Before the start of a match against York on Jan. 8, Anzar High senior forward Charlene Tomasini approached teammate Ronnee Davis and asked her if she was ready to play forward. Davis was thinking, ‘Say what?’
“I was not stoked at all, but I’m getting used to it now,” said Davis, who promptly scored seven goals in her first three games at forward after making the switch from defender. “I just accepted it, and it feels good to score. Coach (Tony Rosa) knows what he’s doing.”
Rosa also moved another defender, Hailey Kennedy, to forward. That means the Hawks’ three fastest players are playing up top, ready to pounce on any scoring opportunity. Tomasini entered the week having scored 11 goals, and Davis with seven.
Davis and Tomasini said they didn’t need much time to develop chemistry despite Davis having played defender for most of her career. In the opening minute against York, Davis scored off an assist from Tomasini.
“It’s been a breath of fresh air playing with Hailey and Ronnee up top,” Tomasini said. “I can depend on Ronnee’s crosses every single time, and she’s such a diverse player that no matter where she is on the field, she tears it up.”
Davis is adept at maintaining possession and delivering crosses to the front of the opponents’ goal, while Tomasini is a great finisher. Both players have an acute awareness of where the other is, and that makes for a great connection.
“Just the fact we’re both really quick and quick thinkers,” Davis said. “With her speed, she can run down the field and finish my crosses. We complement each other well, and it’s just a matter of both of us being at the right place at the right time.”
Davis has tremendous respect for Tomasini as well. Tomasini, who scored 25 goals last season, possesses a burst of speed that few defenders in the Mission Trail Coastal Athletic League can keep up with.
“With both of us having played club competition, we understand how things work,” Davis said. “We try a lot of one touches, and we’re really good at telling each other where the other is going.”
The short-handed Hawks were down to nine players in last Saturday’s 5-0 loss to PCS, which put a damper on the team’s quest to reach the Central Coast Section playoffs. Anzar dropped to 3-2-0 in the Coastal Athletic League, while PCS improved to a perfect 5-0-0.
Only the winner of the Coastal has a chance to make the postseason. Davis and Tomasini are both talented, but it’s their relentless style that has come to define their play. They go hard after 50-50 balls, never give an inch to opponents and are strong on the ball.
“We’re both very intense and competitive, and that really helps us stay motivated, Davis said. “We follow through and never give up.”
In all likelihood, Anzar will have to win out and beat PCS in their next two head-to-head contests to have a shot at the postseason. Tomasini would love nothing more than to end her high school career in the CCS playoffs. Whatever happens, Tomasini said this season has been one of the most enjoyable of her career.
“I have complete faith in the team this year,” she said. “Just seeing all the girls doing well has been great. We lost 1-0 to York (on Jan. 21) in the last 5 minutes. That was kind of tough, but Erika Eberhardt had her most phenomenal game since we were 5 years old. It was awesome seeing my best friend play like that.”
