Guajome Park felt the swift kick delivered by the first-year Otay Ranch High School girls soccer team in the first round of last year’s San Diego Section playoffs. The Mustangs won 6-0 to record their first playoff victory in school history. It was just another milestone in a season of "firsts" established by the fledgling Otay Ranch squad competing in its first varsity season.

The team’s second season could offer even more promise, according to head coach Ron Pietila.
"We have high expectations for the team," Pietila said. "We want to challenge for the South Bay League championship. We finished third last season. We want to win more matches than last year. We won 11 last year. We want to go further in the playoffs than last year. We lost to Francis Parker in the quarterfinals."

Midfielder Veronica Valderrama and forward Britney Bennett head the Mustangs’ cast of top returners. Both Valderrama and Bennett earned honors last season with selection to the All-South Bay First Team and All-San Diego Section Division IV Second Team.

Second Team All-South Bay League selections last year included defender Alyssa Rodriguez and defender/midfielder Jessica Hernandez while midfielder Britni Eseller, an all-league honorable mention, rounds out the team’s top returners.

All are sophomores.

Junior Lauren Seibel, sophomore Sarai Martinez and junior Ana Segoviano also return as starters from last season.

Freshman newcomer Courtney Zendejas has emerged as a starter on outside defense, according to Pietila, while sophomore Estefania Fregoso will help on both defense and midfield, he said.  
Developing leadership on and off the field will be a key to the team’s success this season as it adds a junior class (the team competed with just freshmen and sophomores last season).

The Mustangs appear as if they very well might make good on many of their goals after reaching the semifinal round in the 25th annual Mustangs-Barons girls soccer tournament, held Dec. 3-11. The tournament field included 110 teams to rank as the largest high school girls soccer tournament in California.

Otay Ranch, playing in just its second varsity season, became the lone South County team to advance as far as the semifinals. The Mustangs battled La Jolla Country Day to a 3-3 standoff before falling in the penalty kick shootout in the Limited Gold Division.

Bennett scored a hat trick as Otay Ranch defeated Brawley to kick off tournament play.

Pietila said South Bay League teams overall had an encouraging showing in this season’s tournament. Marian Catholic recorded a tie against La Jolla and defeated Bishop’s to kick off the opening round of play while Mar Vista defeated Mission Bay. Defending league champion Hilltop dropped close matches to both El Capitan and West Hills in the tournament’s higher enrollment divisions.

Marian Catholic advanced along with the Mustangs to Limited Gold Division quarterfinals before surrendering a 1-0 loss to eventual division champion Coronado, which defeated LJCD 1-0 behind division Most Valuable Player Sasha Vido.

La Costa Canyon — braced by division MVP Carrie Dew — defeated Poway 1-0 in three overtimes to capture the Premier Division title. In other division finals, University City edged Scripps Ranch to capture the Unlimited Division title while Oceanside topped Mission Hills (San Marcos) 2-1 in overtime to claim the Limited Silver Division title.

What made this year’s tournament special was not necessarily the number of teams it drew in the four varsity and four junior varsity divisions but the stature of the 25th anniversary date. Pietila started it all back in 1981 during the embryonic stage of girls soccer in the San Diego Section (the first CIF championships were held in 1982).

The initial tournament was held in 1981 with four participating teams: Southwest, Marian, Coronado and Crawford. Marian emerged as the champion. Coronado is the only school that has participated in all 25 tournaments.   

The tournament’s Hall of Fame includes such notable players as Mandy Clemens (USDHS), Allie Kemp (San Dieguito), Jen Lalor-Nielsen (Bonita Vista), Linnea Quinones (Bonita Vista) and Shannon MacMillan (San Pasqual), all of whom went on to play in the WUSA, as well as Parade magazine All-Americans Sara Barnett (Bonita Vista), Rita Hirmez (Mt. Carmel), Natalie Spilger (Granite Hills) and Angie Woznuk (USDHS).

For more information on the tournament, visit the Web site at members.cox.net/rkpietournament/girlshighschoolsoccer.htm.