Greco’s Allegiance With King Is Unbeatable on the Field

Capistrano Valley’s Lindsay Greco and Chandra King admit they like to run in their own circles. In fact, the soccer field is one of the few places their circles overlap.

When the circles do meet, the fallout can be unfortunate for opposing teams. In 15 games, Greco and King have combined for 28 goals and 14 assists. The Cougars’ high-scoring forwards will try to keep up their nearly two-goal-per-game pace today when they host third-ranked Mission Viejo and Hannah Cochrun, one of the county’s top goalkeepers.

Until this year, Cochrun had shut down Greco and King. But in two games this season, Cochrun--without most of her defensive help from last season--has given up two goals to Greco and one to King.

The dilemma Mission Viejo and all Capistrano Valley opponents face is this: Try shutting down Greco or King individually and you free the other to score.

If Greco isn’t scoring, she’s often setting up King.

“We play well together,” said Greco, who has 17 goals and eight assists for the county’s top-ranked team. “We make runs for each other so the other person can get open. We’re not selfish at all. That’s what makes us so great and our team so great.”

When King isn’t scoring, she’s usually feeding Greco or watching her zip past defenders.

“It’s so great playing with Lindsay,” said King, who has 11 goals and six assists. “You just give her the ball and watch her go to the goal. You can pretty much count on her making something happen.”

Greco and King know each other so well on the field but hardly at all off the field.

“We talk to each other every day, but we don’t hang out outside of school,” Greco said. “She’s a senior and I’m a junior. We have our own friends.”

They also have their own ideas about their future. King is looking to leave Southern California behind this fall when she enters college. She is choosing from among Yale, Ohio State and Washington State--all schools with cold-weather climates. Greco is a California girl and she has no plans to leave.

King said she doesn’t mind that she’s not closer to her scoring partner.

“I don’t think you have to be best friends to play well together,” she said.

Not when you have Greco’s speed, athleticism and ballhandling skills or King’s vision, knowledge and finishing touch.

“Both of them have this sixth sense of where the other one is going to be,” Capistrano Valley Coach Jack Peterson said. “It’s really a pleasure to watch. You can usually see them talking to each other, setting something up.”

And off the field?

“It’s almost like a Jordan-Pippen kind of thing,” Peterson said. “No, they aren’t that close off the field. But when they’re in the game, they’re both in the zone. There’s not a better relationship on the field between two players.”

Many opponents have tried to break down that relationship by using force.

“A lot of people try to be physical with us,” King said. “But we have a really strong midfield. They do all the dirty work. They take the defense away from us and allow us have more freedom to make runs.”

Said Peterson: “If you don’t have a lot of speed defensively, being physical is probably the only way to deal with them. But that’s hard with the two of them having nearly the same abilities and deceptiveness.”

Peterson said it’s difficult to say who’s having the better season, Greco or King.

“I’ve never seen Chandra play at this level, in club or in high school,” he said. “She’s using all of her knowledge. She knows when to look to score and when to cross the ball. There’s not a wasted move. She’s found a way to tie everything together.

“Lindsay’s soccer abilities are already at the next level. Very rarely do you find her speed, skill and finishing ability in one player. She could probably have 10 more goals, but I’m trying to get everybody playing time.”