Eagles look to step up

Steve Virgen

There is a measuring stick for the Estancia boys soccer team better

known as the 1999-2000 Eagles.

They were the standard, a high level to reach considering they won

the CIF Southern Section Division IV championship. Nevertheless,

Estancia Coach Steve Crenshaw continues to use that team as an

example in his program.

Last year’s Eagles had the potential to measure up to that

1999-2000 team, but they never realized their talent, Crenshaw said.

This year’s team has plenty of talent, as well. Now, the question is:

Will it meet expectations?

“This year’s team is about as close to that championship team as

I’ve seen,” Crenshaw said. “These guys have the potential to be fun

like that. We have a lot of kids who are capable of scoring a lot of

goals.”

Crenshaw said he has a young team, which has brought excitement.

He expects young players who were on last year’s frosh/soph team to

step up. That frosh/soph squad scored 111 goals in 11 games last

year, Crenshaw said.

Jose Luis Garcia scored 47 for that team and should be a key

player for the Eagles this season. Junior Edgar Guapo also adds

talent, while senior Quiroga Campos will lend support as a

midfielder.

“We have a wealth of talent at the midfield,” Crenshaw said. “[In

a scrimmage with Mater Dei] we had some good showing from our

sophomores. They played really well. They’re not real big, but that

never seems to hinder them.”

The Eagles should be strong on defense, which will draw support

from Eduardo Bahena and Alfonso Torres. Enrique Bahena, Eduardo’s

cousin, is a junior who is also expected to help Estancia’s show

improvement over last season.

The Eagles finished 7-10-1, 4-7-1 in the Golden West League last

year. Their bright spot was sweeping crosstown rival Costa Mesa to

own bragging rights as the best soccer team in town.

But now they want to claim a bigger territory.

“It was disappointing last year,” Crenshaw said. “We had a

talented team but the kids didn’t quite realize their capabilities.

But this could be a very interesting season. We have a very tough

[pre-league schedule]. That should give us an indication of what we

have. If we can handle the [pre-league opponents] we should be OK for

league.”

Santa Ana became a nemesis for Estancia last season as the Eagles

did not play their style against the Golden West League champion.

Crenshaw believes the Eagles will be in the thick of the league title

hunt.

“I think we can play with anyone in league,” Crenshaw said. “We

should be right up there.”

The Eagles visit Fountain Valley today at 3 p.m.