SOCCER NOTEBOOK: POWERS KEEP SCHEDULES TOUGH.

Byline: Chris Cocoles and Heather Gripp Staff Writers

Most of the girls' soccer coaches from the region's best teams obviously never enrolled in classes at the Bill Snyder school of scheduling.

Snyder, Kansas State University's football coach, is annually criticized for the watered-down nonconference schedule his top-10-caliber program tramples over.

Nobody can accuse the Westlake, Chaminade of West Hills, Harvard- Westlake of Studio City, Hart of Newhall, Canyon or Chatsworth girls' soccer teams of ducking each other.

``We only schedule the best,'' Chaminade coach Mike Evans said.

So do many of Evans' colleagues. Already this season, Chaminade has played Westlake and Canyon. And Harvard-Westlake met Buena, Westlake and Chatsworth.

This week's schedule is filled with quality matchups: Hart-Chatsworth and Chaminade-Buena today, Westlake-Canyon on Wednesday and Chatsworth-Hart on Thursday.

Cupcakes won't be served by these teams.

``I like that. I don't like easy games because then we start getting too confident and we start to think we're too good,'' first-year Hart coach Juan Arias said. ``I don't mind losing, and they're going to show me how much they want to play.''

Indeed, Hart has losses to Arcadia and Quartz Hill and gets two more tough assignments this week in Chatsworth and Chaminade.

Canyon, seeking to end Hart's six-year reign as Foothill League champions, didn't waste any time challenging itself. The Cowboys opened with defending Golden League champion Quartz Hill, which beat Canyon last year.

But the Cowboys scored an impressive 4-1 victory over the Rebels and then tied Chaminade 1-1 three days later.

``It's very good. They were both very good teams. That's a good sign for the future for us,'' Canyon junior midfielder Jaime Rendich said.

Perhaps no other team in the region depends on playing a daunting nonleague schedule more than Chatsworth, the City Section's flagship program.

The Chancellors were humbled 3-0 by Harvard-Westlake on Thursday. Hart should also get coach Robert Hayes' team ready for a possible sixth consecutive City title.

``We do load up our preseason schedule,'' Hayes said. ``As tough teams as we can play. We're not necessarily going to get 100 percent competition throughout the year. It's just getting us ready for the whole season.''

--Coyotes hurting: The Calabasas boys went 16 games before losing their first game last season and didn't lose again until the playoffs. This season, the Coyotes needed less than two weeks to surpass last season's loss total.

Calabasas anticipated a tougher time this season since many of its former standouts graduated, but injuries are making things even more difficult for the defending Frontier League champions.

``This has been a really bizarre year,'' Coyotes coach John Reich said.

Two players were injured in club games, one suffering a broken rib and the other tearing an ACL. Another player was recently stretching on the track next to the field when a runner accidentally stepped on the player's Achilles' tendon.

``There's no depth to speak of,'' Reich said. ``It makes coaching real easy. I've got the 11 guys on the field and maybe two or three subs.''

--Mixed emotions: Not everyone at Paraclete was thrilled to see the Spirits football team advance to Saturday's Southern Section final. The boys' soccer team would have found a positive in an early exit by the football team since stopper Keith Lambert is also on the football team and therefore, yet to join the soccer team.

``On the one hand, you want your school's team to do well, but on the other hand . . . '' Spirits coach Pat McIver said. ``We've got a really good defense, but he'll make it even stronger.''

--Foothill follies: The Quartz Hill girls (1-2-1) play at Paraclete of Lancaster on Tuesday after the Rebels served as an honorary member of the Foothill League to begin the year.

In a two-week span, the Rebels met Canyon, Valencia, Saugus and Hart. The three-time defending Golden League champions lost to Canyon and Valencia after beating both last year.

The Rebels continued to struggle with a tie against Saugus. But Quartz Hill finally notched a win in its Foothill League tour, 2-1 over Hart on Thursday.