General Information

Welcome to the Twenty Eighth Annual Barons-Mustangs Girls Soccer Tournament. The round-robin affair was first held in the Spring of 1981 at Southwest High School (San Diego) and was originally the Raiders Girls Soccer Tournament. Southwest-SD, Coronado, Crawford and Marian Catholic comprised the humble beginnings. Marian defeated Coronado 4-3, Crawford 8-0 and drew with Southwest 1-1 to claim the crown. There will be 8 championship matches in 2007.

The "Tournament" got a head start on the rest of San Diego County as girls soccer did not become a sanctioned sport until Spring of 1982. Some North County schools including Mt. Carmel and Torrey Pines had been competing as club teams for a couple of years prior to full recognition by the CIF-SDS. From one division and three leagues (Palomar, Metro-Mesa, Metro-South Bay) in 1982 the CIF-SDS has expanded to 15 leagues and four championship matches.

Soccer was moved to the Winter season in 1983 and the tournament immediately came into conflict with San Diego County's largest club tournament, offered by San Diego Villa. To accommodate the athletes, by allowing them to finish club competition and smoothly begin the high school season, the "Tournament" was moved to its current position where it has remained.

The past 26 years have witnessed remarkable matches, players, coaches and personalities. Marian Catholic and Southwest (S.D.) battled to a 1-1 draw that first year in front of a few curious spectators. Those first participants; players, coaches, officials and spectators could not have predicted the lofty heights to which girl's/women's soccer would ascend. Mt. Carmel defeated Ramona 4-2 in the Unlimited Final (1993) as rain, cold and darkness engulfed the field. Loyal fans who braved the uncommon elements were treated to hot coffee and cocoa by long-time supporter Ann Pietila as she traveled person to person with pots and cups. Near darkness, a colossal Premiere Division Final battle between North County powers Torrey Pines and La Costa Canyon was halted when a player was injured. The teams, tied at the time, agreed to an unprecedented co-championship. The Players... Parade Magazine All-Americans (Rita Hirmez-Mt. Carmel, Sara Barnett-Bonita Vista)... National Team (Shannon McMillian-San Pasqual, Jennifer Lalor-Bonita Vista)... Mexican National Team (Linnea Quinones/Lina Valderrama-Bonita Vista)... WUSA (Allie Kemp-San Dieguito, Mandy Clemens-USDHS, Lalor, McMillian). The Coaches... Butch Lee-USDHS, Dennis Costello-Torrey Pines, Tom Schwartz-Poway, Dave Emmerson-San Dieguito/La Costa Canyon, Dave Macky -Valhalla/Crawford, Bill Bullock-San Pasqual, Raffaele Ruotolo-Patrick Henry/Rancho Bernardo, Ms. Marcel Benjamin-Mira Mesa. Those formative years, before coaches got paid and a 'club' was somewhere you went to get fit, saw some genuine acts of generosity. On more than one occasion, when funds were short and a "buck was a buck" veteran official Hans Kramm accepted only gas money for scheduling and working matches.

Our motives for being here may differ but the result never changes; young ladies get to play soccer.

Ron Pietila: Tournament Director