Eagles confident following rugged preseason soccer schedule

Oak Park High girls' soccer head coach Mark Zeolla decided to schedule tough Division I and II opponents in the preseason with the hopes of taking his team to the next level.

Coming off a league championship last year, the Eagles' seventh in the last eight seasons, Zeolla choose to go up against top teams such as Agoura, Royal and Buena to help prepare his squad for league play and, possibly, the postseason.

Last season Oak Park lost in the first round of the CIFSouthern Section playoffs to Marlborough High.

Although the Eagles posted a record of 335 in the preseason, Zeolla now feels the team is ready to compete against anyone.

"I scheduled five games against Division I teams, and five more against Division II teams," Zeolla said. "None of the other teams in our league do that.

"Yes, we don't have as many wins going into league play that we might have had in the past, but I feel we're more than ready for league now. You can learn a lot from playing schools with better teams."

Senior co-captain Melanie Gaball agreed with her coach.

"The schedule humbled us," Gaball said. "We've been used to winning all the time, so in a way it almost taught us how to handle a loss. It will make it easier for us in league."

Oak Park began Tri-Valley League play Monday with a 1-0 loss at St. Bonaventure, but the team once again showed great defense. The Eagles only allowed 13 goals in their first 12 matches of the season.

The OPHS defense is led by Sasha Arya, a four-year varsity starter and co-captain. Assisting Arya in the backfield is junior Stephanie Gilbert, along with sophomores Tayler Johnson and Erica Kim.

"Tayler brings a lot of speed and charisma to this team," Zeolla said. "She's a great asset because she can play so many positions. She can score on offense, but right now we need her a little more on defense, where she's doing a great job.

"Erica is a very aggressive player that became a starter this year. Like Tayler, she can play many positions, but this year we primarily play her on defense. She has tremendous drive, and she could become a great collegiate player some day."

Sharing time in the cage for OPHS has been junior Alison James and sophomore Rebecca Varley. James has 19 saves and has posted four shutouts, but like Varley, she's been hit with the injury bug.

While the Eagles' defense has been stellar, the offense has found it difficult to score. Before Wednesday night's showdown with Oaks Christian, Oak Park had scored only 11 goals, less than one per game.

Junior Lauren Kawamoto has moved from playing defense on her club team to playing forward to help the Eagle offense.

So far the change has paid off. Kawamoto and sophomore Ciara Zeolla are tied for the team lead with three scores each. Johnson is the only other Eagle with multiple goals this season.

Oak Park's next game is at Malibu High Friday at 3:15 p.m.