GIRLS’ SOCCER PREVIEW: No shortage of leaders for Sailors

Newport Harbor High head soccer coach Larry Draluck is still working his way through the giggles.

Not his, but the ones that seem to spontaneously sprout whenever the Sailors’ varsity team converges.

As Draluck tries to establish new habits and break old ones, he’s grateful for the help of three seniors.

Emily Ohlhaver, Rachel Baugh, and Crystal Mena have all been playing on the same Fountain Valley Wolfpack club team since they were nine years old, and all of them have been playing for Newport Harbor since they were freshmen.

Mena, Ohlhaver, and Baguh know what it takes to be successful. Their Wolfpack team won California South League Premier League this fall, and Surf Cup in San Diego this past summer.

So when it’s time for the giggles to stop, they’re the first ones to clam up. And if that doesn’t work, well, they yell, too, over the team’s mashup of warm-up music, which includes Kanye West, Britney Spears, — yes, Britney Spears — Flo Rida, and Immortal Technique.

“This is really their team,” said Draluck, who has posted his expectations and team rules on the team’s website, in PDF form, for all the world to see. “It makes a big difference because they right away provide a sense of foundation and stability on the team.

“They’re the fabric. People can lean on them for guidance, for leadership. They’re all seniors, and they’ve had so much soccer experience. I think there’s a lot they can still learn and improve on, but at the same time, they provide leadership and stability. It makes my job a lot easier.”

Ohlhaver has committed to UC Santa Barbara, and Baugh will be playing soccer at UC San Diego next year. Mena is planning on playing for Santiago Community College, then transferring somewhere else after a year.

The Sailors were 7-8-4 last season, and finished a dismal fourth place in the Sunset League, out of the reach of any playoff dreams. So far this season, they’ve posted a 3-2-2 record, including a 1-1 tie against Back Bay rival Corona del Mar.

That was former coach Josh Brooks’ first and last year at Newport Harbor, but Mena said the change was a welcome one.

“He knows what he’s doing,” Mena said of Draluck. “The other coaches were kind of a joke. He knows how to talk to the girls. He will yell sometimes, and that’s what we need because sometimes the girls goof off.”

Draluck has a long history of involvement in club soccer, and currently heads the girls under-17 and under-18 SoCal Blues teams. He played for CSU Long Beach and played professional soccer for UAG in Guadalajara, Mexico. He was later selected for the U.S. national Maccabiah team that competed in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1985.

“I really like him,” Mena said. “I think he’s really going to have Newport win CIF someday. We’re a great team. You don’t see much teams passing the ball around and really connecting, so I think we’ll do really well.”

NEWPORT HARBOR

COACH: Larry Draluck, first year

2006 RECORD: 7-8-4

SUNSET LEAGUE RECORD: 4-3-1, fourth place

RETURNING STARTERS: Rachel Baugh, Sr; Stephanie Castor, Jr; Lauren Devoy, Jr; Leslie Drewry, So; Kayla Henrie, Jr.; Gillian Hogan, So.; Crystal Mena, Sr.; Emily Ohlhaver, Sr.; Carly Ruiz, Sr.

KEY NEWCOMERS: Elizabeth Eddy, So.; Sidney King, Fr.

KEY DATES: Dec. 13 at Corona del Mar, Jan. 8 at Edison, Jan. 15 at Los Alamitos

OUTLOOK: Draluckis counting on sophomore Elizabeth Eddy, who transferred from Calvary Chapel, to help breathe some life into the Sailors’ team after a disappointing fourth-place Sunset League finish in 2006. Eddy, who plays midfield and forward will likely be used at midfield.

“She’s very competitive, and she works extremely hard,” Draluck said. “She also has good quickness and speed.”

Baugh, a fullback, will anchor defense, while Ohlhaver leads on offense, which should create plenty of scoring opportunities.

COSTA MESA

COACH: Dan Johnston, 17th year

2006 RECORD: 11-8-8

ORANGE COAST LEAGUE RECORD: 5-1-2, first place

RETURNING STARTERS: Dana Gentling, Jr.; Kyra Graham, Jr.; Marina Lazos, Sr.; Cheyenne Lopez, Jr.; Alya Medina, Jr.; Kristina Roche, Jr.; Kalea Seanoa, Sr.; Sam Strodel, Sr.; Brooke Urmson, Jr.

KEY NEWCOMERS: Bree Arellano, Jr.; Natalie Argueta, So.; Breana Dorame, Jr.; Kaela Feinstien, Jr.; Sami Feinstein, Fr.; Erica Finn, So.; Teresa Fox, Jr.; Teegan LaBare, Jr.; Cori Pateleski, Jr.; Jessica Rubight, Jr; Ana Tadeo, Jr.; Danielle Young, So.

KEY DATES: Dec. 27, North Orange County Tournament; Dec. 15 Katella Tournament; Jan. 10 vs. Estancia.

OUTLOOK: Johnston estimated that Laguna Beach probably has the edge over everyone in the Orange Coast League, but that the battle for second place will be wide open.

