Nilani Duarte

Steve Virgen

Tucked away in Nilani Duarte’s room is a box packed with articles

from the 2002-03 Costa Mesa High girls soccer season. Amid the

newspaper clippings there are a couple of patches: first-team All-CIF

Southern Section Division III, first-team All-Golden West League.

The honor badges are stored away, but the status remains highly

prevalent for Duarte. She accomplished her goals as a sophomore. Now

she has the challenge of repeating such high accolades. And, she must

do it while filling the position vacated by Sharon Day, the CIF

Division III Offensive Player of the Year last season.

“I feel like I have to do it again,” Duarte said of achieving

first-team all-league and All-CIF honors. “I want to do it again. It

has motivated me.”

With that in mind, Duarte played one of her best games of the

season, scoring two goals and delivering an assist in leading the

Costa Mesa girls soccer team to a 3-0 Golden West League victory over

Santa Ana Dec. 18.

Throughout the week, Duarte, the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week,

had been battling the flu. She was not 100% against Corona del Mar

Dec. 16 and did not start as the Mustangs lost, 2-0. She still felt

sick two days later against the Saints, but this time she told Coach

Dan Johnston she was feeling well enough to play.

Duarte’s father, Jose, advised his daughter to sit out the

Mustangs’ league opener, but Duarte wanted to play.

“I was thinking about sitting out that game, but I really didn’t

want to,” said Duarte, a team captain. “I didn’t want to let my team

down.”

Duarte shook off her illness and scored the Mustangs’ first two

goals. She finished off a cross from Kara Jenkins to get Mesa started

and then found the net after taking a pass from Kyla Flores. She

capped the Mustangs’ victory with a header near midfield that dropped

in front of a charging Rachel Ronquillo, who went on to score.

Playing the midfield, Duarte led Mesa’s attack and frustrated the

Saints, who might have had an opportunity to win, considering the

Mustangs were short-handed. Aside from Duarte’s illness, the Mustangs

were without Jasmin Day, who had the flu, and Jenny Sparks, who is

out with a knee injury. Both were second-team All-CIF Division III

selections last year, and the Mustangs also lost Valerie Gomez, a

second-team all-league honoree who broke her ankle Dec. 9.

But the Saints had to contend with Duarte and had no answer.

“The referee came up to me afterward and said [Duarte] played as

close to a perfect game of anyone he has seen,” said Johnston, who

also noted Duarte was key in helping lead the Mustangs to a share of

the CIF Division III title last year. “She was huge. She accounted

for a lot of our possessions. She was usually our first player off

the back line to support Sharon. She was critical in our scoring.”

Johnston said Duarte has been just as important this season. In

preparation for her new role this year, Johnston had few words of

advice for Duarte. That’s because she really doesn’t need that.

“She’s the kind of kid who rises to the competition,” Johnston

said. “She’s very competitive. She’s in a tough spot following

Sharon. Those are tough shoes to fill and she’s doing a very good job

... She has the best first touch on the team. She’s very reliable.”

Duarte is reliable because she is a skillful player, Johnston

said. She has been playing soccer since she was 5 and has been

supported by her father who coached her for the first eight years in

the sport. He still coaches within the Newport Beach Slammers Club,

and usually has advice for Duarte.

“My father is crazy for soccer; he is a fanatic,” Duarte said.

“I’m not joking. I’m crazy about [soccer], but not as crazy as him.

He just takes it overboard. [But] it helps me. He’s always watching

soccer and he said it helps to watch. I think it helps that he’s like

that.”