MHS expects to contend
Girls' soccer team stoked for new season
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers SAVIOR- Goalkeeper Miranda Rodriguez makes a diving stop.

Kaitlin Paletta will be playing soccer for UCBerkeley next winter, but first she has some family business to take care of.

Before the Moorpark High senior travels north, Paletta is hoping that she and her MHS girls' soccer teammates can win a Marmonte League title for her father, head coach Frank Paletta.

"This team has more of a will to win than last season," Kaitlin Paletta said. "It's my senior year now- losing is not an option."

Last year the Musketeers fell to Hart of Newhall in the second round of the CIFSouthern Section Division II playoffs. With seniors such as Paletta, Jessica Dingman, Andria Jackson and Miranda Rodriguez returning, Moorpark should be a force to be reckoned with once again.

The seniors aren't the only ones that will make an impact.

Sophomores Stacy Fujikuni and Ariana Martinez, as well as freshmen Sami Page and Celine Olivas, will get considerable amounts of playing time. So far the team is meshing well, according to its head coach.

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers ZIG ZAG- Moorpark Musketeers' Nicole Couture weaves her way down the pitch during practice earlier this week. The team expects to contend for a Marmonte League championship this season.

"The key word with this team is 'trust,'" Frank Paletta said. "We have seven club teams represented on this team. That means there's at least seven players used to another coach and another style of play by the time they come to Moorpark High. They all have to trust me and my style if we want to win."

Although Frank Paletta may be the head coach, he said he gets a lot of help from Kaitlin.

"I'm very impressed with her on-field coaching ability," Frank Paletta said. "If there ever was a female quarterback, she's it. She's my John Elway, my Joe Montana out there."

Although Kaitlin Paletta has been first-team All-Ventura County three times and was last year's Marmonte League Defensive Back of the Year, she has constantly battled injuries. Frank Paletta is excited about the season for Kaitlin, saying she's healthier than she's ever been in her career at Moorpark.

"She's about 90 percent back," Frank Paletta said. "I'm going to let her create havoc this year and play her at a bunch of positions. Right now we have a lot of offensive weapons, so she best helps on defense, but that could change each game depending on the matchup."

Dingman, one of three senior captains, said that Moorpark needs Kaitlin Paletta healthy to go further in the postseason.

"We have to protect her on the field," Dingman said. "I've known her for a long time, and at an early age I knew she was going to be a college player. In a way, I feel I am playing college through her when we're on the field."

Joining Paletta on defense will be two freshmen, Page and Olivas. Rodriquez, the goalkeeper, has been impressed with the two newcomers' play.

"They learn very fast," Rodriquez said. "They want it more than freshmen have wanted it here in the past. They are not intimidated by anyone."

Dingman said the underclassmen will be vital to Moorpark's success.

"I want more than 14 games this year," Dingman said.

"In order for that to happen, the whole team is going to have to play well. I try to treat the freshmen, sophomores and juniors as seniors, because, to me, this year, they are. This is my last year here, and I have to let them know they are important to me."

This season will be the last time Frank Paletta coaches Kaitlin, and the coach said he'll be sad when it's all over.

"It's definitely in the back of my mind," Frank Paletta said. "I've coached her since, well, forever. I get to spend an extra four hours a day with my daughter that most parents don't, and I love every minute of it."