SOCCER BEAT: SO TALENTED, IT HURTS : WESTLAKE'S ONLY OBSTACLE: WESTLAKE?

Byline: Heather Gripp and Jim Inghram Daily News Staff Writers

Rick Hanson looks at his Westlake High girls' soccer team and quickly becomes frustrated. It's not that his team is bad; it's just the opposite. The Warriors are so good, Hanson hates having to choose who won't play.

``It's one of those catch-22 situations,'' the first-year coach said. ``It's rad to have all that talent, but you have to pick the ones that will start and the ones that won't. It's very difficult. It's frustrating.

``I have 17 players and they're all great. There's a lot of depth. There's so much talent on the field and on the bench. That's what's been kind of cool, we don't have a leading scorer, we have 11 players on the field that can get the job done. That's important.''

The Warriors (3-0) won their Marmonte League opener, 3-0 over Newbury Park on Wednesday.

The only potential downfall Hanson sees for the Warriors is the possibility of getting caught up in the hype of their well-publicized talent.

``There could be the tendency for them to say, `We're Westlake. Everyone says we're good, we don't have to try that hard.' With the high expectations and rumors, you're always expected to play up to those expectations. It hasn't been a problem yet. We always try to stay level headed.'' Get used to it: Freshman Michael Falcone of Newbury Park scored a goal in his first Marmonte League match Wednesday, a 2-0 victory over Westlake.

It's a sight that other teams might as well get used to: coach Guy Sanford calls Falcone and fellow freshman John Kurpashky the future of Panthers soccer.

``These guys come from the very successful (Las Virgenes) Blazers club program and are just highly skilled for freshman.''

Falcone is a bit more advanced than Kurpashky, but Sanford noted that as soon as Kurpashky hits a growth spurt he will close the talent gap.

At this point, Falcone is on the same level as the Panthers' more talented seniors and should get better as the season wears on.

A rude welcome, a nice entry: Moorpark's soccer teams made their Marmonte League debut Wednesday. The boys team tied Simi Valley 2-2, the girls lost 4-0.

Both Simi Valley teams are expected to be near the top of the league, so the girls' loss shouldn't be to discouraging and the boys' victory should give them something to build on as the league season progresses.

The tie was the first game the 0-2-1 boys didn't lose. They also scored their first two goals of the season. A penalty shot by Aswald Murales put Moorpark on the board in the 45th minute and Mike Truex scored two minutes later to tie it.

Simi Valley was so dominant in the girls game, Pioneers goalkeeper Sarah Swancutt didn't have to make a single save.

No longer perfect: Annie Stuerhmann made 10 saves, but La Reina (3-1) suffered its first loss of the season Tuesday when Royal scored in the game's final five seconds.

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PHOTO La Reina's Brenna Scanlon, left, and Chelsea Brandt are on a team that suffered its first loss Tuesday.

Tina Gerson/Daily News