DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:Eagles’ McDaniels belongs on soccer field

Perhaps when Stacy McDaniels is turning the tassel on her graduation cap, she’ll look back to her freshman year with a bit of regret. But for now that one year has served as motivation for her to become involved with Estancia High girls’ soccer.

McDaniels, a junior, did not play soccer for the Eagles as a freshman, choosing instead to solely focus on club competition. She soon learned that the decision was a mistake.

“I heard players from the team saying that they scored and that their name was in the paper,” McDaniels said. “During my freshman year I wanted to play high school soccer.”

And, if that wasn’t enough fuel for McDaniels’ fire, there was also the importance of Estancia athletics in her family. There is plenty of Eagle pride for the McDanielses.

McDaniels’ uncle, Paul, played on Estancia’s 1991 state champion basketball team and also starred on the baseball diamond.

McDaniels’ parents, Mike and Cathy, were high school sweethearts on Estancia’s campus.

To make McDaniels’ intentions more inspirational, her older brother, Mike Jr., like his father, excelled in basketball and baseball for the Eagles. Just her brother competing was enough.

“We have competed in everything from running to get the mail to winning at Monopoly,” she said. “We get along really well. Growing up, I was his shadow. Wherever he went I had to do it with him.”

Hanging out with her older brother, helped McDaniels, who is the youngest of three children. She also has an older sister, Michelle.

“He beat me at everything, but it taught me to keep going,” she said.

On the soccer field, it’s hard to top what McDaniels has been accomplishing. In her first season with Estancia, she helped lead the Eagles to the playoffs for the first time in 12 years. This season, she had the Eagles start on the right foot.

They beat cross-town rival Costa Mesa for the first time in 10 years, 3-0, to open the season in the inaugural Newport-Mesa Cup. McDaniels scored a goal in that victory.

“She has excellent ball skills and excellent vision for the game,” Estancia Coach Steve Crenshaw said of McDaniels, who was a first-team All-Golden West League selection last season. “Any time she touches the ball, she is a threat.”

Last week, she was giving credence to her coach’s words. She scored six goals and dished out five assists in five games, as the Eagles went 3-2 for the week.

McDaniels also helped Estancia bounce back from losses throughout the week. The Eagles rebounded from a 4-0 loss to Tesoro with a 9-0 win over Segerstrom on Dec. 14. McDaniels scored twice and had two assists.

She then produced one goal and two assists in Estancia’s 4-2 victory over Long Beach Millikan to open the Irvine Tournament.

But Estancia lost to Fullerton, 3-0, the very next day. That apparently meant it was time for McDaniels to step up. She produced a hat trick and an assist in a 4-0 win over Tustin on Dec. 16.

Aside from competing in club soccer, McDaniels views the high school sports scene as fun. That win over Tustin was sure a delight. And, that type of joy goes back to the days she started darting back and forth on the field as a quick 5-year-old.

Now, of course, she’s quicker, and that also helps when she plays club. It also doesn’t hurt that she’s the baby of the family.

“I’m real spoiled,” said McDaniels, who appreciates her parents’ driving her various places for club competition. “They have taken me everywhere.”

Maybe playing for Estancia is a form of payback.