ROYAL ROLLING AFTER SLUGGISH START WINNING TRADITION FUELS TEAM.Byline: Kirby Lee Staff Writer It was a chance that Kevin Corley needed to take. Royal High's boys soccer team was struggling after losing to graduation Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the associated ceremony. The date of event is often called degree day. The event itself is also called commencement, convocation or invocation. 15 players from last year's Marmonte League The Marmonte League is a high school sports league primarily made up of schools from Ventura County. The Marmonte Leauge is part of the CIF Southern Section. Click here to view the league schedule. championship team, and the coach could think of only one remedy. Before the team's weekly meeting earlier this season, Corley escorted his team through the Royal gym and pointed out the two Southern Section title banners, won in the past decade, on the wall. Corley didn't have to say much more. ``I tried to play on the Royal tradition when they play at the school,'' said Corley, who has guided the Highlanders to seven Marmonte League titles during his 11-year tenure. ``At the risk of putting pressure on them, I felt that they were playing with fear. I needed to stop that, and so far it worked.'' Royal (9-3-2, 4-0-2) opened the season with two losses in the Burroughs of Burbank tournament, but the Highlanders have been on a roll since. After defeating Moorpark 4-1 Wednesday, Royal preserved its undefeated Marmonte League record Friday with a 2-2 standoff stand·off n. 1. A tie or draw, as in a contest. 2. A situation in which one force neutralizes or counterbalances the other. 3. A standoff insulator. adj. Standoffish. against Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. , which also is unbeaten in league play. ``I still think some of the league teams don't take us seriously, and that's a mistake,'' Corley said. ``These guys find a way to win and are steadily improving.'' Royal's turnaround Turnaround A situation where a company that has had poor performance for an extended period of time experiences a positive reversal. Notes: A speculator may profit from a turnaround if he or she accurately anticipates the improvement of a poorly performing company. has been more surprising, given its limited number of games before league play began. A paperwork error prevented the team from playing in the Don Lugo of Chino Chino (chē`nō), city (1990 pop. 59,682), San Bernardino co., S Calif.; founded 1887, inc. 1910. It is the business and processing center of a diversified farming (notably dairying) area. tournament during Christmas break. ``I would have preferred to have as many games and tournaments (as possible) with a young team to teach them how to play,'' Corley said. ``They aren't used to the intensity in the Marmonte League, but they've come a long way. Somehow, they find a way to win. They believe that every time they step on the field, they are going to win.'' Winning is nothing new at Royal, which has lost only three league games in the past three seasons. The Highlanders are 90-21-17 in Marmonte League action the past 12 seasons, and they qualified for the postseason in 10 of the past 11 years. Things are different for this team, with only senior defenders Joe Gutierrez and Matt Smith returning from last season's starting lineup For the line of action figures, see . A starting lineup in sports refers to the set of players actively participating in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes . Royal has received a boost from senior midfielder
In association football, a midfielder is a player whose position of play is midway between the attacking strikers and the defenders (highlighted in blue on the diagram). Kyle <noinclude></noinclude> ''This article or section is being rewritten at One derivation of the surname is from the Scottish Highland word caol, 'channel', or 'strait'. There are other possible derivations (see below). Taylor, who was sidelined by a severely sprained ankle A sprained ankle, also known as a ankle sprain, ankle injury or ankle ligament injury, is a common medical condition where one or more of the ligaments of the ankle is torn or partially torn. for much of his junior season and by a broken wrist as a sophomore. Taylor leads Royal with 12 goals, three Wednesday against Moorpark. ``Talent-wise, we are not even close to last year, but we have determination,'' Smith said. ``We had raw talent, but this year we are playing together as a team. If the team we had last year played this year's team, it would be a competitive match.'' Royal has done well although it lacks a pure striker. Of Royal's 33 goals this season, 30 have come from midfielders and defenders. Much of Royal's offense has been generated by sophomore midfielder Johny Avina, who has scored six goals this season, and freshman midfielder Paris Figueroa. Junior midfielder Fernando Cardenas and his brother, Alex, a sophomore forward, also are newcomers. ``At the start, I thought it was going to be a rough year,''Smith said. ``We lost our entire starting lineup, and I was just hoping for the best. We started progressing and coming together quickly. All the players started clicking with everything falling into place.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: From left, Mat Smith, Joe Gutierrez and Kyle Taylor lead a Royal High soccer team that is 4-0-1 in Marmonte League play. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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