‘It’s a Fun Rivalry Now’ : El Toro-Dana Hills Girls’ Soccer Has Lost Some--but Not All--of Its Intensity

Despite its somewhat genteel image, girls’ soccer can get pretty ugly.

Take the rivalry between Dana Hills and El Toro, for example. There was a time when putting these teams on the same field wasn’t such a wise idea.

Elbows were thrown, harsh words exchanged, bodies and feelings bruised. Players made tackles that wouldn’t look out of place on a high school football field.

“I really don’t think they liked each other,” Dana Hills Coach Ken Ezratty said. “There definitely was some animosity.”

That was three seasons ago, however, and the antipathy has cooled considerably. But when El Toro and Dana Hills meet in girls’ soccer--as they will at 3 p.m. today at El Toro--there is bound to be plenty of action.

“Most people know that if you come to an El Toro-Dana Hills game, it’s not going to be boring,” Ezratty said.

Indeed, Dana Hills is one of the few South Coast League teams to make it interesting against El Toro in the last four seasons. El Toro has been beaten twice in league play during that span, both times by Dana Hills, and is currently in the midst of a 28-game league unbeaten streak.

By all accounts, the rivalry started in the fall of 1989, when South Coast League supremacy was up for grabs after the graduation of Mission Viejo’s Julie Foudy, who led the Diablos to two league titles and three Southern Section titles from 1986-89.

Dana Hills and El Toro met four times during the 1989-90 season--with each winning twice. The teams shared the South Coast League title, but El Toro had the last word, beating the Dolphins, 1-0, in the Southern Section Division 4-A championship game.

It’s a loss that still sticks in Ezratty’s craw. El Toro outshot the Dolphins, 23-5, and Kymm Maniscalco scored in overtime, but Ezratty remembers Dana Hills being robbed of a chance to score earlier.

Kristin Bye had the ball on a breakaway but El Toro’s Lesli Steinert, who would be named the 4-A defensive player of the year, grabbed Bye’s shirt and pulled her down about 40 yards from the goal. A foul was called but the play saved an almost-certain Dana Hills goal.

Because of recent rule changes, a tackle such as Steinert made would now result in a red-card ejection. At the time, it was merely a smart foul.

To Ezratty and the Dolphins, it was a prime example of El Toro’s questionable game plan.

“I think they played one of the dirtiest soccer matches I’ve ever seen,” Ezratty said.

So the Dolphins had extra incentive the next season, and the first game between the teams in 1990-91 ended in a 3-3 tie. It was the first non-victory of the season for the Chargers, who, after being tied by Mission Viejo in their next game, swept through the rest of the season undefeated and untied, winning their second consecutive Division 4-A title.

By that point El Toro had become the type of team that struck fear in opponents. But the first time Dana Hills played the Chargers in the 1991-92 season, Dana Hills won an Irvine tournament game, 2-0, breaking El Toro’s 42-game unbeaten string.

For Dana Hills, it seemed to be a breakthrough.

“It was big,” said Diane Divino, then a junior forward. “We played like a team and I assisted and scored in that game. We ended up winning the tournament and it seemed like that game was actually the final.”

It was to be the Dolphins’ final success against El Toro that season. The Chargers won the next three games, including a 3-1 victory in the Division 4-A semifinals.

After losing, 2-1, in a preseason tournament this season and playing to a 0-0 tie in their first league game, Dana Hills is now 3-7-2 against the Chargers over the last four seasons.

“It’s funny,” Ezratty said. “You look at that record and ask, ‘That’s a rivalry? They’re killing you.’ But if you look at other teams in our league, I doubt anyone comes close to that.”

Mission Viejo, which shared the league title with El Toro last season, is the only team that does, but the Diablos haven’t beaten El Toro during that span.

Although the games are still physical, the Dana Hills-El Toro rivalry is no longer a grudge match, according to coaches and players. Most with memories of the 1989-90 season have graduated, and El Toro’s coach, Kerry Krause, took control of the program the next year.

The makeup of the teams is similar this year, although El Toro is more experienced with 10 of its 13 seniors in the starting lineup. Both teams have strong defenses, anchored by an outstanding senior goalkeeper.

Dana Hills’ Stephanie Boes has 13 shutouts and has allowed only three goals in 15 games. El Toro’s Traci Jensen has nine shutouts and has allowed five goals after missing the first five games while recovering from foot surgery.

El Toro, top-ranked in Orange County, is led by senior Denise Kenyon, who has 13 goals this season. Eighth-ranked Dana Hills is paced by Divino, a senior who has 10 goals, and Jessica Stahlin, a sophomore who has eight.

It’s no surprise, therefore, that today’s game could help decide the league race. El Toro (13-1-3, 3-0-2) is tied for first with Capistrano Valley (4-2). With a victory, Dana Hills (15-5-3, 2-1-2) could move into a tie with El Toro.

Krause said he expects a tough game.

“They’re still playing physically and they will foul, but it’s a fun rivalry now,” he said. “That’s the way it should be. I don’t like it when there is a lot of hate between two schools.”

But it’s not exactly friendly.

Said El Toro senior Paige Viloria, who was a freshman when the rivalry was more heated: “I know I don’t want to share a league title with them ever again.”

Head to Head

El Toro vs. Dana Hills in girls’ soccer since 1989:

1989-90 Dana Hills 2, El Toro 1 El Toro 1, Dana Hills 0 Dana Hills 1, El Toro 0 El Toro 1, Dana Hills 0 (OT)

1990-91 Dana Hills 3, El Toro 3 El Toro 3, Dana Hills 0

1991-92 Dana Hills 2, El Toro 0 El Toro 3, Dana Hills 0 El Toro 2, Dana Hills 1 El Toro 3, Dana Hills 1

1992-93 El Toro 2, Dana Hills 1 Dana Hills 0, El Toro 0