La Reina banking on a late-season push
Girls' soccer squad looks to regain winning form
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers NOT BACKING DOWN- La Reina's Jillian Degennaro, right, battles Oaks Christian's Brittani Gardella for a loose ball during the teams' match last week. The Regents remain in the hunt in the Tri-Valley League title, but face stiff challenges from OCHS and Oak Park, both of whom are ranked in Division V.

Although the La Reina High girls' soccer team plays in a tough Tri-Valley League, the Regents are hoping a healthier squad and a string of home games on its new pitch can help turn things around in the second half of the season.

After a 2-1 loss to Oak Park High last week, the Regents' record stands at 11-7 overall and 33 in the TVL. The record is deceiving, however, as the team has lost six of its last nine games.

After losing their opening game of the season 8-0 to Notre Dame Academy, La Reina went on a hot streak, winning eight games in a row. During the streak, LRHS outscored its opponents 21-1 and posted seven shutouts along the way.

Once the Orange County Tournament began in late December, however, the Regents' luck changed. Goalkeepers Lauren Garcia and Ali Parisi both suffered injuries. Garcia's injury has kept her out of the lineup, while Parisi has played with a bangedup thumb the past two weeks.

La Reina's luck didn't get any better once the holiday break rolled around. Although the Regents have a new home field this year at Cal Lutheran, they weren't able to utilize it due to rainy weather.

"The home field is real nice, but we have an agreement that we can't use it when it rains," La Reina head coach Creighton Van Horn said. "So our team went almost two weeks without one single practice. It seems that we're just now getting our legs back."

Van Horn said that in order for his team to get back to its winning ways, the Regents must get refocused on defense. La Reina's record is 11-1 in games where they haven't allowed multiple goals.

The defense was especially strong the second week of January, when La Reina played three games in as many days and didn't allow a goal until the 65th minute of the final match against St. Bonaventure.

Van Horn credited seniors Megan Scanlon and Rachel Yuengert, as well as junior Kelsea Brajkovich and sophomore Jenna Collins, as reasons for the Regents' strong defensive play.

"Kelsea has done everything for us this year," Van Horn said. "She's basically played every position for us besides goalie. She's one of our leading defensive players, but she's also one of our leading scorers for us as well."

Brajkovich said she's just glad to be playing at all, after a knee injury sidelined her for the majority of her sophomore campaign.

"I'm just grateful to be running around anywhere," Brajkovich said. "This year I'm mentally stronger after the injury from last season."

Courtney Myers, one of the Regents' top defensive players, has been out with a knee injury but is expected to return soon, Van Horn said.

Assisting on offense has been senior Mikayla Mejia, who leads the team with seven goals and 17 points. Last season, Mejia was an All-league first-team selection.

Brianna Stafford, Samantha Johnson, Leah Tommela, Megan Degennaro and her younger sister, Jillian, have also contributed on the offensive side of the ball.

"We have a real close team this year," senior Megan Degennaro said. "The communication has been real good on the field lately. There's nothing I want more than to win CIF. With nine seniors, it would be a great way to go out."

Winning CIF won't be easy for the Regents, who play in one of the toughest leagues around.

Three of the Tri-Valley's six teams- Oaks Christian, St. Bonaventure and Oak Park- are ranked in the top 10 of the CIFSouthern Section Division V coaches' poll.

"You can't have a bad day in this league," Van Horn said. "Three of the teams are in the top 10, and I believe it could easily be four with the way Nordhoff has played. Four of the last five years, the Division V champ or cochamp has come from this league. If you can compete with these schools, you can compete with anyone in the playoffs."

During its final six home games, La Reina will have the luxury of playing on its new field at CLU. Johnson, the senior who scored the Regents' lone goal against Oak Park last week, has already taken a liking to the new pitch.

"We've kind of gotten spoiled here," Johnson said. "Our last field (Conejo Creek Park in Thousand Oaks) was real lumpy, and it was easy to get injured on it. This year, the field is awesome. It's great seeing all the fans coming to support us as well."

Before the team begins a fourgame home stand, La Reina will play Friday at Nordhoff High. Game time is set for 3:15 p.m.