“Calvary’s got some great players, and Estancia’s got some great players,” he said. “I don’t see anyone pulling away from the crowd.”

The journey back to the top of the Orange Coast League will be more difficult for the Mustangs this year, since 10 players are gone from the team that won the 2006-07 league title.

“It hurts because they all know the system,” Johnston said. “When you replace that many players, you have to start over and teach everybody the system again.”

SAGE HILL

COACH: Chino Cid, interim head coach, first year

2006 RECORD: 12-8-2

ACADEMY LEAGUE RECORD: 8-2, second place

RETURNING STARTERS: Carolyn Witte, Sr.; Jules McLaughlin, Sr.; MeganCulberson, So.; Isa-Maria Taskinen, Jr.; Sara Montazami, Sr.; Jackie Dion, So.; Hannah MacLeod, So.; Brynne Quinlan, Jr.

KEY NEWCOMERS: Megan Kim, Fr.

KEY DATES: Jan 14. vs. St. Margaret’s

OUTLOOK: Since Sage Hill opened in 1999, the Lightning’s girls’ soccer team has never beaten league rival St. Margaret’s. The closest the Lightning came was a tie in the 2005-06 season, and last year, St. Margaret’s handed Sage Hill its only two league losses.

“We’re literally working on building a team to work on those two dates, to beat St. Margaret’s,” said interim head Coach Chino Cid, who is filling in for coach Amy Ray, currently on maternity leave. Cid was Ray’s assistant.

He plans to use the St. Margaret’s tournament, Jan. 3-5, as a diagnostic test for the team, to see what needs to change to get a win against St. Margaret’s.

Cid’s had the same focus in the preseason, and has been working to sharpen the girls’ defensive skills.

“We’re losing games we could win,” Cid said. “But we’re working toward improving the things we need for those two games.”

ESTANCIA

COACH: Stephen Crenshaw, third year

2006 RECORD: 8-9-5

ORANGE COAST LEAGUE RECORD: 1-5-3, fourth placeRETURNING STARTERS: Allyson Wallace So.; Kendra Fisher, So.; Taylor Carpenter, Sr.; Natalie Plascencia, Jr.; Taylor West, Sr.; Jenna Tanner, Jr.; Cori Chapin, Jr.; Abby Scheafer, Jr.; Stacy McDaniels, Sr.; Jennifer Thomas, Sr.; Nushin Tasbihchi, So.; Jillian Beck, So.; Alexandra Payzant, Jr.; Misha Brown, So.

KEY NEWCOMERS: Jackie Freiberger, Fr.; Katy Mendez, So.; Erin O’Neil, Fr.

KEY DATES: Newport Harbor, Dec. 3; Corona del Mar, Dec. 11; Costa Mesa, Jan. 10.

OUTLOOK: Crenshaw decided to judge the rest of the season based on a loss to Tesoro, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad sign.

“If we can play the way we did against Tesoro for the rest of the season, we should be in pretty good shape,” Crenshaw said. Even thought the Eagles lost 2-0 to Tesoro, Crenshaw was still pleased with Eagles’ performance, because Tesoro is loaded with club players. This year’s team features 13 returners, and once again, the Eagles will lean on senior center midfielder Stacy McDaniels, who also plays for the Slammers Football Club. McDaniels has led Estancia’s offensive attack for the past two years.

According to Crenshaw, beating crosstown rival Costa Mesa at the beginning of the 2006 season gave the team a false sense of confidence. It had been twelve years since the Eagles topped the Mustangs in girls’ soccer.

“It killed us,” Crenshaw said. “It’d been so long since we beat Costa Mesa. They’ve got to figure out they’ve got a season to play after that.”

CORONA DEL MAR

COACH: Bryan Middleton, sixth year

2006 RECORD: 4-11-5

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE RECORD: 1-6-1, fifth place

RETURNING STARTERS: Lexi Henson, Sr.; Cosette Andujar, Jr.; Lauren Smits, So.; AJ Rome, Jr.; Brynn Johnson, So.; Hayley Raguse, So.; Ashley Smith, So.

KEY NEWCOMERS: Scarlett Fallon, Fr.; Lindsey Luke, Fr.; Tessa Andujar, Fr.; Kaylee O’Connor, Fr.

KEY DATES: Dec. 13 vs. Newport Harbor, Jan. 8 vs. Beckman, Jan. 31 vs. IrvineOutlook: Middleton has a young team, but the players have the ability to keep up with skilled players from bigger schools such as Newport Harbor. If the Sea Kings play the way they did against the Sailors Dec. 13, which resulted in a 1-1 tie, the team should have no problem making the playoffs.

The one thing the Sea Kings have to be careful about is the team’s three players who have athletic induced-asthma, which could led to substitution issues if Middleton doesn’t have a plan in place. However, it shouldn’t be a big problem.

Three of the freshmen on the Sea Kings team — Scarlett Fallon, Lindsey Luke, and Tessa Andujar — were part of the Slammers Football Club that took second place at the national tournament this year.

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at soraya.mcdonald@latimes.com.