Lancers get an early taste of what it takes to win Marmonte
Boys' soccer team opens league schedule with impressive win, followed by blowout loss
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers TALENTED GROUP- Mark Stamper and the Thousand Oaks boys' soccer team opened the season ranked ninth in the CIF-SS Division I preseason coaches' poll.

The postseason may be a few months away, but the Thousand Oaks High boys' soccer team has already played a pair of playoffworthy opponents to open its Marmonte League schedule.

Last season the Lancers finished in second place in league, falling just behind Royal High, who won the Marmonte title. The Lancers knew that if they wanted to leapfrog the Highlanders in the standings this year, they would have to play well immediately.

"Last season we didn't win the Marmonte League because we weren't able to beat Royal," Thousand Oaks senior center/ midfielder Ryan Quiroz said. "If we want to be the best, we have to beat the best."

Last Friday the Lancers proved they could beat the best by defeating Royal 2-1 at TOHS in their league opener. Thousand Oaks is 1-1 in league play after losing to Westlake High 4-0 on Tuesday.

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers MAKING MOVES- Thousand Oaks' Nelson Ramirez zigzags his way down the pitch during a recent practice session.

Despite the setback to Westlake, the Lancers are an experienced group that is accustomed to the ups and downs of a soccer season.

Sixteen of the squad's 24 members are seniors. TOHS is especially strong on the defensive side of the ball, with seniors Jimmy Osorio, Josh Hibbert and Clayton Work all returning.

"Our defense is very good because of our height and strength," Hibbert, a co-captain, said. "We're more physical this season on defense, and a lot of that has to do with our new trainer, Luis Alcarez. At first, when he was training us, everything was very hard. Now his ways have become like second nature to us."

Alcarez isn't the only new element around the Lancers' pitch this year. With so many seniors on defense, head coach Mark Tietjen believed it was time to switch to a 3-4-3 scheme.

"The teams Luis has had in the past are more familiar with a 343 format, so I felt it was best to switch to it," Tietjen said. "Yeah, we have a lot of size on defense, but there's speed, too. We're not just looking for the defense to stop an opposing offense; we're looking for them to generate attacks for us as well."

Tietjen said the switch had nothing to do with finding a defense that could slow down Royal's and Westlake's attacks.

"We don't take our opposition into account in deciding what we do," Tietjen said. "We have a lot of strengths ourselves, and we want them to adjust to our game, not the other way around."

With Tony Silvestri graduating last spring, senior Carlos Arjon became a goalkeeper again after playing in the field a year ago. Although Brendan Berenger could also see time in the net, Quiroz said he's liked what he's seen from Arjon.

"Carlos is really good goalie, and he works hard every day," Quiroz said. "There's no doubt in my mind he will fit into Tony's shoes nicely."

Although two-thirds of the team is seniors, the underclassmen will make a difference, too.

Last year the Thousand Oaks JV team won the Marmonte League title and went undefeated. Many of the players from that team are now on the varsity roster, including sophomore Alexis Cespedes, who previously played in Peru before moving to Thousand Oaks.

"We have a lot of young talent on offense, and one example is Alexis," Tietjen said. "Having played in Peru, Alexis brings something to our game that we don't usually see. He's very creative on offense and should generate a lot of goals."

Other offensive players expected to contribute include sophomore Nathan Jasperse, who the coach called "a great technical player and diligent worker," and junior Brian Sidenberg.

With a strong offense and defense, the Lancers began the season ranked No. 9 in the CIFSouthern Section Division I coaches' poll. However, players such as Work, a co-captain, said the team never thinks about rankings.

"I usually don't even know what we're ranked," Work said. "We just focus on how we can get better as a team.

"Right now our midfielders are doing a great job, but we need to play a little faster on the field and start connecting with our passes more. If we do that, we're going to be okay."

Tietjen said his first impressions of the Lancers have been good.

"It looks like the enjoyment is there, along with the hard work," Tietjen said. "The team bonded well over the summer, and that's going to help us out. I'm looking forward to a good team and competing in a tough league."