Coaching could be difference in Ocean

A third coach, Omar Rashid, who led the Westmoor boys' team to its first Bay Division title last season, takes over the girls' program this year.

Despite the changes, there is a wealth of soccer knowledge and talent in the league in a season that should be a battle to the end.

The following is a brief look at each team, in alphabetical order. Calls to coaches for El Camino, Jefferson, South San Francisco and Terra Nova were not returned.

Capuchino

The Mustangs lost eight players to graduation, but 11 players are returning to give the team plenty of experience.

"The returning players are solid, as long as we work hard," said first-year coach Bobby Moore.

Capuchino should be tough in the middle of the field. Junior Kelly Young serves as the team's playmaking midfielder and senior Jenn Tuite gives the Mustangs experience as the defensive anchor at sweeper.

"[Young is] one of our best offensive players," Moore said. "Either scoring or coming up with the assist."

Tuite will need to be solid with freshman goalkeeper Katy Navaro taking over this season.

"She's pretty good," Moore said. "Both goalies last year were seniors so it's perfect timing to get Katy in there. She's done pretty well in practice."

Half Moon Bay

The Cougars have a number of young players at key positions but coach Maggie Mata believes the attitude of this year's team is an improvement over last season, which she hopes translates to more wins.

"I think we'll do fine," Mata said. "The girls feel more confident and positive."

Freshmen anchor the offensive and defensive lines for Half Moon Bay. Emma Zilber takes over the sweeper spot while Mata's younger sister, Hilda Mata, runs up top as a striker.

Maggie Mata is familiar with Zilber's play, having coached her the last couple years at the club level.

"I think she'll do well," Maggie Mata said. "She played in an under-16 tournament and did well against the bigger girls."

Hilda Mata scored her first high-school goal in a 2-1 loss to Mills to open the season.

"She's very aggressive," the older Mata said. "She's holding her own."

Missy Fouhy gives the Cougars some senior leadership at probably the most important position on the field -- center midfield. She was originally penciled in as a forward, but the midfield had a tough time getting the ball to her. Fouhy is now charged with getting the ball to the Cougar forwards.

Hillsdale

It took a while for the Knights to get rolling last year, but they finished with a flourish, winning 10 games overall and finishing in third place in league.

Hillsdale returns nearly its entire team, but graduated its starting defense from last season -- four defenders and goalkeeper.

"(The key to our season) is finding out on defense what we have," said coach Greg Bacchetti. "We'll score goals but my whole thing is to not let any in."

Gina Fiouricci and Carmen Guzman have the task of scoring those goals. Fiouricci, a junior, led the team in scoring last season.

Senior midfielders Jessica Harrington and Jackie Romero provide leadership and experience.

"We're looking to improve. We would like to get to 10 wins again," Bacchetti said. "I think this year we're a little better prepared."

Sequoia

Ed Huber spent 29 years coaching the boys' team before stepping down after the 2003-04 season.

This year, he takes over the girls' team and has spent the last month teaching the team his way of playing soccer. They're slowly catching on.

"It's going to take time," Huber said. "We're going to learn this together. We're going to be good. We have the athletes."

Jenna Thal is a junior who spent the first years playing a more offensive-minded game. This year, she is moving to sweeper.

"She can shut down anybody," Huber said.

Senior Maggie Stella makes the Cherokees' defense one of its strongest units.

Thal and Stella will lead from the back for the young midfield unit -- freshman Vanessa Garcia and sophomores Maria Jimenez and Katie Enriquez, who qualified for the Central Coast Section cross country meet.

Kelly Burke, a standout on the volleyball team, and Kelly Baker, a standout for the softball team, will be the target players up top as strikers.

"They're learning a whole new system," Huber said.

The same could be said for the entire team.

"We may not win the league but we're going to fight until we drop dead because I expect, in the next couple years, we won't be in the Ocean (Division)," Huber said.

Westmoor

Coach Omar Rashid said he's a patient man. In 16 years as the boys' coach, he won two Ocean Division titles and won his first Bay Division title last year.

He hopes it doesn't take that long to turn the girls' program around.

"These girls, they want someone to push them. They want someone to challenge them," Rashid said. "I don't see us finishing last or second to last. I think we'll do better than that. They saw success on the boys side and they believe that could happen with them. They're listening to me."

Rashid has high hopes for an extremely young team. Of the four defenders, for example, only one is a senior. The team has only two upper classmen in key positions -- junior forward Jenny Ashley Perez and senior forward Dina Elias.

"I'm hoping [Perez] can lead us in scoring," Rashid said. "She has really good speed and is a good finisher."

The Rams most versatile player is sophomore Ishareme Malave. Rashid said she is probably the team's best goalkeeper but is more valuable as a field player. She is also a team leader, having filled out the lineup for the Rams' first game, a 4-1 win over Mercy-San Francisco.

"I didn't know (who could play where)," Rashid said.

Winnie Chan is probably the league's most intriguing player. She came to Westmoor from China last fall. She speaks little English but knows the language of soccer.

"She has some skills that probably compare with some of the boys (on the boys' team)," Rashid said. "She has a lot of potential. She knows the game."<