SOCCER OPENERS TO BE GOOD PREVIEWS : FAVORED TEAMS WILL TEST EACH OTHER IN FOOTHILL LEAGUE GAMES.

Byline: Lee Barnathan Daily News Staff Writer

Mark your calendars for Jan. 10, a big day for Foothill League soccer.

Not only is it the day of the opening matches, it's when the consensus top teams will play each other. Saugus High School's boys will travel to Burroughs, and Hart's girls will host Canyon. Canyon's boys, meanwhile, will be hosting Hart.

``It'll set a tone. It's a game to point out where we stand,'' said Burroughs coach Mike Kodama.

A look at the races:

Girls: Does it matter that Canyon (7-2-3) advanced to the Hart tournament final while the hosts (8-1-2) could manage only a consolation championship?

Not really. Canyon defender Karen Hammonds and Hart coach Oliver Germond said Hart had a tough draw, opening with South Pasadena and losing. Canyon also lost to South Pasadena earlier in the season.

Hart forward Mandy Stupar said three key players missed the tournament to take family vacations.

The key is the head-to-head matchup. Hart's a finesse team. Canyon is much more physical.

Both teams are hungry, but for different reasons. Hart's players want to win a third straight league title, while the Cowboys want to claim their first since 1993.

``It says that a lot of people are looking out for Hart, but I think we'll be one of the top teams,'' said Canyon defender Amber Pedersen. ``Everyone had better watch out for us. We're ready.''

Stupar is aware.

``We're going to be working our butts off (in practice),'' she said.

Boys: Kodama and Saugus' Nate Wright think the scores will be low.

``If it's a tie or a one-goal (difference), I don't think it matters,'' Kodama said. ``If it's a blowout, it could mean one team's a lot better.''

But who's better? Burroughs (6-2-1) beat Saugus (8-2-2), which tied nonleague team Crespi, which beat Burroughs. Canyon (8-4) also beat Crespi.

``Burroughs is the team to beat,'' Wright said. ``I think we can beat them.''

For that to happen, forward Jeff Hammond, with an area-best 17 goals, will have to get open, or others will have to step in.

Wright said he saw some of both happening in Monday's Hart tournament championship game against Cleveland. In Saugus' 2-1 win, Hammond came back into the midfield to develop plays, made more runs to the goal as a decoy and crossed the ball more often. Also, others such as Kevin Bonilla (goal) and Jordan Albertson (assist) were taking part in the offense more. On Bonilla's goal, Hammond didn't touch the ball.

``We're starting to gel,'' Wright said.

Canyon coach Juan Arias originally thought his team could challenge, then backed off when top scorer Jair Yepez was declared academically ineligible. When Giordano returned from a leg injury, Arias made the claim again.

``I think we can do it,'' he said.

Besides Giordano, who Arias said pushes the team on the field to be better, Canyon is led by two others: forwards Ramon Simental and Jeremy Risser.

``Every team has ups and downs, but I hope our downs won't be against Saugus and Burroughs,'' Arias said.