Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week - Allison Harvey: Her aim is true

Tony Altobelli

Here’s some bad news for future opponents of Corona del Mar High’s

girls soccer team and, more specific, those who’ll try to defend junior

Allison Harvey: She still is not 100% sure of herself out there.

A scary thought, considering she’s already scoring goals at a fever

pitch.

“I’m still looking to get more confident out there when I’m one-on-one

with someone,” the humble Harvey said. “Sometimes in that situation, I

hesitate instead of making the pass or just going right after the

opposition. It’s something I’m working on.”

Fortunately for both Harvey and the Sea Kings, she has had plenty of

opportunities to practice these scoring situations.

“She’s led our team in scoring the past two years,” CdM Coach Ron

Evans said of Harvey. “She’s got to be one of the most dangerous players

in the air in all of CIF.”

CdM (19-1-3, 5-0-1 in league), ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section

Division IV, has not lost in 19 straight contests and Harvey has been

instrumental during that span.

A fine example came last week when the Sea Kings hammered Estancia,

11-0, on Jan. 16. The Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week had four goals and

four assists.

“Allison has a good right and left foot and her one-on-one skills are

very good,” Evans said. “She’s a pleasure to coach. She’s a fun

individual to be around.”

Harvey added a goal and an assist in a 4-0 win over University Jan.

16.

“It has just been a lot of fun out there,” Harvey said. “This group

just gets along so well, it’s unbelievable. We’re all working hard and if

we stay focused on what we have to do, we can go a long way.”

The 5-foot-10 forward believes her smarts work for her just as much as

her height. “I think I’ve got a pretty good knowledge of the game,”

Harvey said. “I try to guess which way the defender is going and I try to

anticipate the play before it happens.”

Like most youngsters, peer pressure is what got Harvey into the world

of soccer.

“In the fourth grade, all my friends were playing and they talked me

into doing it,” she said. “I’ve played halfback, sweeper and forward, but

I think my favorite position is halfback. You can control the flow of the

game from there by taking the ball into the offensive area.”

Thinking like a halfback, Harvey believes a pass-oriented style of

offense will serve the defending Pacific Coast League champions well on

their trek to the playoffs.

“If we can get more people involved with our offense, that will put

more pressure on the opponent’s defense,” Harvey said.

Harvey, already on pace to break her goal total of a year ago (17),

still has another year to gain more experience at CdM before playing

elsewhere. Where she’d like to go from here is still up in the air.

“I have no idea where I’d like to go,” she said. “Right now, I’m

focused on having fun here at CdM.”

Does Evans believe Harvey has a soccer future waiting for her at the

collegiate level? “Oh yeah, for sure,” he said.

When not on the soccer field, Harvey enjoys the big screen. “I really

like comedy movies,” she said. “Nothing specific, just as long as it

makes me laugh.”

Also in the future may be an occupation as unpredictable as the game

of soccer itself.

“Nothing is for sure yet, but I would kind of like to be an FBI

agent,” Harvey said. “That looks like a pretty cool job to have.”