Newbury Park High boys soccer in hunt for title
By Steve Ames

Special to the T.O. Acorn

While the Newbury Park High Panthers opened their 2002-03 boys Marmonte League soccer season with a 3-1 loss to new league member Calabasas High last week, head coach Guy Sanford was already thinking about the next time the teams meet.

Sanford, speaking after the game, wondered how the game might have turned out if the teams had been at full strength.

"I had a goal keeper playing defense who is actually my best keeper and is my starter," he said. "We’re just beat up and the flu took its tole.

The victory for the Coyotes extended their season record to 3-2-3 overall and 1-0 in league. Newbury Park is 3-3 overall and 0-1 in league.

Seamus Fitzpatrick (senior mid-fielder) scored the Coyotes’ first goal 20 seconds into the game with an assist by Viktor Heredy (senior striker). Kariem McKawe (senior mid-fielder) struck back for Newbury Park’s goal during the second minute of play.

After no further first half-scoring, Heredy scored the go-ahead goal and Fitzpatrick’s penalty kick gave Calabasas two second-half points.

Coyote head coach John Reich won his 350th game in his 25th season of coaching soccer at Calabasas.

Overall, Sanford said the Newbury Park boys soccer program has great diversity. "I lost 13 seniors, but I have 14 new seniors who came up or stayed with us," he said.

Michael Thompson (senior mid-fielder) made the all-tournament team at Burroughs (Burbank). He’s a returning All-CIF, All-County player. Wilber Rodriguez (senior striker) who "is also a real quality player who’s coming back," the coach said.

Newbury Park has a brand new player in Josh Baker (freshman defender) who is playing sweeper, and Sanford said that "he is doing a great job."

The coach said the Panthers have a real strong stopper, Richard Sleeman (senior defender) and his brother Brian (Sleeman, sophomore striker) is a good player."

Outside players are another strength: Andrew Sanford (senior mid-fielder) and the coach’s son, Chris Berry (junior outside mid-fielder) John Nelson (senior center mid-fielder) and Michael Thompson (senior mid-fielder).

Guy Sanford said that Rodriguez, who’s been on the varsity team for three years, "has the lightening speed to take on any defender and he also has great ball handling skills. I expect pretty big things out of him."

The Panthers also have a newcomer, Adam Pollick (senior striker). The coach said that "he’s got a lot of speed and does well up top too," adding that "the combination of those two (Rodriguez and Pollick), I think, will surprise a lot of teams."

Guy Sanford said he is hoping that Newbury Park finishes in the top three. "I think we can," he said. "I’d like to make it to the playoffs again. We’ve been there three times in the last five years and it would be nice to go a fourth in six years."

The Panthers began the season with a tournament at Burroughs High School. "We had a pretty tough bracket," the coach said.

Newbury Park beat El Camino, the city champions last year, 2-1, and beat Alemany High (Mission Hills) to advance to the quarterfinals and play Crespi High (Encino) in the quarterfinals, but lost, 2-0.

The Panthers then went into the fifth place bracket tournament and played Camarillo to a 2-2 tie, advanced on penalty kicks, 5-4, then lost to Alemany, 4-1, in a pouring rainstorm on the new synthetic grass field at St. Francis High (La Canada Flintridge).

"The kids love that (turf)," Guy Sanford said. "It did have a layer of water on it, so it stopped the ball."

The coach said that Jonathan Alia (junior goal keeper) had a great tournament. "He was the key against El Camino," he said. "I expect great things from him. He was the JV keeper.

"Backup Dan Wilson (junior goal keeper) was also a good quality (player), and new to the program. So, we have some great things coming up–especially in the goal–and we have some good quality players coming up from the lower teams."

Looking at the Marmonte League opponents, he said that Agoura "looks real strong." The Chargers won the Burroughs tournament. "That’s great," Guy Sanford said. "I am glad for them. They’ve struggled in years and they have a great coach (Dennis Ritterbush) over there. I’m real happy for them.

"T.O. (Thousand Oaks) looks good this year and I’m hoping we’re slipping in there third. But Westlake’s good this year. Moorpark it’s hard to say–I haven’t seen them."