It often takes half a season for soccer players to get used to one another, but not for Nicki Maron and Amanda Lisberger. The two Palisadians needed all of two minutes of their first game together to produce their first goal and have been an unstoppable combination for the Brentwood girls’ varsity soccer team ever since. Though Maron is a senior and Lisberger only a freshman, they anticipate each others’ moves as if they have been teammates for years. Twelve times so far, one Palisadian has set the other up to score and, thanks in large part to their efforts, the Eagles will be in the playoffs next Friday. ‘This is my last chance so hopefully we can make it pretty far,’ Maron says. They may be three years apart in school but the two Palisadians live only three doors away at the top of Bienvenida. ‘Close’ not only applies to the proximity of the Eagles’ top scorers, but to the attitude that permeates the whole team. ‘We’re all really close this year,’ Maron says. ‘Our coach [David Foote] has organized bonding sessions and we genuinely get along. There’s a real sense of unity and I think the freshmen like Amanda have especially enjoyed the experience.’ A four-year starter and second-year captain, Maron has totaled six goals and eight assists from her center midfield position. But perhaps the most valuable asset she brings to her team is leadership. ‘Nicki is a great team player,’ says Lisberger, who was born in South Korea but has lived in the Palisades since being adopted when she was six months old. ‘She’s really patient, she guides you to do the right thing, she tells you what kind of runs to make and she takes perfect corner kicks. It’s so much fun to play with her. She makes everyone else on the team better.’ Maron likens her position to that of a quarterback in football and the role fits both her mentality and style of play: ‘It’s fun because you are the playmaker out there. You have to see the field and I believe that’s one of my strengths. I like to get other players involved and part of my job as captain is to motivate the players around me.’ When she’s not feeding a through ball to Lisberger or rocketing a corner kick across the goalmouth, Maron enjoys hanging out with friends at Cafe Vida or Coffee Bean, where her drink of choice is an ice blended pure half-and-half. ‘The Palisades is the best,’ Maron says. ‘I’ve lived here all my life and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.’ Lisberger leads Brentwood (12-2-3) with 17 goals and nine assists. Her 26 points is a school single-season record, but the freshman forward cares more about winning the CIF title for her senior teammates: ‘If we could get Nicki and the other seniors a banner, that would be awesome. They deserve it.’ Maron is most impressed with Lisberger’s poise and personality: ‘Amanda is just fun to be around. She’s always got a smile on her face. And of course she’s an incredible player.’ Both girls are products of the local AYSO program (Region 69) and subsequently became charter members of the Westside Breakers Soccer Club. Maron stayed with the Breakers through her under-17 year, earning most valuable player honors in the 2001 Celtic Cup. Two years later, her team finished atop the gold division of the Coast Soccer League, with Maron netting the tying goal that helped propel the Breakers to a final four finish in the Cal South National Cup tournament. In June, Maron joined the Slammers, an under-19 Premier team based in Irvine. ‘Club is a higher level and a faster game, but there’s nothing like representing your school,’ says Maron, who wants to keep playing in college but has not yet chosen a school. ‘I’m really going to miss that.’ Like her fellow Palisadian, Lisberger excels in club soccer. She scored 41 goals in two seasons with the Westside Breakers before joining FRAM, a Palos Verdes-based Coast Soccer League team that went on to reach the semifinals of the Walt Disney Showcase in Orlando, Florida. In July, Lisberger switched to the defending United States Youth Soccer national champion Camarillo Eagles, the top-ranked girls under-15 team in the country. Since her arrival the team has a 33-1-3 record. ‘Club is fun because I get to play outside midfield,’ Lisberger says. ‘I like being able to play different positions. The cool thing is, I’m always an Eagle.’
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
