Local pair help Fair Oaks-based premier girls soccer team win national title

You know you?re talking to an intense athlete when she finds it difficult to bask in the glory of her first national championship.?It was OK,? Auburn?s Krissy Looney said of winning the girls premier under-14 age division at the U.S. Club Soccer National Championships with Meadow Vista?s Bradlee DeShane and the rest of their squad earlier this month in Blaine, Minn.?I thought my goal in the first game was good, and I had an assist in the third game,? added Looney, a left-rear midfielder. ?But I need to work on stuff ? like going outside, and getting more bursts of speed. I?m slow.?Their team, from the Fair Oaks-based Billy Wiskel Soccer Association, went 2-0-1 in pool play before pulling out a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory over the Boston Renegades in the championship. The BWSA squad came back from a 1-0 halftime deficit to stun the Renegades, who had gone 3-0 in pool play.DeShane, a center midfielder who will be a freshman at Colfax High this fall, added three assists in the four games.?The competition wasn?t as good as we thought it would be,? DeShane said of her team, which routed a Pennsylvania foe 5-1 in its tournament opener.?But I found out I need to work on some things, like getting the ball inside to our main scorer.?Unlike most soccer tournaments, this one had each team playing only one game per day.?We had a lot of free time,? DeShane said.Despite all the time they?ve put into improving as soccer players, the two know how to enjoy life like a lot of teen-age girls.?We went to the Mall of America and bought clothes,? Looney said excitedly.Both girls are in their third seasons in the BWSA, which is named after the girls and boys coach at Bella Vista High.Looney will be a freshman at Bella Vista this fall. In the spring, Wiskel said, she will likely be on his varsity squad.?I never had more than one or two freshmen on the varsity,? Wiskel said. ?But Krissy is technically well beyond her age.?The commute will be tough for Looney?s parents, Ed and Linda Looney, but no tougher than the two to three times a week they?ve been driving her to Sacramento State for practices. It apparently isn?t a big program for Linda, who is also the team manager.Larry and Denise DeShane also don?t mind the commute much. They?re also proud of their daughter for making a team of 25 girls who hail from as far away as Lake Tahoe, Modesto and Walnut Creek ? only 18 of which were allow to travel to Minnesota.?She?s under the kind of pressure I never had when I was 14,? Larry DeShane said. ?Every practice is like a tryout. They?re always battling for their positions.??We keep doing a lot of different drills so it gets ground into our heads,? Krissy Looney said of practices.At the Disneyworld Showcase in Orlando in December, where the team lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to Washington?s D.C. United in the final, Looney was the captain of the team and DeShane scored five goals.?Krissy and Bradlee are both exceptional kids and players who are devoted to the game,? said Wiskel, who will be taking the under-14 girls and some of his other teams next to Southern California over Labor Day weekend.?Coming from Auburn, they were pretty raw in the beginning as far as soccer experience goes. But in two years they?ve both flourished in our program and been significant players for our team.??They are both highly respected for their commitment to the team even they they must travel down here. Neither has missed a practice or game, and that?s a testament to their parents, as well. I think both have very bright future as college players. I can already tell.?