Boys soccer: Fight to the finish

Joseph Boo

CORONA DEL MAR - It’s been eight years since Corona del Mar High’s

boys soccer team appeared in the playoffs, but it played enough soccer

Friday to make up for lost time.

For two and a half hours, The Sea Kings poured their souls into the CIF

Southern Section Division IV first round game against visiting Diamond

Ranch, and the Panthers did likewise. Forty minutes, 20 minutes of

overtime and 20 minutes of sudden death could not separate these two

combatants. Instead, penalty kicks decided the outcome and Diamond Bar

came out on top, 0-0 (2-0).

“We did everything we could do,” CdM Coach Scott Dameron said. “We played

with emotion, we played with intensity, and for 40 minutes of overtime,

we were still the pressing team. I could not ask for more.”

The game was as frustrating for Pacific Coast League runner-up CdM

(10-7-1) as it was hard-fought. The Sea Kings had many scoring

opportunities, but they could not get the ball past Diamond Ranch goalie

Daniel Hentges.

“That was tough because I thought we were the only to team to create

scoring opportunities,” Dameron said. “We had a couple of chances in the

second half. Things just didn’t fall our way.”

The Sea Kings’ first great scoring chance came in the very first minute

of the second half. The ball sailed into Diamond Ranch’s penalty box

where CdM senior Jon Schrank awaited. He was pushed down, but there was

no call. Schrank’s teammate Aldo Bautista came, grabbed the ball and got

a shot, but it went wide left.

The sophomore Bautista also had a header that hit the football goal

post’s crossbar that was a foot over the soccer goal. But CdM’s best

opportunity came in a wild melee in the 75th minute.

Schrank had the ball in Diamond Ranch’s penalty box and was confronted by

Hentges, the sterlinggoalie, who went to the ground in taking the ball

away, and he somehow kept Schrank from knocking in the rebound. Bautista

then came over along with several Diamond Ranch defenders, who kept shots

from going in the empty goal. Bautista collected his second yellow card

during the scuffle, stopping play and forcing him from the game.

Hentges also came up big for Diamond Ranch in the final three minutes of

regulation, when he came out and disrupted CdM’s Spencer McDonald from

getting a breakaway shot.

“There were times when their goalie pulled out saves from nowhere,”

Dameron said. “Without him, they would have lost, 3-0.”

Diamond Ranch, second in the Miramonte League, improves to 12-8-3

overall.

The Sea Kings’ offensive pressure continued in overtime, led by a

spirited Danny Marshall. Senior Mike Palazolla had one CdM shot that got

past Hentges but it just went wide. The Panthers had one good chance to

win in the final minute of overtime, but Reed Glyer, who was omnipresent

in CdM’s defense and midfield, cleared the ball.

CdM’s offensive pressure and strong defense meant senior goalie Cedric

Chun only had to make one save after the first half of regulation. He was

instrumental in breaking up Diamond Ranch’s attacks, and finished with

four saves.

“All of our seniors played real well,” Dameron said. “Cedric came up big

for us. Reed and Ethan (Austin) were two of our hardest working

defenders. They won every ball in the air.”

CdM’s last good scoring chance came with three minutes left in sudden

death, but Adam Hoyt’s free kick went high.

That meant penalty kicks had to decide the game, and Hentges capped off

his performance with two saves. CdM also missed two shots and failed to

score. The Panthers converted on their second and third shot, with Chun

stopping one.

“We did everything we needed to do,” Dameron said, “except for scoring a

goal.”