Lady Lancers performing well on the pitch
Grace Brethren plays important home match today vs. Carpinteria
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers ESCAPING THE RAIN- Grace Brethren junior Janine Marderian works on her dribbling skills during an indoor practice session Monday afternoon. Bad weather forced the Lancers to work out at Simi Valley's Sycamore Center. GBHS hosts Carpinteria today.

After struggling for many years, the Grace Brethren girls' soccer team's future is bright.

Entering last night's game at Bishop Diego High, the Lancers, 8-4-1 overall and 3-2-1 in the Frontier League, trailed only Carpinteria in the league standings. Grace Brethren has only made the postseason once, in 200506, but with only two seniors on the team, the best may be yet to come.

"It's kind of sad," senior Kat Cary said. "This team is just starting to become really good, but I'm leaving after this year. I'm really enjoying this season, and this team should be good for a few years after I leave."

Andrea Robinson said she's getting used to the winning ways.

"It's nice to be on a team that's really good for a change," Robinson said. "The last couple of years we had some good players, but we didn't have the depth that we have now."

Leading the Lancers in scoring is freshman Samantha Romero. Entering last night's contest, Romero led the team with 10 goals and 23 points. Romero was especially effective in an early December game against Montclair Prep, when she scored three goals in an 8-0 win.

"It's great that (Romero) is doing so well," Robinson said. "It proves it doesn't matter how old you are- you can still come in and dominate if you play hard enough."

Head coach Andy Silva has been impressed with the first-year forward.

"I've been a little bit surprised by how well she's played," Silva said. "However, I saw her play this summer on her club team in Camarillo, and I was quite pleased with her ability.

"She always seems to be in the right spot at the right time. She has great ball skills and does a good job of creating her own space. Our midfield is making it easy for our attacking team to put balls into the net, and she's taken advantage of it."

Romero is one of three Lancers from Grace Academy, a firstyear program of home-schooled students who compete in sports for Grace Brethren. The other two Grace Academy players are junior goalkeeper Janine Marderian and freshman Haley Johnson.

"The home school program really helps us," Silva said. "We don't have the high enrollment that many other schools have, so the extra players make a difference. Janine and Samantha may be home-schooled players, but they could play for a Division I school, easily."

While the new players have helped, the Lancers' biggest strength may be their defense. In Grace Brethren's first 13 games, the team has only allowed 12 goals. Marderian, who plays goalkeeper, has posted eight shutouts along the way.

Marderian has received help on defense from junior Meghan Reno, who, according to Silva, was one vote from winning the Frontier League's Defensive Player of the Year award last season. Other players contributing in the Lancers' backfield include junior Jackie Elliot as well as sophomores Stella Ranieri and Devin Palladino.

"The starting back line is doing a very good job for us, and it's the main strength of this team," Silva said. "They're getting better as the season goes along, and they're communicating a lot better on the field, too."

Besides Romero, junior Amanda Quick has been superb on offense with eight goals and a team-leading five assists.

Although the weather was lousy last week, it didn't stop Grace Brethren from practicing. Twice during the week the Lancers worked out indoors at the Sycamore Center basketball gym.

"It's very different working indoors, but you do what you have to do," Robinson said. "No matter what, this team seems motivated and is practicing well. Even though we were rained out last Friday, we still were ready to come out and play a good game in the rain."

Silva acknowledged that he receives a lot of help from his assistant, Vince Allegra.

"It's a blessing to have him on the staff," Silva said. "We feed off of each other's suggestions, and together we can see easily what we need to improve on."

The Lancers are doing all they can to prepare for today's rematch against Carpinteria at home. Game time is slated for 3:15 p.m. Earlier in the season, Grace Brethren lost 3-2 to Carpinteria on the road.

"We're looking to avenge our loss from earlier this year," Silva said. "Carpinteria always plays a good game against us, but we should have beaten them in our first meeting. We were up 1-0 and then allowed three secondhalf goals. We can't let that happen again."