Coyote boys restore pride to CHS soccer program
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers SMOOTH OPERATOR- Calabasas High junior Harrison Doyle takes control of the ball during Monday's game against Moorpark.

Immediately after scoring the first of his two goals in a 5-1 home win over Moorpark High Monday night, Calabasas junior Harrison Doyle ran toward the home crowd and started blowing kisses.

One might think his celebration was a little over the top, but then again, it's been a while since the home faithful have had a reason to go wild.

In the past decade, there hasn't been much success at Keith Ritchie Field. The Coyotes girls' soccer team, boys' and girls' track and field teams and football team have struggled. The boys' soccer team, however, is a different story.

With a 7-3-2 record in the Marmonte League (8-6-7 overall) entering Wednesday night's game at Westlake, Calabasas only trailed Newbury Park High by two points for first place.

With one remaining match scheduled for Friday night at home against Agoura, the Coyotes are hoping to leapfrog the Panthers and capture the school's first Marmonte League title. Last season, CHS came in sixth place in league.

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers MARKED MAN- Coyote defender Navid Saedi, right, chases down Moorpark's Nicholas Yasmine during Monday's 5-1 Calabasas win.

"It's a real exciting time for us," Doyle said. "I'm happy that the fans are out watching us, and I'm even happier to score for them."

Leading the way for the Coyotes has been senior Daniel Steres, who scored his 14th goal Monday night. Steres, who missed the majority of his junior season due to an injury, is second in the Marmonte League in goals and total points, trailing only Agoura's Sam Myerson in both categories.

Steres, who's made a verbal commitment to San Diego State, said he'd like nothing more than a league championship in his final year at CHS.

"It feels real good to have a winning team after struggling for so many years," Steres said.

"We know we are going to be in the playoffs, but we're not finished yet. We're doing a little scoreboard watching with Newbury Park, because it would mean a lot to this school to get a league title and a banner we could hang up."

Although the Coyotes' winning ways may come as a shock to some, second-year head coach Kurt Millet isn't surprised.

"We expected this kind of success this season," Millet said. "We have a lot of experience with nine seniors on the team and four sophomores that played last year as freshmen. It was just a matter of going out and getting the job done, and so far this team has."

When he's not coaching the Coyotes, Millet works as the camps and operation coordinator for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Millet said he's trying to instill many of the Galaxy's methods on the CHS team.

"There's definitely two types of styles between the two teams," Millet said with a laugh.

"It's amazing what the players on the Galaxy go through every day, and then I come to Calabasas and the players will be joking around and talking about their girlfriends. So there's a different mentality here, but the team still wants to get the job done. My goal is to get preparation, performance and results out of this team."

While the Calabasas offense was in full force Monday night, its defense has also played well. Senior goalkeeper Trevor Nathanson has only allowed six goals on the season, while posting three shutouts.

"Nathanson is calmer in goal this season," Millet said. "He's more confident, and he takes more control by communicating with his defenders."

Although many seniors such as Steres, Navid Saedi, Max Berg, Daniel Mandel and Jake Adee are contributing, CHS has also caught a glimpse of its future.

According to Millet, freshman Nathaniel Schnitman and sophomore Trent Clifton are two of the squad's better players. Unfortunately for the Coyotes, Clifton was lost for the remainder of the season last week when he chipped a bone in his knee.

"Losing Clifton was a big loss for us, but he'll be back next year," Millet said. "I've also been very impressed with Schnitman. He's very fast, and he's a potential national-team prospect."

Steres said the chemistry between the upper and lower classmen has been great and is a huge reason for the team's success.

"There's a lot of unity on this team that wasn't here in the past," Steres said. "There's a lot of passion from everyone on the team. Hopefully, it can help us get a league title."