You have to excuse the Santa Barbara High girls soccer coaching staff for being overly excited about the team?s successful season.
Assistant coach Ziggy Ziegenhaggen was so thrilled about the team?s remarkable turnaround he told the crowd at Monday?s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon that the Dons won CIF.
What he meant to say was they captured the Channel League title after going winless and scoring one goal last season.
The Dons dethroned Buena, which owned the league title for the last 19 years.
?That’s a massive, massive achievement for our girls, and we’re very proud of them,” Ziegenhagen gushed.
By winning the league, Santa Barbara was rewarded with a home game for the CIF Division 2 playoffs. It will open against Long Beach Millikan on Thursday at 5 p.m. at Peabody Stadium.
CIF postseason competition began this week for boys and girls soccer, girls water polo, boys and girls basketball and wrestling.
The Santa Barbara girls soccer program has produced some outstanding players over the years. Among them: Meghan Moore, who went on star at Boston College; Greta Shirdon, a standout goalkeeper who helped Cal Poly win Big West titles; Alma Martinez, who played at SBCC and UCSB before earning a spot on the Mexican National Team and played in the 2004 Olympics; Kai Miller, who is currently playing at Boston University.
The Dons were always in contention for a league title and a CIF playoff berth.
But the team struggled last season as it went through a transition period with new coach Jeff Johnson. The Dons didn?t win a match and scored only one goal.
For Johnson – a former UCSB player, a longtime club coach in town and owner of One Soccer Schools – and the Dons, there was nowhere else to go but up.
And it?s been quite a climb.
?Our motto has always been maximum effort, every player putting in their shift and never looking past the game in front of us,? said Johnson about the team?s mindset this season. ?We have stressed the importance of learning how to manage games, when to play with urgency and when to slow down and take their time.
?Each girl on the team has a specific role and it has been outlined to them on what is expected when they step across the white line in order for us to succeed.?
The highlights of the season include a 1-0 win over Buena and two wins against San Marcos.
There were some lowlights, too: two losses against Dos Pueblos and a 6-1 drubbing at Buena.
?We have had some mental lapses … that we have all spoken about learning from in order to keep growing and keep finding ways to become better,? Johnson said.
Johnson noted that he and Ziegenhaggen have never put any pressure on the girls to win.
?They have always been told that all the pressure is on the other team to beat us and that no one expects anything from us, so it is our job to go out and make ourselves proud while proving otherwise to the opposition,? he said.
He added: ?We have also stressed that every game is only another test for ourselves to go out and compete and be better than our personal best. ?We never really emphasize the opponent, it is always compete against your personal best and be hungry about putting in complete performances.?
In the 6-1 loss at Buena, Johnson said his team never let up even when the scored out of hand.
?The play was extremely physical with some crunching tackles. ?They might have won but they definitely felt the affect of the Dons for the next 2-3 days,? he said.
Johnson acknowledged that chemistry has been a key ingredient to the team?s success.
?Everybody on this team gets along and there is a genuine sense of compassion and good feeling always in the air,? he said. ?The girls understand how much we have gone out of our way to take care of them and in return have been killers on the field.?
OTHER EVENTS WORTH CHECKING OUT:
THURSDAY
GIRLS WATER POLO:
La Quinta or LaSalle at Carpinteria, 5 p.m. ? The Warriors won their second straight Tri-Valley League title to earn a first-round home match in the CIF Division 6 playoffs.
GIRLS BASKETBALL:
Antelope Valley at Santa Barbara, 7 p.m. ? The Dons are the second-seeded team in the CIF 3-AA Division.
Vasquez at Bishop Diego, 7 p.m. ? The Cardinals won a share of the Frontier League title and earned a first-round home playoff game in Division 5-AA.
FRIDAY
BOYS BASKETBALL:
Norwalk at Dos Pueblos, 7 p.m. ? The Chargers play a quick Norwalk team in a Division 2-A first-round game
BOYS SOCCER:
Fountain Valley at Santa Barbara, 5 p.m. ? The Dons play the No. 2 team from the Sunset League in a Division 1 opener
Santa Monica at Carpinteria, 5 p.m. ? The Warriors, co-champions of the Tri-Valley League, face a tough first-round opponent in a Division 4 first-round match.
Orcutt Academy at Cate, 3:30 p.m. ? After winning back-to-back titles in Division 7, the Rams move up to Division 6.
Oakwood at Bishop Diego, 3:15 p.m. ? Coach Ivan Becerra has the Cardinals back in the CIF playoffs for the first time in several seasons
SATURDAY
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL:
Arizona Western at Westmont, 5:30 p.m. ? The Warriors? Tugce Canitez is putting up 20-point, 20-rebound performances on a regular basis.
Cal Poly at UCSB, 2 p.m. ? The Gauchos are Mustangs are tied for second place in the Big West with Hawaii.
SUNDAY
RUNNING:
The 7th annual Carpinteria Kiwanis Winter Warm-up 5K Run/Walk is a Santa Barbara Athletic Association (SBAA) Grand Prix event. Race held at Carpinteria Bluffs.
SURFING:
The Rincon Classic is in its waiting period. If conditions cooperate, the Queen of the Coast will be contested. Check RinconClassic.com for confirmation.
TUESDAY, FEB. 19
COLLEGE BASEBALL:
UCLA at UCSB, 2 p.m. ? The Gauchos play their home open against the two-time defending Pac-12 champions.
