SOCCER NOTEBOOK: SYLMAR COACH'S FAITH REWARDED.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

Now City soccer coaches know why Sylmar High coach Emmanuel Martin was so persistent.

Sylmar was repeatedly mentioned as the team to cut as the coaches were left trying to narrow the field to 32 at last week's City playoff seeding meeting. Few felt a fifth-place team from what was ranked as one of the weaker leagues should qualify while second- and third-place teams from other leagues didn't make the cut.

Martin wouldn't concede and kept reminding everyone that his team tied No. 1 Birmingham and beat No. 5 Manual Arts. The Spartans eventually made the cut and ended up seeded 29th, which meant an opening-round game against No. 4 Banning.

Sylmar (10-9-5) showed it belonged by beating Banning.

''To be honest, we've been playing well throughout the season,'' Martin said. ''We just turned out with a lot of little mistakes that made us a fifth-place team.

``We went into that game pretty confident. We didn't let being a 29th seed affect us. We figured we had nothing to lose and we just went out and played our game. That helped a lot.''

The Spartans are making their first playoff appearance since 1996, so nerves were a concern, but ``now that they've been there, they're over that,'' Martin said.

A win against Jefferson on Wednesday will likely have to come without Jaime Castellanos, who scored twice against Banning. The senior center midfielder received two yellow cards Friday, making him ineligible for the next game, but the Spartans are protesting one of the cards. Another midfielder was also red-carded.

Forward Jose Carcamo is being counted on to step up, but a defense led by sweeper Jose Lazcano and goalkeeper Christian Pelayo has been the deciding factor all season.

--Ready to go: Ever since a knee injury left Molly Cahan sidelined during Harvard-Westlake's run through the Division IV playoffs last year, the midfielder has waited for her chance to succeed in the playoffs.

If the senior midfielder could wait that long, it is not surprising she and the Wolverines maintained their winning form while waiting almost two weeks between their final Mission League contest and their first playoff game. Harvard-Westlake (18-2-4) opened with a 5-0 victory against Marlborough on Friday.

``I'm really excited,'' Cahan said. ``Out of my four years, this is only my second time going to CIF. I really want to do well and win. I think we all do. I think we have a really good chance.''

The top-seeded Wolverines play at La Reina of Thousand Oaks today.

--The showman: Leonard Griffin rarely got a chance to show his true talent during Littlerock's 5-2 loss to Calabasas in the first round of Friday's Division III playoffs. However, anyone sticking around 10 minutes after the game got so see some of his tricks.

As teammates went to pack their bags, the Lobos' UCLA-bound senior forward remained at midfield putting on a show that brought his teammates to their feet and prompted someone from the Calabasas side to take photos.

When he finished juggling the ball, he flipped it up and caught it on the back of his neck as he leaned forward. The ball remained there as Griffin removed his shirt.

During the game, he scored both of Littlerock's goals -the first on a penalty kick and the other when he beat three defenders to take a shot from the corner that deflected off the far post.