2008-09 Girls Soccer Co-Coach of the Year: San Clemente's Finnerty

The names and faces of the key contributors have changed over the past 10 years, yet one consistent theme has resonated throughout the San Clemente girls’ soccer program.

Success.

Over the past decade, no team has enjoyed success more than the Tritons, who have won more CIF titles than any other county school, while continually producing some of the area’s top talent.

And at the core of that unparalleled tradition of excellence has been Coach Stacey Finnerty.

With commitment to hard work, sacrificing for the good of the team, and enjoying the moment as the foundations of the program, Finnerty helped guide the Tritons to a share of the South Coast League title, her second consecutive CIF-SS Division I title, and the school’s first ever CIF Southern California Regional championship.

For her efforts this season, Finnerty has been selected as the Register’s 2008-2009 co-coach of the year.

“I love the sport and I’m passionate about it,” said Finnerty. “My goal is to give the girls that passion.”

After winning the co-title last season, Finnerty said that the team began to lay the foundation for their season before they even took the field.

“The first day of the season we sat down and made the goals for the year,” she said. “I like to have my teams work for everything, and I think setting those goals and motivating them in early in practices was good.”

The Tritons responded by winning the Butch Lee Memorial tournament in San Diego to start the season.

However, Finnerty pointed to the county’s biggest preseason tournament as a true test for the mettle of the girls.

“The Excalibur tournament was a thermometer for me because I wanted to use that tournament to play as many players as I could so that could they gain some experience and confidence going into league,” said Finnerty.

Her plan worked to perfection, as the Tritons won five games in three days, culminating in a thrilling 1-0 victory over Esperanza in the title game.

It was at the moment that Finnerty began to like her team’s chances for a run toward another championship.

“What they showed me at Excalibur gave me the confidence that we could do this,” she said.

The Tritons then embarked on their journey through the always difficult South Coast League, coming away with a three-way spilt of the title with rivals Aliso Niguel and Mission Viejo.

Heading into the playoffs, Finnerty felt that those league battles got her team ready for the challenges that lay ahead in the postseason.

“We had already been under intense pressure in our league which was great in preparing us for the playoffs,” she said.

After one-goal victories over Buena and Thousand Oaks, and an intense shootout victory over the Aztecs in the quarterfinals, the Tritons journey back to the title game was complete after they blanked El Toro, 2-0, in the semifinals.

In the Division I finals, the Tritons faced a Griffins team that had defeated them earlier in the season. Nonetheless, San Clemente controlled the action from the start, posting a 2-0 victory to become the first Division I team to repeat as champions since the Tritons accomplished the feat as outright champions in 2002 and co-champions in 2003 and 2004.

Yet the Tritons run wasn’t finished, as they defeated Chatsworth and Los Alamitos in the first two rounds of the CIF Southern California Regional tournament, before rallying in the final moments to defeat Buchanan, 3-2, in the championship game.

Finnerty acknowledged that the accomplishments of this season held more meaning to her than in previous years.

“This one was more special to me,” she said. “I have a large group of seniors that were dedicated and committed a lot to the program and looking at their faces after we won was very special.”

Contact the writer: jeichelberger@ocregister.com