CARLSBAD — A North County softball coach took advantage of his position when he had sex with one of his underage players last fall, prosecutors said Aug. 28.

Christopher Facione, 37, is charged with two felony counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor stemming from two occasions in October 2007 at his Carlsbad home with then-17-year-old Jeanine K., Deputy District Attorney Fanny Yu told jurors in her opening statement.

Yu said the teenage girl felt if she didn’t go along with Facione’s unwanted requests that she would be benched or possibly cut from the team. The lawyer said Jeanine K.’s life has been devastated by the defendant’s actions.

If convicted of both charges, Facione faces up to three years and eight months in prison, according to court documents. He is currently free on $100,000 bail.

Facione, a former minor league baseball player, is the founder of The Next Level, a traveling girls softball organization. The Next Level works with girls as young as 12. Many of the players go on to play at the college level, sometimes receiving partial or full scholarships.

On the field, Facione’s attorney Mary Prevost said he was an “unyielding” coach who pushed his players to excel, but off the field he was a mentor and friend to his players. She said Facione’s home was an open house and players often dropped by to talk or have team movie nights.

Prevost said Jeanine K. was looking for “retribution” after her prospects of obtaining a college scholarship began to wane and she got in over her head.

“Chris has been the subject of false allegations and a series of lies,” Prevost said.