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Just For Kicks
CHELSEA Montero started all 20 matches for the St. Mary's Gaels women's soccer team last fall, but it didn't dawn on her until midseason that she was a full-fledged starter. Montero’s a hit
for St. Mary’sThe 5-foot-5 freshman defender from Kamehameha felt after the recruiting process she would have a chance to compete for a starting berth.
"There was the question of whether or not I would get a lot of playing time, but coaches recruit you with the idea you could have an impact on the team," Montero said.
That's exactly what Gaels head coach Paul Ratcliffe saw when he watched Montero play for Leahi Soccer Club in the Surf Cup two summers ago.
"She had good skills, was very fast and very competitive,"Ratcliffe said. "She was good in the air and made good decisions."
After working with the first team in full-scale scrimmages, she started the alumni match.
Montero realized she had to work much harder to stay fit, to be able to play a whole match.
"It was like 'Wow!' You get a feeling for it and you can tell from the coaches, but you have to realize you can't take it for granted," she said.
Although it was very gratifying to be one of seven freshmen starters, the absolute highlight of the season came when the Gaels defeated national power Santa Clara, 4-2, Kamehameha's girls coach Michele Nagamine's alma mater.
"Right after the game, I called her and told her we played a great game. It was the most exciting thing that ever happened to me," Montero said.
"It's one of those things you never dream would happen. It was incredible. Coach graduated from there and I just couldn't hold it back."
What surprised Montero after the upset win was how the media and various soccer publications reacted.
"The press didn't play it up as much as I thought it would. Everyone thought it was a fluke," Montero said.
"It was like David vs. Goliath. We accomplished a great goal. It helps us focus for next year and gives us a feel for what we can do as a team."
The Gaels finished 12-6-2 overall and second in the West Coast Conference at 5-2-0 after being picked to finish fifth in the coach's preseason poll.
"They did not expect anything from us. I'm so excited to play next year," she said.
Montero discovered mainland players are bigger, faster, stronger and more skilled. They earned her respect, but she didn't back down.
And she moved from being a sweeper at Kamehameha with no marking responsibilities to left fullback, where she had to mark an opponent each match.
"I remember playing against a Stanford girl who was huge. You have to learn how to adjust to keep playing. Otherwise I would sit," Montero said.
"Chelsea was thrown in the deep end because of our schedule," Ratcliffe said. "She made some mistakes, but she got better and better. With some weight training, she'll be even better next year."
She fared well academically with a 3.0 grade-point average in her first collegiate semester.
Montero also said being on a varsity team means you live, breath and eat soccer and school. There isn't time for much else although she did make a couple of trips from the lush countryside surrounding the Moraga campus into San Francisco.
Brian Ching (Kamehameha) has been named to the West Coast Conference All-Academic soccer team.
Ching, who graduated last May, had a 3.20 GPA while taking courses for his master's degree in business administration during the fall semester.
