January 29, 2009
WHS soccer team in attack mode
Warrior boys to face Newbury Park at home Friday night
By Stephen Dorman
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| IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers IMPORT—Westlake High forward Sam Ball, who moved to the U.S. from England, pushes past the Royal defense during last week's 1-1 tie at RHS. Entering the week, WHS had a slim lead over Newbury Park for first place in the Marmonte League. The two teams play Friday at 6 p.m. at Westlake. |
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Entering his 13th season as head coach of the Westlake High boys' soccer team, Bill Propster didn't know what to expect from his young Warrior roster.
The coach knew there was skill on the pitch at WHS, but with only three returning varsity starters and a mish-mash of club and non-club athletes now on the top squad, getting that raw talent to mesh became priority No. 1 for Propster and his assistant coaches.
"We had a lot of people that were inexperienced, that weren't used to playing together," Propster said. "We only had two guys who'd played on the field together on club teams.
"It was just a bunch of guys, and we had to make them into a team."
It's been nearly two months since the season started, and Westlake is now playing like a team on a mission.
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| IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers TWO OPTIONS—Westlake High goalkeeper Oscar Godoy has filled in for senior starter Andrew Singer on occasion this season. |
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The Warriors' record sits at 10-4-3 overall and 5-1-2 in the Marmonte League entering Friday night's showdown against Newbury Park.
Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. at Westlake.
"Friday is one of the most important games of my high school career," said senior midfielder Jordan Ylauan, a four-year starter for the Warriors.
"If we win, we'll carry a lot of momentum into the last couple of games. I think we can finish strong if we win on Friday."
Propster takes a more cerebral approach to each match. He'll remind his players that, unless it's the playoffs, it's probably not a do-or-die situation.
"Everybody has six league games in the next two weeks," Propster said. "You can't dwell on a game, and if you beat someone, you can't go around saying, 'Oh, yeah, we're great' because you've got another game coming up.
"It's fun. It's like a big tournament. I told the guys that."
In the preseason, Newbury Park and Simi Valley, two other teams in the hunt for the Marmonte crown, we're expected to compete for a championship. Westlake was considered a dark horse.
The Warriors started the 200809 campaign with a marginal 4-3-2 mark, but, according to Propster, a hard-fought 1-0 loss to section powerhouse Santa Barbara at the Buena Tournament in early January helped lift the team's spirits and, ultimately, its play.
"It seemed like we had our best practices over winter break," Propster said. "By the (Buena Tournament), we started playing our best soccer. The guys starting gaining a lot of confidence, and they realized that they can play together. Ever since then, we've been playing."
In its last eight matches, Westlake is 6-1-1.
In that span, the Warriors allowed three goals in a loss at Newbury Park, two goals during a win at Simi Valley and one goal in a tie at Royal last Friday night.
The other five matches all ended in Westlake shutouts.
"All the guys on the back end, we all move well together as one unit," said senior defender Austin Hall, a three-year letterman. "We listen to each other and always back each other up."
Hall and Dylan Rios have been stalwarts in the middle of the tough Warrior defense, while Arjang Sobhanpanah patrols the left side and Keeva Beck works on the right.
"They're all big guys, pretty strong and pretty fast," Propster said. "And they all read the game very well."
Andrew Singer, a returning senior starter, continues his steady play in the cage for the Warriors.
Offensively, forwards Sam Ball and Ben Hubbard have carried the load for Westlake. Ball, who moved to the area from England last year, is the Warriors' leading goal scorer.
"Sam can hit the ball with both feet, and not a lot of players are able to shoot with their left or right foot," Propster said. "He's a goal scorer. He's fast, has good moves and can get shots off."
Hubbard, who's second on the squad in scoring despite missing time because of injury, is ultrafast in the open field.
"His change of direction and change of speed is phenomenal," Propster said.
Ylauan, a co-captain along with Hall, is the main man in the Warrior midfield and a vocal team leader.
Justin Edwards spent last year playing golf but has returned to the pitch to help shoreup the midfield.
Freshman Cory Miller, an Olympic Development Player, has also been a big addition at midfield. Miller leads the Warriors in assists.
While Westlake's offense has quick-strike ability, Propster said defense remains the team's bread and butter.
"On any day, we do have the ability to score goals," the coach said. "But when we're successful is when everybody is defending together.
"If we don't do that, we're not going to get the possessions we need and we're not going to get the opportunities we need."
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