Variety rules for Mustangs

Bryce Alderton

One needs to look no further to find generosity this holiday season

than to players on the Costa Mesa High girls soccer team.

The defending CIF Southern Section Division III co-champions pride

themselves on helping out their teammates, which is why Dan Johnston,

entering his 12th season as Mesa’s head coach, calls them, “security

blankets.”

“We can switch positions on the fly, very quickly, which is what

helps our transition game,” Johnston said. “We have versatile players

who are very active and make the off-ball runs you need to be open.

They are always in a position to help out.”

Mesa returns 12 from last year’s unit -- including six three-year

varsity starters -- that went undefeated to claim the Golden West

League title, the program’s first en route to finishing 22-1-3.

Juniors Nilani Duarte and Jenny Sparks, along with senior Stacy

Krikorian, are the squad’s three captains.

Sparks, in her third varsity season, finished second on the team

with 27 goals last season and added 15 assists as a forward and

center halfback. She earned first-team All-Golden West League and was

a second-team CIF Division III honoree.

Sophomore Jasmin Day scored 24 goals to go with 15 assists and

also earned first-team all-league and second-team CIF Division III

accolades playing alongside older sister, Sharon, who led the

Mustangs with 29 goals and 34 assists en route to earning Offensive

Player of the Year laurels in the Golden West League and CIF Division

III. Sharon Day was a forward on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo women’s

soccer team that set the school and Big West Conference record for

wins with 18. Cal Poly qualified for the NCAA Division I playoffs for

the fourth time in school history.

“There is no way to replace Sharon because she covered a lot of

ground and was a security blanket out there,” Johnston said. “But we

have kids that are fulfilling that role. Nilani Duarte and Sparks

have been very active and Jazzy [Jasmin Day] is a great scorer, but

so is Vera [Gale].”

Duarte, a first-team all-league and All-CIF selection last year

when she scored eight goals to go with 10 assists, plays both stopper

and center halfback. Johnston plans to use her more on defense in the

early going to make up for the loss of senior stopper Valerie Gomez,

a second-team all-league honoree, who broke her ankle when she was

slide-tackled by a Rosary player in Mesa’s 2-0 nonleague

season-opening win on Tuesday.

“That hurts, [Gomez] was a big part of our defense,” Johnston

said.

Senior Kara Jenkins, a second-team all-league selection last year,

will lead at sweeper with help on defense coming from junior Sara

Bryant and Krikorian. Junior goalkeeper Kindra Bailey returns for her

second varsity season on the heels of making 63 saves last year.

Senior fullback Julie Nomura returns after missing last season

with a sprained arch and should provide speed and strong kicks on

defense. Junior wingback Laura Dinsdale returns for her second

varsity season and provides quickness and agility and also is a

strong tackler, Johnston said.

“I was thinking we were as strong defensively as we have ever

been, but with Valerie out, someone else will have to step up and

make plays,” Johnston said. “The scheme we play requires smart

players who are always thinking, not necessarily an

unbelievably-skilled player. It requires a team approach with kids

who are willing to run.”

Juniors Rachel Ronquillo and Gale anchor the front lines.

Ronquillo scored six goals and tallied eight assists to earn

second-team all-league laurels last year while Gale scored eight

goals to go with five assists.

First-year varsity players include sophomore forward Kyla Flores,

who scored 14 goals to go with five assists on the junior varsity

team last season, along with junior halfback Gaby Piwko, who amassed

eight goals and two assists on JV last winter.

Senior Karla Andrade with juniors Brittany Banning, Yareli Ortega

and Kristen Paulsen, all provide resistance along with senior

fullback Sarah Humphrey, last year’s defensive Most Valuable Player

on JV.

Freshman halfback and goalkeeper Cindy Mendoza played on the

Slammers club team that won a national championship while freshman

defender Caitlyn Duffy can play a variety of positions and is a

strong tackler.

To maintain endurance throughout the season, several Mesa players

participated in cross country this fall, including Jasmin Day, the

Golden West League champion who finished fifth at the CIF Southern

Section Division III finals and qualified for the CIF State

championships.

“Kids had the intent of getting in better shape, so conditioning

is not a problem when they get out there and have to run with

people,” Johnston said. “I think that had a big impact on the [2-0

win over Rosary].”

Johnston knows opponents will circle the Mustangs on the schedule

now after last season’s success.

“The players know that everybody is gunning for us, but I think it

motivates them,” Johnston said.

Mesa has nonleague games scheduled against University, Irvine,

Aliso Niguel and CdM before beginning league play at home against

Santa Ana Dec. 18.