No Getting Around Royal’s Mount Raniers

Matt and Mike Ranier, the biggest players on the field at Friday’s Royal-Simi Valley boys’ soccer match, came up with some of its biggest plays.

Matt, a 6-foot-6 goalkeeper, stopped only two direct shots in a 2-1 victory that moved Royal into a three-way tie for first place in the Marmonte League. But he took a foot in the mouth while beating Sergio Renes to the ball on a breakaway and leaped high to tip away a chip shot by Chris Wells.

Mike, a 6-6 outside midfielder and Matt’s twin, played the ball almost flawlessly and heaved lengthy throw-ins that led to both of the Highlanders’ goals.

“That was their best game of the season,” said Royal Coach Kevin Corley, who hadn’t planned on either player being a part of this season’s team.

After playing soccer from elementary school through ninth grade, the Raniers decided to concentrate on baseball as sophomores and juniors. The two are standout pitchers who have signed to play at Cal State Northridge.

But they listened when Corley, in desperate need of a goalkeeper at the start of soccer season, convinced Matt to try out. Mike came along as well.

Three months later, Matt is the region’s most intimidating goalkeeper and Mike’s composure, left-footed crosses and throw-ins are valuable assets for Royal (14-5-1, 5-2 in league play). The twins hold baseball workouts before soccer practices and matches.

“Soccer’s a good time because I played with a lot of these guys growing up,” said Matt Ranier, a youth teammate of Highlander standouts Kendall Simmonds, Brandon Kay and others. “The hardest thing has been getting down for low shots. I was only about six feet tall the last time I played.”

Cutting back: Chaminade junior Kerrie Clavadetscher, who last season started concurrently for the Eagle girls’ basketball and soccer teams, will play only soccer for the remainder of the season.

Last season, Clavadetscher scored 16 goals and averaged about nine points while eating meals and doing schoolwork on the run. But as the demands on her time increased this year, she made fewer basketball appearances and became the team’s sixth player. Monday she told basketball Coach Diane Garza and her teammates that she was quitting.

“I’ve been thinking about it more and more the last two weeks, but it was hard to do,” said Clavadetscher, whose health had begun to suffer. “But I’ve gotten more homework, and soccer is what I want to play in college.”

Garza said Clavadetscher averaged more than six points and three steals in the basketball games she appeared in this season. She has scored 11 goals for the soccer team.

Surprise ending: Lindsay Sotero-Higa treated the Three-For-All basketball skills competition like it was the lottery: She didn’t expect to win.

The North Hollywood High junior entered the preliminaries Saturday because several other teammates signed up for it.

She thought she’d have some fun. Turns out, she won.

Sotero-Higa finished first overall in the age 15-17 division, winning the speed dribble and the free throw competition and finishing fourth in the Super Shot drill, which tested shooting from several areas of the court.

“I didn’t expect to win,” Sotero-Higa said. “I just went to participate.”

She next will participate in the regional round in March at Long Beach State, with a chance to play in the nationals in April.

Dynamic duo: Saugus forward Jeff Hammond has scored 24 goals in the Centurions’ 19 soccer matches, and goalkeeper Jason Berriz has allowed only 11 goals in 16 matches for a 0.69 goals-against average. Saugus is 14-2-3, 4-0-1 in Foothill League play.