West Broward in a league of its own

history or tradition.

They didn't even have soccer balls.

The first tryouts were held at a park about a mile from the school, and -- because there was no transportation -- the kids ran all the way. The school didn't even have any balls for the tryouts, so the girls brought their own soccer balls.

The first practices were held on a softball field, and they did their first wind sprints in thigh-high grass.

Goals? Don't be silly. Of course there were no goals. The goals on the field at the school didn't go up until the day of the first game and coach Christiane Lessa and some of her players put the nets up themselves. A couple of hours after the goals went up, the players were given their uniforms.

They didn't have practice jerseys, shin-guards, warm-ups or even bags to store their gear. The only shirts they had were home-made: The kids held a party at sophomore defender Danielle Chanzes' house and spray-painted and stenciled black T-shirts so they could have team shirts to wear to school on game days.

These are the barren beginnings for West Broward's girls' soccer team.

The team that had nothing -- but each other.

''We didn't even know if we were going to have uniforms for the first game,'' Chanzes said. ``We didn't have anything to start with. It was such a mess.''

Then something funny happened. West Broward, a first-year school without any support or seniors, won that first game, ripping Western 5-1.

''We were so nervous for that first game,'' said midfielder Jessica Bello. ``We didn't know what was going to happen. Then we just killed that team, really killed them. It was amazing.''

''It was like we made history,'' said Ashley Taylor, who scored the first goal, a shot that came off an assist from Alexa Arrasate's header. It came in the first 10 minutes.

The West Broward girls haven't stopped since. They have outscored opponents 90-4 (that's right 90 to 4) and have a 15-1-1 record. The only loss came in their 17th game, a 1-0 nail-biter to Cardinal Gibbons, the top-ranked team in South Florida.

Marissa Sciolina, a converted defender to goalkeeper, has 13 shutouts, and Andrea Rohrscheib has scored 32 goals. She would have more, but Lessa pulls her after her third goal.

Lessa, a 26-year-old first-year high school coach, looks almost young enough to play for West Broward. She brings her own style -- on and off the field -- all the way from South Beach, where she makes the long drive every day.

Lessa learned the game in Brazil, where she was chosen to play for the Brazilian under-17 National team, but opted for college. She's tough and assertive, but also a skilled teacher who mixes discipline and understanding as deftly as she plays the game.

One of her best players was going through a rough time recently, and Lessa told her to take a week off from soccer. She has given players days off from practice to study for tests or to catch up with homework.

''We're not just here to teach them soccer,'' she said. ``We are here to help them prepare for college and life.''

Lessa and assistant coach Joanna McCaughey both play for the Miami Kickers semi-pro soccer team. They told the kids from the start, life might be rough this season, and made a bond with them.

''We made a promise at the beginning that we will stick together as a team no matter how bad things got,'' Lessa said. ``I asked them `are you ready to be a team even if we don't win a game? Even if we don't have equipment? Even if we don't have bags or warm-ups -- even if we don't have anything?'