Mike Tsarnas Has Knack for Being in Right Place : Boys’ soccer: Anaheim forward is a big reason the Colonists have a good shot at the Orange League title.

ANAHEIM —  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out how to defend the Anaheim High School boys’ soccer team. All you have to do is keep the ball and senior forward Mike Tsarnas from being in the same place at the same time.

Of course devising a game plan is one thing. Executing it is another matter.

This season, teams have tried everything within the rules to stop Tsarnas--tight man-to-man coverage, double teams, triple teams, even a little mental intimidation. None has worked.

Tsarnas has carved up almost every defense he has faced. Through 12 games, he has scored 21 goals and assisted on 12.

For most players--even some teams--that would be a season’s worth of work. For Tsarnas, it’s just the result of hard work.

“I’ve concentrated a lot on soccer,” he said. “It’s what I do best. I have other interests, my girlfriend for example. But I don’t let anything take my mind away from soccer.”

The Colonists have a good chance of winning their first Orange League title since 1983. They finished the preseason 11-1-1 and are the No. 1-ranked team in Orange County.

A lot of the credit belongs to Tsarnas. A three-year letterman, he has led the team in scoring the last two seasons and has 70 goals during his high school career.

“He is such a gifted player, that I’m never surprised at what he does,” Anaheim Coach Adrian Carrasco said. “In fact, I’m surprised when Mike doesn’t make the great play.”

At first glance, Tsarnas doesn’t look imposing. He’s barely 5-foot-6 and weighs less than 150 pounds. However, he is quick and has an instinct for being in the right spot at the right time.

Against Orange two weeks ago, Anaheim’s Armando Solis took a shot from 25 yards. The Panther goalie made the save, but the deflection rolled to Tsarnas, who scored.

“Mike pursues every opportunity on the field,” Carrasco said. “Once their teammate shoots, most forwards would head back up field. That’s not the way Mike plays. He attacks.”

Tsarnas learned the game from his father when he was 3. He has played it constantly since, on three continents.

Tsarnas is the son of Greek emigrants, but was born in Australia where his parents had moved in 1970. The family lived there until Tsarnas was 5 and then moved to Anaheim to be closer to relatives.

The Tsarnas family moved back to Greece for three years and returned to the United States in 1985. Tsarnas played soccer at every stop, but it was in the United States that his passion for the game took hold.

His uncles, Mike and Pete Tsarnas, played for a club team in Westminster. They helped their nephew with the finer points of the game.

“I’ve learned a lot from them,” Tsarnas said. “I remember watching them play for their club team. I was in awe. They were great players.”

On holidays, the entire family and some friends would go to a park for a picnic. Inevitably, a soccer game was organized.

For Tsarnas, those games were a valuable learning experience.

“Those were the most competitive games I’ve ever played in,” he said. “We had 22 guys and most of them were club players. There was some dirty playing.

“When I was a kid, I got pushed around quite a bit. My uncles would tell there was no way I would score. They would keep saying, ‘Go ahead, try to get past me.’ It was fun.”

Of course, it was Tsarnas who had the last word. On Memorial Day in 1989, he scored all 22 of his team’s goals at the picnic.

“We haven’t played a lot of soccer since,” he said. “But that was a great day. My uncles did a lot of grumbling.”

His uncles also had a lot to do with Tsarnas making the Anaheim varsity as a freshman. Both played on a club team coached by Carrasco, who has been the Anaheim coach for eight years.

On the first day of classes in 1986, Carrasco was approached by a skinny kid who wanted to try out for the soccer team.

“He said his name was Tsarnas, but I didn’t make the connection,” Carrasco said. “He came out to practice and began playing. It was obvious that he had a lot talent. It was then it clicked. I asked him if he was related to Pete and Mike.”

As a freshman, Tsarnas scored eight goals and was named second-team all-Orange League. The next year, he scored 17 goals and was again named to the second team.

Last season, Tsarnas became an impact player. He scored 24 goals and assisted on 19 as the Colonists finished second in the league play and reached the quarterfinals of the Southern Section 2-A playoffs. Tsarnas was named player of the year in the league and was a first-team All-Southern Section selection.

“What makes Mike so tough is that he’s unselfish,” Carrasco said. “He wants to score goals, but he’ll give the ball. He is very good at setting up the other players for goals.”

Although other teams have paid more attention to Tsarnas this season, it hasn’t slowed him down. He has at least one goal in every game but one.

“A guy like that can beat you all by himself,” Fountain Valley Coach Cameron Beaulac said. “You add his goals and assists and that’s three goals per game. That means you have to score four goals to win.”

Some teams have tried to intimidate Tsarnas, but with little success.

“I’ve noticed that teams are a little rougher this year,” Tsarnas said. “They push and shove and hold my jersey. I’m used to it, though. That’s how we played at the family picnics.”

Tsarnas has not allowed the extra pressure to get him upset. Still, once in a while, a situation arises and he has to answer.

Against Orange, Tsarnas missed a shot early in the game. A Panther informed him it would be the last shot he would get.

A few minutes later, Tsarnas picked up a rebound in front of the net, slipped past the same defender and scored.

“I turned to him and said, ‘You like that?’ ” Tsarnas said. “He didn’t have an answer.”

Tsarnas scored both goals to lead Anaheim to a 2-0 victory over Orange, which was then the No. 1-ranked team in the county.

“After the game, that defender shook my hand,” Tsarnas said. “He said that I was a good player.”

And, so far, an unstoppable one.