Willow Glen Resident
Sports
De Anza women reach soccer final four for 2nd straight year
By Mike Barnhart
The fall soccer season turned out to be a typical one for the De Anza College women's program. But what has grown to be typical the past several years for the Dons really is an outstanding achievement.
For the second season in a row, coach Cheryl Owiesny's team reached the California Community College final four. This year, as in 2006, De Anza captured the Coast Conference Northern Division championship and three rounds of Northern California regional play-offs, earning a berth in the final four.
Unfortunately, like last year's team, the 2007 Dons were ousted in the state semifinals at Fresno Pacific University. But it took the top-ranked team in Southern California and the nation, previously unbeaten and defending state champion Santiago Canyon College, to stop De Anza's postseason run this year. The Anaheim Hills team won 3-0 on Dec. 7.
Two days later another Southern California power, Cerritos, scored twice in the last two minutes to stun Santiago Canyon in the state final 2-1. De Anza, meanwhile, shared third place in the state with a final overall record of 17-5-3.
"I'm proud of this group of players, the sophomores in particular," Owiesny said. "This year's team had big shoes to fill and rose to the occasion at every challenge."
With only five players back from the 2006 team that was ranked seventh nationally and a crop of 15 new players, De Anza went 10-0 in conference play. Led by sophomore captains April Grolle (St. Francis), Jasmine Stephens (Santa Teresa) and Brittany Barnes (Gilroy) and freshman scoring sensation Jenny Kute (Monta Vista), the Dons marched to their fourth straight Coast Conference North championship and seventh title in eight years and earned a berth in the state playoffs for the 15th consecutive year.
Seeded eighth in the Northern California regional, De Anza scored a 1-0 home victory against ninth seed Cosumnes River of Sacramento, before going on the road to beat top seed Santa Rosa 3-1 and No. 4 Sierra College of Rocklin 1-0.
Kute, whose 23 goals and 14 assists made her the seventh most productive scorer among California JC women this season, scored the only goal in the playoff opener off an assist from freshman Kelly Carter (Leland).
Kute, Stephens and Jessica Heeb (Mountain View) all found the back of the net at Santa Rosa, with Grolle assisting on two of the tallies and Jen Sablan (Independence) on another. Then, on Dec. 1, a second-half goal by sophomore Nancy Gonzalez (Overfelt) was the difference in a physical battle at Sierra. Grolle and Heeb both assisted on the goal that sent the Dons on its seventh trip to the state final four.
"The defense was great all season," Owiesny said, noting that the Dons allowed just 23 goals in 25 games. "We really emphasized defense at the beginning of the year because we knew we really had to protect our net."
First, one of the many fine players the Dons lost from the 2006 team was all-American goalie Heather Emswiler. Then, the recruit Owiesny lined up to replace her--Dominica DeAngelo (Santa Teresa)--was injured and sidelined for the season before it started.
"That's the worst fear in the world for a soccer coach--not to have a goalie," Owiesny said. "But we had four girls fill in throughout the year."
A pair of freshmen, Nicole Oliver and Leticia Hernandez, and Gonzalez all took a turn minding the nets, before Owiesny settled on sophomore Veronica Vasquez (Overfelt) down the stretch and through the playoffs.
"Veronica already was a tremendous field player for us, but she really stepped up as goalie," Owiesny added.
The goalie's job was made easier by the offense, which averaged nearly three goals a game. Kute was the team's scoring leader by far, but 16 teammates provided plenty of offensive support.
Grolle scored seven goals and 10 assists, while Carter had seven goals and five assists. Heeb and Barnes both tallied five goals, Heeb adding nine assists. Gonzalez scored four goals and Stephens three, while Sablan, Leslie Williams (Leland), Toni Jenkins and Nubia Diaz Deleon chipped in with two. Other goal scorers during the season were Vasquez, Michelle DeCaro (Homestead), Mayra Barragan (Milpitas), Amanda Geannacopulous (Leigh) and Casey Stone (Monta Vista).
Other team members were Aracely Esquerra (Willow Glen), Tanya Faris (Valley Christian), Tiffany Jew (Pioneer), Jessica Sanchez (Independence), Vanessa Tellez (Lincoln) and Rachelle Yarber (Piedmont Hills).
Prior to 2006, De Anza teams reached the final four five times in a six-season span, 1991-1996, and won state championships in 1993 and 1994.
In her 10 seasons as head women's coach at De Anza, Owiesny has worked hard, trying to keep the championship flames of the 1990s burning and maintain the fine reputation of the program. In the last nine seasons, her teams have accumulated a record of 148-35-18.
"We have consistently produced quality soccer teams," Owiesny explained, "and I attribute much of that to the caliber of players who attend De Anza, the professionalism of the coaching staff, and the quality of the facilities here at De Anza College."
Owiesny's coaching staff includes Andrew Ransome, who just completed his sixth season, and Chris Fitzpatrick, who finished his third.
