Matt Elliser, The Examiner
2006-11-01 10:00:00.0
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SAN FRANCISCO -

One had no experience, the other couldn’t play together

Gateway boys’ soccer coach Joe Killmaier didn’t have one senior on his roster. Mercy of San Francisco girls’ volleyball coach Locke Chen had a talented team that had never been able to figure out how to play together.

But suddenly, improbably, both have managed coax wins from their respective programs at unprecedented rates this season.

Killmaier led the Gators to an undefeated run through the Bay Counties League Central Division and the first league title in the eight-year history of the school. Now, the 12th-seeded Gators (15-2) will make their postseason debut today at 2:30 p.m., taking on No. 3 Branson (16-3-3) at Marin City College in the first round of the North Coast Section Class A playoffs.

Meanwhile, in the gym at Mercy, the Skippers (26-7 overall, 10-1 West Bay Athletic League) have put together one of the best seasons in school history and, with a win Thursday against Notre Dame of San Jose, will claim their first WBAL crown and first league title of any kind in at least 15 years. The team will likely host a Central Coast Section Division IV playoff game Nov. 8.

At Gateway, Killmaier was telling his team to prepare for a rebuilding year after losing six key players to graduation and not having six returning seniors show up for tryouts. But somehow, a mix of returning reserves and incoming freshman became a great team.

“After we won our league, one of the guys came up to me and said ‘Joe, I know you said it’s a rebuilding year, but don’t you think we should try to win NCS now?’” Killmaier said with a laugh. “And I said ‘Yeah, I guess as things progress, you’ve got to adjust your goals.’”

Junior midfielder Liam Whelan and freshman forward Carlos Juarez lead the team with 16 goals each, while junior striker Mike Cordova has netted 13 (including the only score in the Gators’ 1-0 BCL championship game win over International).

Center fullback Marcio Panti anchors the defense and is flanked by Robert Rustia and Emilio Perez. Goalies Mo Woods and Brendan Child have split time with great success all season.

It is that type of teamwork that had escaped Mercy in the past, but the Skippers have bonded and are on a roll now.

Mercy is currently on a 10-match winning streak, and hasn’t even dropped a game in the eight of them. But the Skippers have also proven they can go the distance, topping second-place Harker (9-2 WBAL) in five games on Oct. 17 to take control of the league standings.

“It’s been an excellent year because we finally got all the girls to work together,” Chin said. “In the past, there’s been some jealousy, but not this season. And when we play as a team, there’s no way to stop us.”

The Skippers have leaned heavily on a trio of senior co-captains who, according to Chin, all have the potential to play in college. Setter Pamela Alano “is so determined to get to the ball, she’ll run through a brick wall,” Chin said, and has 1,023 assists. Middle hitter Ashley Fox leads the team with 457 kills. And libero Esther Hon has great digging and passing ability.

Outside hitters Symone Mackiewicz and Lauren Lagomarsino, middle hitter Breanna McNeil and senior reserves Janette Padilla and Brittney Valenzano have also made key contributions.

melliser@examiner.com