November 9, 2007

Weekly College Notebook: Mira Costa
soccer alumni getting their kicks
Bullock and Shabestari have helped lead their Long Beach State and UC Irvine programs to this week's Big West Tournament.
By Chris Jackson
Staff writer

Former Mira Costa High soccer standouts Lindsay Bullock and Milana Shabestari have played in their share of big games in high school and club play.

Both have played in big games as college freshmen, with Bullock starting in midfield at Long Beach State and Shabestari emerging as the top midfielder off the bench at UC Irvine.

This weekend, though, will present the biggest games in their brief careers, as both look to help their teams advance to the NCAA Tournament.

The 49ers and Anteaters will battle for the Big West Tournament title and an automatic berth in the NCAAs. UC Irvine (11-6-2, 5-2-1 Big West), seeded fourth, will face top seed and host Cal State Fullerton (11-7-1, 6-2-0) tonight at 7:30, following a matchup between No. 2 Long Beach State (13-6-0, 6-2-0) and No. 3 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (7-9-2, 5-2-1) at 5 p.m.

Bullock said the 49ers will be ready.

"Our practices have been really serious and very intense," said Bullock, who has four goals for Long Beach this season, tying her for third on the team. "We play really hard on the field, but off the field we don't take it personally.

"(Today) is going to be a battle. They're always a tough team to play. If we get through them, we play one of the two teams we lost to. We're definitely going to be ready for that, just to have revenge, because we didn't play that well in both games."

Shabestari, who has a goal and an assist in her 15 appearances, said she could sense a change in the Anteaters' approach as well.

"The older teammates are just showing through their performance what we need to do," Shabestari said. "They're not saying anything, it's just through how intense and how serious they're being in practice."

Both players have found themselves so busy with their teams, classes and adjusting to college in general that they haven't been able to keep in touch.

"There's no negative energy towards each other," Bullock said, noting that they only chatted briefly after Irvine beat Long Beach, 1-0, on Oct. 30. "When we're on the field, we're competing. It's not like we're best friends on the field. We haven't kept in touch, but after the game we both hugged each other and said we hoped we'd see each other again in the tournament."

Shabestari agreed that it's been tough to keep up with any of her old friends and teammates from high school.

"I know that we might have the opportunity to play against them again," Shabestari said. "I haven't talked (at length) to Lindsay since we finished high school. Before and after the game, I didn't want to distract her. I let her do her thing, she let me do my thing. I think when the season is over, we can pick up more. Then we won't be in competition with each other."

Bullock and Shabestari said they didn't expect to see as much playing time as they've received as freshmen.

"I expected to play, but not play as much as I am," Bullock said. "I'm pretty much playing every game. I have to be the anchor for the midfield as a defensive midfielder. It's very different from what I used to play. We've got really good leaders in the midfield, though, so they've helped me.

"It's very uplifting that they can trust me with my skills and decision-making on the field. Even though I don't have experience, they trust me."

Shabestari said the amount of work college players have to do off the field was her biggest adjustment.

"I was under the impression that I had to work really hard because of the level being so much higher," Shabestari said. "The fitness level is so much harder. I just tried so hard to get better. It's been really exciting for me."

Bullock said the fact she and Shabestari have succeeded out of the gate is a testament to what they learned in high school.

"It shows how high school can also make a player into a college-level player," Bullock said. "Everyone says club is the only distributor of great college athletes. High school is also a contributor. It brings a togetherness. Even though we're playing against each other now, we have that background together, we have that pride and respect for each other. I think it's a good accomplishment for Mira Costa."

The Big West title game is Sunday at 1 p.m. at Fullerton.

Cross country: A few runners who participated in the Big West Conference Championships got left out of last week's recap. Long Beach State freshman Steven DeCastro (West Torrance) came in 51st with a time of 27 minutes, 43 seconds on Oct.27 in San Luis Obispo. Cal State Fullerton sophomore David Soto (San Pedro) was 55th (28:05) in that same race. Also, in a correction from last week, UC Irvine senior Adrian Doty is a Peninsula alumnus, not one of El Segundo. Doty transferred to Peninsula after his freshman year at El Segundo.

Swimming and diving: USC senior diver Kim Popp (Peninsula) got her season off to a solid start at the Trojan Diving Invitational last weekend. Popp finished second in the 3-meter dive, third in the platform and sixth in the 1-meter. Popp's scores of 283.75 on the 3-meter and 235.40 on the platform qualified her for the NCAA Zone E championships in March. Popp placed 12th on the platform at the Senior Nationals last summer, and if she can move up into the top eight at the next national meet, she could earn a shot at the Beijing Olympics. For now, Popp and her teammates will focus on sweeping at Arizona and Arizona State this weekend.