CdM seeking delayed gratification

Chris Yemma

Corona del Mar High girls soccer Coach Bryan Middleton has a distinct

philosophy for the first half of every season: to prepare for the

middle and end of the year.

After all, the league schedule and playoffs are what matter the

most, so why not be prepared?

So, Middleton stacked his nonleague schedule again this season

with quality opponents. The Sea Kings opened their season against

Dana Hills, ranked No. 8 in CIF Southern Section Division I, Mater

Dei, No. 7 in Division I, Arcadia, No. 1 in Division II and Martin

Luther King Jr. of Riverside, No. 1 in Division IV.

CdM had a similar opening schedule in 2003-04 and started 1-4-1,

but rebounded and were prepared for later teams.

This season, the Sea Kings began 1-5, but have a high mark in the

quality win component. CdM is out for what matters the most, and a

flowery nonleague record is not a big priority for the team.

“You can only be the best if you play the best,” Middleton said.

“We have stacked our schedule for improvement. That way, when we play

Northwood or Tesoro [in the Pacific Coast League], we’re playing at a

level with teams that are better than them.”

Tesoro is the reigning Division II champion. But Corona del Mar is

the reigning league champion, so a tough race for the league title is

expected this season.

Middleton said it’s hard to say who will end up on top of the

league standings, but it will most likely come down to either CdM,

Tesoro or Northwood.

The Sea Kings went 9-9-2 last season. They lost to El Dorado, 2-1,

in double overtime in the first round of the CIF Southern Section

Division II playoffs. CdM was a Division II quarterfinalist in

2002-03.

But CdM lost five seniors to graduation, including key defenders

and captain Kinzie Kramer. Middleton said last year was more of a

rebuilding year, but this year the team is still pretty young.

“Since we lost Kinzie, we’re restructuring and still trying to

balance out the defense,” he said. “Our strength is our central

midfield and out wide right.”

Seniors Tanisha Senartne and Vanessa Fallon are the team captains.

Junior Kelly Morgan will be leading the midfield, while junior

Jessica Mazura will be at forward. Mazura’s older sister, Alivia was

a key player for the Sea Kings two years ago and now plays for Cal.

As a sophomore last season, Morgan was the team’s Most Valuable

Offensive Player, and Middleton said he is looking for her to lead

the team in scoring.

Hannah Rollins, Phoebe Chang, Rachel Yelsey, Taylor Fallon and

goalie Katie Schiesser are the rest of the starters.