Top of their game

Three months ago, right before the 2001-02 high school girls’ soccer

season kicked off, Kerry Crooks was asked what she thought of her team.

Her quick summation was that this team probably was the most talented

in her nine years as the Chargers’ head coach, but it wasn’t too game

savvy.

That was the one thing that might prevent this team from living up to

expectations, she thought.

“The talent was there, but I thought that this team was going to be a

bit slower than last year’s team,” she said. “I saw plenty of potential

but wasn’t sure if the girls would live up to it.”

The “girls” went beyond those expectations. In fact, they made a place

for themselves in Edison’s history books.

The Chargers capped an incredible season last Saturday night at Gahr

High in Cerritos by defeating Crescenta Valley, 4-1, to win the CIF

Southern Section Division II title.

Edison pretty much dominated the contest and never trailed. Jane Wyche

scored twice and Sascha Contreras was credited with two goals, her final

goal coming when her pass bounced off a Crescenta Valley player and into

the net in the game’s final minutes.

It was the first girls’ soccer title for Edison since 1986, the year

when Crooks was a freshman and a newcomer to the school’s soccer program.

“I still remember when we won that title. It’s really nice to win a

championship again,” said Crooks, who previously had guided Edison to

three semifinal game appearances, including last year when they lost to

eventual champion Mission Viejo. “I think our girls did a tremendous job

the entire season. They just got better and better as the season

progressed.”

Crooks entered the 2001-02 season with plenty of fresh faces. She had

lost 12 seniors to graduation off last year’s semifinal team, a squad

that was “self-motivated and had strong personalities.”

Edison, whose only loss was to San Clemente back in December, opened

league play by beating Marina, then went on to claim another Sunset

championship. It marched through the playoffs and finally broke its

semifinal jinx by blanking Woodbridge, 2-0, nine days ago.

“We adopted what we termed soccer sins, and that is to never get

scored on in the first five minutes of a game, the last five minutes of a

game and never let a team score within five minutes after you score on

them,” Crooks explained.

Prowess on defense allowed Edison to work its offensive style, which

included a three forward approach. The Chargers allowed just 11 goals in

29 games and only once did the opposition score more than one goal in a

game.

Edison finished the season with a 22-1-6 record, ended the campaign

with an 18-game unbeaten streak and posted 18 shutouts. The Chargers were

ranked third in the state by Cal Hi Sports prior to Saturday’s final.

Jenna Huff played every game in goal and finished the season with 107

saves. The UNLV-bound Huff was credited with three saves in Saturday’s

final.

Defenders Vanessa Crowell, Torie Hartge, Emelia Miller, Stacia Hooper

and Alisha Maddocks were keys to Edison’s success on the field.

“If you can have someone in goal like Jenna, where they are giving up

less than one goal a game, then that allows an offensive team like us to

work our game plan,” Crooks said.

Senior forward Brooke Thulin, who will play on a scholarship to BYU,

led the team with 16 goals and 19 assists. Thulin was a four-year varsity

performer.

“She just has an incredible artillery on offense but to finish a

season with 19 assists is just amazing,” Crooks said.

Saturday’s win in the championship final may have set the tone for

next season, said Crooks, who will have several key players back in the

lineup.

“We return a lot of players and that will give us a solid nucleus,”

she said. “It will be hard to fill in for the loss of Brooke and Jenna,

but winning a CIF title has allowed the girls to see themselves as

winners. That’s something you can build on.”

* MIKE SCIACCA is the education and sports reporter. He can be reached

at (714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.