HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP : Falcons Play Defense for Keeps

ENCINITAS —  First clue as to why the Torrey Pines boys’ soccer varsity is the top-ranked 3-A team in the county: It has on its roster junior goalie Kyle Campbell--who Sunday will be named a Parade All-American.

Campbell also plays for the U.S. under-17 1/2 developmental team, but that’s not good enough to keep him in Torrey Pines’ lineup for an entire game. He always gets replaced in the second half by senior Adam Rosenblatt.

“When you have two great goalies on the same team, you have to do something,” Campbell said.

Campbell was being polite, but for Torrey Pines, its platoon system has paid dividends. With a 1-0 victory Thursday night over San Dieguito, the Falcons improved to 18-1-1.

The Falcons have given up only eight goals in 20 games. As it would happen, the Parade All-American and the other guy each have given up four.

Two great goalies? It’s difficult to tell.

“Our defense is very, very strong,” said Coach Brian McManus. “And our midfielders have been doing a great job. Our ‘keepers never really have been tested.”

Thursday night’s game was no exception.

San Dieguito entered it having recently tucked away a 2-1 victory over Poway after which Poway coach Bob Champion complimented San Dieguito’s strong finishing.

After Thursday’s loss, however, San Dieguito Coach John Bancroft complained about his team’s poor finishing.

“We have no excuses for not finishing,” he said, and then added, without realizing the irony, “and we had two opportunities in the first half.”

Or more accurate, two opportunities the entire game.

“Yeah,” agreed McManus, “they had those two chances in the first half when we got a little bit lazy.”

In the second half, Torrey Pines’ defense tightened and not even San Dieguito forward Nate Hetherington, last year’s CIF player of the year, could find a seam through defenders Anthony Napoli, P.J. Brown, John McCarty, Danny Smoot and Jamie Tuckey.

“We pretty much key on Nate--we know he’s their best player,” said Joel Kosakoff, who scored the game’s only goal when he ran onto a crossing pass from Brown just off the right post and headed it into the net.