Orlandos’ Game Was Dominant

The Times Orange County girls’ soccer player of the year is not being honored for how far she took her team in the playoffs. In fact, her team struggled. It finished third in the Sea View League and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. But she was, without a doubt, the best soccer player in the county this season.

When you see El Toro’s Lauren Orlandos play, it is obvious that her talent is far beyond the majority of high school players. She is a presence when she steps on the field.

“She is as complete a soccer player as I have ever seen,” Woodbridge Coach William Bell said. “In the 14 years I’ve been coaching, she is by far the best player I’ve ever gone against.”

Orlandos is making her second appearance on the all-county first team; she was a second-team pick as a sophomore.

She has changed positions in her four seasons for the Chargers, moving from defense to midfield, but finally settled at center halfback where she was able to control the midfield, score goals and get back and plug up the defense.

At 5 feet 9, Orlandos’ height helps her win headers that come her way. And she is quick. She often wins headers at midfield, gets the ball to a teammate and is down in scoring position before the rest of her team can catch up. She can play the ball well with either foot and rarely lets opponents take it away.

In the Orange County senior all-star game, Orlandos scored her team’s only goal--spectacularly. She dribbled nearly the length of the field before slamming the ball into the corner of the goal.

Bell was reminded of Mission Viejo’s Julie Foudy, now a member of the U.S. women’s national team and probably the best girls’ high school player in county history.

“[Orlandos] has the entire game. She’s the type of player who can bring her team up a notch,” Bell said. “But she has to have the surrounding players. I saw her make many plays where she would place a ball perfectly, but no one was there for the ball. She sees the game so well, she puts the ball where she knows someone should be.”

Off the high school field, Orlandos has plenty of tough competition to keep her on her game. She is a member of the 18-and-under national team, which traveled to Europe in February and defeated Germany and Finland. Her club team, the Mission Viejo Mirage, has won seven state cups with Orlandos.

“I like the competition with the national team,” Orlandos said. “It’s a lot more competitive than high school. Everyone is so much more skilled and the game itself is much quicker and faster. My goal is to one day be a member of the women’s team and win an Olympic gold medal.”

Orlandos, who was recruited by many of the country’s top soccer programs, including North Carolina, Washington, Santa Clara and USC, will play at Portland.

One of the nation’s best Division I soccer programs, Portland has reached the final four in four of the last five seasons. Orlandos, who said she was told by Portland Coach Clive Charles that she would be starting as a freshman, is hoping to help the team to a national championship.