Griffins' Girls Looking to Prove They Have Ingredients to Success

Two words are on the minds of the Los Alamitos girls soccer team as it heads into its first-round playoff match: heart and chemistry.

Why "heart"? Look no further than a 1-0 loss to Edison on Feb. 8 that cost the Griffins the Sunset League championship. Both teams entered the match with 7-1 records in league. Los Alamitos tied Fountain Valley, 2-2, in its next game, the last of the regular season, while the Chargers beat Marina, 3-1. Edison also beat the Griffina, 2-1, on Jan. 18.

“That game taught us that it’s all about heart,” said Los Alamitos coach Steve Soler, whose teams have reached the playoffs in each of his four seasons. “We’re like the Lakers," he explained. "We’re a talented group, but it’s not about turning on the switch. When we play as a unit, we’re unstoppable.”

Goalkeeper Amanda Sears, who has signed to play at Virginia Commonwealth, has 11 shutout victories this season.

“It was a big wake-up call for us,” Sears said of the second loss to Edison. “It showed us we need to be ready, we need to show much more heart. It gave us a preview of what we need to expect and how we need to adjust to it.”

Los Alamitos (15-6-4) will open the playoffs against Chaminade (14-4-3), the third-place team from the Mission League, at 3 p.m. Thursday at Laurel Continuation School. If the Griffins win Thursday, they will face the winner of the Corona del Mar-Brea Olinda game in the second round on Tuesday. Waiting in the quarterfinals will likely be top-seeded San Clemente, which reached last year's Division 1 championships.

 Soler said he is looking for three things from his team during the playoffs: “Heart, determination and will. Have I seen glimpses of it? Yeah, I have.”

Like in the 2-1 nonleague victory over Santa Margarita on Dec. 15, when defender Natalie Donaldson and teammates limited Eagles midfielder Lauren Bohaboy to only one goal. Bohaboy, who is headed to national champion Notre Dame in the fall, is considered one of the top high school players in the nation.

“I’ve seen that killer instinct,” Soler said. “As a group, we know we’re talented. Cohesively, I don’t think we realize how dangerous we can be if we really believe in ourselves.”

But there have been times when Soler has been frustrated by his team.

“I don’t think we’re physical enough as a group,” he said. “I think we get pushed around way too easily. Teams that aren’t as talented as us beat us with whole determination. Teams we have trouble with are ones that put the effort in.”

The Griffins are an experienced bunch, with 14 seniors and 17 players with playoff experience. Forward Adriana Gjonovich, who has been on the varsity team for four years, is the team’s leading scorer, followed by junior forward Callie Taylor.

Forwards Shanelle Simien, a senior, and junior Taylor Vargo, who have returned to the lineup after missing the first 10 games of the season because of injuries, along with sophomore forward Raya Young, also provide scoring punch.

Team chemistry, however, was a problem. At times, there were too many leaders but not enough followers.

“There were a lot of seniors, so there was a lot of competition for leadership and control of the team," Gjonovich said. "It was so much to where no one respected anybody. No one was willing to follow anybody else. There was a little girl drama.

"But after our two losses in league, Steve has really brought us together. And he pointed out the fact that we all want the same goal, and that’s to win CIF. So it’s been a lot better.”

Los Alamitos averages two goals a game but has also been shut out six times this season, including four times in six games from Dec. 11-18.

“We should score a lot more than we have, for the opportunities that we’ve had,” Gjonovich said. “Sometimes we’ll dribble too much or we’ll get nervous.”

Sears, who shared time in goal as a sophomore with Amy McDonough, was employed as the Griffin's corner-kick specialist to take advantage of her height, during last year's playoffs, when she was recovering from a shoulder injury. 

“We started off really well on defense,” Sears said of this season's team. “We’ve kept it pretty consistent. They’ve supported me a lot. With our coaching staff, we’re very confident we’re going to go far.”