Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, Allison Harvey: A nose for the net

Barry Faulkner

Though she doesn’t admit to having a scorer’s mentality, Corona del

Mar High sophomore girls soccer forward Allison Harvey jokes with

teammates about smelling the goal.

“I tell them, ‘When you smell it, you’ve got to score,”’ said Harvey, who

has experienced the aroma more than any of her teammates this season.

Harvey scored two goals and added an assist in the Sea Kings’ 6-0 Pacific

Coast League rout of Estancia Feb. 3.

The effort upped her goal total to a team-leading 16, according to Coach

Ron Evans.

“Her goals come in a variety of ways,” Evans said of the Daily Pilot

Athlete of the Week. “There’s not one way to shut her down. She’s

dangerous with both feet, she’s dangerous with her head and she knows

when to be selfish and unselfish. She’s an all-around player.”

Harvey’s all-around talent has helped CdM earn its first league

championship, as well as its first playoff berth, in eight years. The Sea

Kings are ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section Division IV and completed

the regular season 14-4-3.

“We really wanted to make a statement in the second round of league that

we were here to win,” Harvey said. “We could have gotten an at-large bid

last year, but it didn’t work out. This year, we knew for sure we were

going to make the playoffs. We’re gonna win (in CIF) this year.”

Such self-assuredness about her team’s playoff future belies Harvey’s

modesties regarding her own game.

“I feel guilty if I don’t perform my best,” she said. “It doesn’t matter

if I score goals. If I thought I could have played better, I’m still

disappointed after a game.”

Harvey said she has only occasionally left the field satisfied, but Evans

has found little complaint with her performance.

“She has a great attitude, she’s a gamer and she’s fun to coach,” Evans

said. “She’s always at practice on time, ready to go and work hard.”

A role player on last year’s team, this club veteran burst on to the

scene this season with three goals in a season-opening win over Foothill.

Since then, she has been determined to be a consistent offensive threat.

“Now that I’ve scored a few goals, I have to keep it up to keep the

respect of my team,” Harvey said. “Sometimes I smell the goal and

sometimes it’s luck. There are a lot of good people on our team and I

can’t score if they don’t play well.”

She warrants the respect of her opponents, who often try to take her out

of her game with aggressive, physical play.

“I might not be the strongest player out there,” said the 5-foot-10,

130-pound Harvey. “It seems like with some girls we play, their whole job

is to take you out of your game. But you have to know what you’re job is

and not let them bother you. Sometimes they can frustrate you, but you

have to get over it.”

Harvey gets over on opponents with a wide range of attacking maneuvers.

“We like to send a lot of crosses and Allison is one of our finishers in

the middle,” Evans said.

Harvey, who also runs track for the Sea Kings, began playing soccer in

the fourth grade. She started her club career two years later and

currently plays for Long Beach-based Infinity.

“She’s also in the Olympic Development Program,” Evans said.

Harvey said she enjoys the competition soccer provides.

“Especially after going to school all day, it’s great to get out on the

field and run,” she said. “It’s a great release.”