set n. 1. A fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person's responses to and interpretations of situations. 2. An inclination or a habit. than we did two months ago. And I think the team will remember how hard we had to work, and it will carry on to next year. We've really relied on each other to push ourselves and succeed.'' The Tologs hope that success continues in Friday's first-round playoff game Noun 1. playoff game - one game in the series of games constituting a playoff game - a single play of a sport or other contest; "the game lasted two hours" playoff - any final competition to determine a championship at Upland Upland, city (1990 pop. 63,374), San Bernardino co., S Calif., in a citrus-fruit region at the foot of the San Gabriel Mts.; inc. 1906. Citrus fruits and grapes are packed and processed in the city. Paint, orchard heaters, auto parts, and feed products are also made. (15-3-8). ``(To make the playoffs three consecutive years) means a lot,'' Torres said. ``Every season, I'm excited to come out and play with these girls, and every year it seems like we take a gradual step. There are no superstars This article is about the televised sports competition. For other uses, see Superstar. Superstars is an all-around sports competition that pits elite athletes from different sports against one another in a series of athletic challenges resembling a decathlon. on the field anymore. ... I see a lot of unity, and I'm so proud of my team.'' ``I really don't care
"Don't Care" is a 1994 (see 1994 in music) single by American death metal band Obituary. how it worked out,'' said Hand, who has scored 54 goals with 35 assists in four seasons. ``Just that it did.'' Erik Boal, (818) 713-3607 erik.boal(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Flintridge Sacred Heart's Southern Section playoff-bound girls' soccer team is led by goalkeeper Cissy Butler, front, and, left to right, Angie Torres, Lauren Bustos, Hannah Hand, Giselle Galanto and Linzee Luper. John McCoy/Staff Photographer Box: RECORD BREAKERS |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion