Girls soccer: Head of the class

Joseph Boo

COSTA MESA - If Estancia High’s girls soccer team car-pooled

somewhere, room would be scarce since the Eagles only have five players

old enough to drive.

The Eagles have 12 underclassmen on the varsity team. Half of them are

freshmen. It would seem that Estancia would take a while in learning the

high school game.

Instead, it is 5-3, winning the consolation championship in the Magnolia

tournament.

“I think we’ll be really competitive,” Estancia Coach Anton Striegl said.

A big reason why Estancia has done well so far are the five seniors,

Helen Flores, Mehgan Fay, Elizabeth Reynoso, Nereida Martinez and Becca

Silva.

Midfielder Silva has lit up the scoreboard so far, scoring over half of

Estancia’s goals, with Reynoso contributing on offense as a forward. Fay

has been solid on defense, and Flores, according to Striegl, has done a

good job at goalie.

But the underclassmen still need to contribute, and they have. Of all the

incoming freshmen, club player Ruth Chavero has impressed the most.

“She’s really aggressive and has good ball skills,” Striegl said.

Among the freshmen class, Amanda Abbott plays defense, while Karleen

Curran, Dustinne Lau, Nereyda Quintana join Chavero to form a young

midfield. Maria Sanchez sees playing time at forward.

Among the sophomores, Arlis Reynolds has teamed up with Fay to give the

Eagles a potent defensive duo. Reynolds plays out of the sweeper spot.

Olga Estrada and Amy Ippolito joins Fay on the defensive line, while

Elicet Gonzales and Emily Lopez play in the midfield. Yvette Ramirez is

Estancia’s third forward.

While the Eagles have gotten off to a solid, Striegl is wary about

Estancia’s league performance in the past.

“There were times when Estancia would win its preseason games, and then

lose all its league games,” he said.

Nevertheless, Estancia has enough talent to hold its own in a tough

Pacific Coast League against favorite Corona del Mar, University, Laguna

Beach and Costa Mesa. And Striegl feels a CIF playoff berth is within

reach.

Roster

GK Helen Flores Sr.

2 Elizabeth Reynoso Sr.

3 Mehgan Fay Sr.

4 Nereida Martinez Sr.

5 Elicet Gonzales So.

6 Becca Silva Sr.

7 Amy Ippolito So.

8 Maria Sanchez Fr.

9 Olga Estrada So.

10 Nereyda Quintana Fr.

11 Amanda Abbott Fr.

12 Emily Lopez So.

14 Yvette Ramirez So.

15 Ruth Chavero Fr.

16 Dustinne Lau Fr.

18 Karleen Curran Fr.

19 Arlis Reynolds So.