CALLING THE SHOTS:

This story is no slight on Steve Crenshaw, a good guy who always has a story of his own for me.

Simply put, Jessica Gatica has been a great fit as head coach of the Estancia High girls’ soccer team. I cannot stress enough that I’m not putting down Crenshaw, who last year guided the Eagles to their first playoff win since 1993.

This year, Gatica led Estancia to its first league championship in years. The Eagles won a share of the Orange Coast League title, as Estancia became a co-champion with rival Costa Mesa in Gatica’s first season. No one really knows the last time Estancia won a league title in girls’ soccer, but something tells me it might been around the time Gatica was running around as a little girl playing in the Pilot Cup, the annual youth soccer tournament put on by this paper.

Back then it was called the Lions Cup.

Yes, Gatica, 25, is from Costa Mesa, but she went to Mater Dei, where she played soccer. She was also an assistant coach there, part of the team that won the CIF Southern Section Division I title in the 2006-07 season.

Last year, when Crenshaw stepped down, the timing just seemed right for Gatica to step in. She was ready to coach. That could be seen when she helped the Eagles through adversity earlier this season.

Winning a share of the Orange Coast League title with the Eagles in her first year as a head coach isn’t the only reason why she’s a good fit at Estancia. But back in December, it didn’t seem Gatica was ready for the spot just yet.

Losing seven of eight matches, including four in a row, the Eagles stumbled into the North County Challenge tournament, not knowing what to expect. Gatica knew what she wanted, but the girls weren’t giving it to her.

No more losing. She wanted wins.

She didn’t leave Mater Dei for losses or to be an afterthought, while Costa Mesa goes and grabs all the headlines again.

“I was happy at Mater Dei, but I got this opportunity,” Gatica said. “When they offered me the job, I said, yes. I wanted to start a new family [at Estancia]. I was a Mater Dei graduate. I want to give that sense of home to a new set of girls.”

Estancia ended the four-game skid and reeled off four straight wins to capture the North County Challenge Gold Division championship.

It was at that title game that Gatica showed another example that she was born to coach.

This wasn’t about a first-year coach telling her players about her playing days or stories about winning a CIF championship. This was about a young coach scolding her own fans for not behaving properly.

At Valencia High during that tourney title match on Dec. 29, Gatica heard a few Estancia fans shouting at the referees, screaming at the officials to call a foul on Valencia.

Gatica actually left the sideline and walked over to the track in front of the stands where the Estancia supporters sat. She wanted to be heard so she could tell them to pipe down. So she could tell them, “That’s not who we are,” and “be positive.”

She was sending the same message to her players, recently, though in a different light. There wasn’t a losing skid this time, but Gatica still had to keep pushing after her team, especially when it had just let a win over Costa Mesa slip away.

The Mustangs forced a 2-2 tie, scoring with two seconds left in injury time Jan. 27. The Eagles were disappointed, to say the least. It was their chance to take down their rivals, and the two-time defending league champs.

Redemption came for Estancia last week. The Eagles earned a dramatic win in the regular-season finale, beating Calvary Chapel, 3-2. Sophomore Jessica Lyons netted the game-winner with 10 minutes left and then they watched Costa Mesa lose to Laguna Beach, 1-0, to set up the co-championship.

Now, Gatica is wanting the Eagles (10-7-5) to notch another playoff win for the school. They open at Westridge of Pasadena in the first round of the CIF Division III playoffs Thursday at 3 p.m.

If they win, it looks a rematch from last year’s playoffs will be set up for Estancia. Last year, the Eagles were ousted from the playoffs by Mayfair. This year, the Monsoons, seeded No. 4, would most likely be facing Estancia again in the second round.

It looks like another loss for the Eagles, but something tells me Gatica will have her team ready to surprise everyone. She’ll certainly have her players believing they can win, just as she has all season.

STEVE VIRGEN may be reached at (714) 966-4616 or by e-mail at [email protected].