SIXTH SENSE: ECR GOES FOR CITY RECORD GIRLS' SOCCER TEAM TRIES FOR ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP.Byline: Erik Boal Special to the Daily News The shot is taken, the ball hits the back of the net and, on cue, the players on the bench break into song. ``Ain't no party like an El Co party,'' can be heard from across the field, serenading El Camino Real El Camino Real (Spanish for The Royal Road or The King's Highway) was the name of a series of pre-automobile highways linking the various New World colonies of Spain:
If the grammar, or the tone, leaves something to be desired, the sentiment rings true. Life has been one big party for the Conquistadores the past six seasons. Since losing to San Pedro in the 2000 City Section semifinals, ECR ECR Efficient Consumer Response ECR European Congress of Radiology ECR Electron Cyclotron Resonance ECR El Camino Real (Kings Highway; California) ECR Electronic Cash Register ECR East Coast Radio (South Africa) has established a run of dominance among the best in state history, no matter the sport. A 122-13-10 record during that stretch, 79-3-3 against City opponents, only begins to tell the story. The Conquistadores (21-1-2) take a 26-game 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. winning streak Noun 1. winning streak - a streak of wins streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies" (and a 34-game unbeaten streak against City foes) into their sixth consecutive final Saturday afternoon, taking on West Valley League rival Granada Hills (20-5-2) at 4:30 p.m. at East L.A. College. A sixth straight championship would set a City record. ``Not a lot of people get to experience (playing in a final), so you never take it for granted,'' said UNLV-bound senior Niki Connolly, who, with Cal-bound Katie Oakes, is seeking a fourth City championship ring. ``You hope for that fourth ring, but you know that teams are always going to come out with their best against you. ``Every time you get there, you take it for what it is. We're always happy, but we're never satisfied.'' After a 4-0 romp over Palisades Palisades, cliffs along the west bank of the Hudson River, NE N.J. and SE N.Y., extending from N of Jersey City, N.J., to the vicinity of Piermont, N.Y., with a general altitude of from 350 ft to 550 ft (107–168 m). of Pacific Palisades in last year's final, several ECR players didn't celebrate too long. They already were looking forward to surpassing rival Chatsworth's record for consecutive titles - five in a row in 1989-93 and again in 1996-2000 - and becoming only the fourth girls' soccer team in state history to win six successive section crowns. ``We talked about the commitment and the pride and the intensity that we need to have to win a sixth title,'' Oakes said last March as she left ELAC's Weingart Stadium Weingart Stadium (formerly ELAC Stadium) is a 20,355-seat multipurpose stadium located at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, California. It was built in 1951 at a cost of $3.1 million and following renovations in 1984 it was renamed. . ``We've talked every year about how Chatsworth has still won way more titles (10 total) than we have, so there is more work for us to do.'' That work, which includes a 21-match unbeaten streak, has ECR measuring up with some of top programs in the City, including teams on its campus. The Conquistadores' softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' team holds the state record with 13 section titles, ECR's wrestling team has 10, and its boys' tennis team had won five in a row before losing last season to Palisades. None of them have won six in a row. A victory over Granada Hills would make ECR the sixth City program to win six successive titles. Birmingham of Lake Balboa Balboa, town (1990 pop. 2,751), Colón prov., in the former Panama Canal Zone, on the Gulf of Panama. The port for Panama City, Balboa was the administrative headquarters of the Panama Canal Zone. It was also the site of a U.S. navy base (closed 1999). boys' swimming (13 in a row, 1958-70), Palisades girls' tennis (8, 1984-91), Palisades girls' volleyball volleyball, outdoor or indoor ball and net game played on a level court. An upright net, 3 ft (or 1 m) high, the top of which stands 8 ft (2.43 m) from the ground for men, 7 ft 4 1/8 in (2. (7, 1981-87), Belmont of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. boys' cross country (7, 1995-2001) and Banning of Wilmington football (6, 1976-81) also are in that elite company. ``It means a lot, because we never lose sight of how hard it is to get there,'' said ECR coach Shanna Sarris, a 1995 graduate whose assistant is brother Zach Feldman, the 2001 Daily News All-Area Boys' Soccer Player of the Year at ECR. ``All season long, we've been focused on taking it one game at a time, and now we get to play one more. Only two teams can say that.'' ``This means everything,'' junior goalkeeper Ashley Menin said. ``We might be going for our sixth title, but it always feels like your first one.'' Erik Boal, (818) 713-3607 erik.boal(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: The El Camino Real girls' soccer team on Saturday goes for its sixth consecutive City title. Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer |
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