Boys soccer: Estancia destroys Santa Ynez, 7-0.

Joseph Boo

COSTA MESA - Talk about a bad road trip.

Santa Ynez High’s boy soccer team drove down from its home four hours

away, got drop-kicked by Estancia, 7-0, and immediately started its long

journey back.

That meant the No. 2 seed and Pacific Coast League champion Eagles earned

a trip to the CIF Southern Section Division IV semifinals Tuesday against

St. Francis, a 4-0 winner Santa Paula, with the site to be determined.

The host Eagles (18-1-1) took full advantage of a fortunate coin flip

that prevented them from taking a four-hour trip to Santa Ynez. A good

home crowd turned out and the Estancia sideline was packed with fans from

goal line to goal line.

Despite the 7-0 victory, only the coach of a team that outscored

opponents this year, 113-11, can find a lot of things to quibble about,

and that’s what Estancia Coach Steve Crenshaw did.

“We were pretty sloppy in the first half,” he said. “We were not sharp. I

thought we were tired. It’s something I don’t want to see again.”

For the first 38 minutes, Estancia outshot the Los Padres League champion

Pirates (16-3-3), 10-3, but Santa Ynez’ tough and physical defense kept

the Eagles scoreless.

Two minutes before halftime, Estancia finally got on the scoreboard when

senior midfielder Irving Islas set up outside the penalty box and fired a

rocket in the upper left corner.

Three minutes into the second half, Esaul Mendoza scored a fluke goal

that was a heartbreaker for Santa Ynez. Mendoza trapped a lob pass in the

penalty box and feebly kicked the ball backward. He walked away looking

at the ground dejectedly, missing the sight of the Pirates’ goalie

allowing the ball to inexplicably go through his hands and into the goal.

Mendoza turned around, saw the gift, and started celebrating.

Of Estancia’s seven goals, Mendoza got three. He now has 42 goals this

year, a team-high.

His second goal, 30 seconds later, was more traditional. Mendoza used his

speed to get behind Santa Ynez’ defense and kicked the ball through a

small opening on the left side of the goal.

Estancia’s Cesar Terrones scored his 31st goal of the year in the 55th

minute with a flying header off a corner kick, and just like that, the

Eagles turned a close 1-0 game into a 5-0 blowout.

“We settled down in the second half,” Crenshaw said. “Once we score,

we’re like sharks, and everybody has to get in on it. Esaul Mendoza,

Cesar Terrones, you can’t hold them down. They’ll score eventually.”

The Pirates responded against Estancia’s high-powered offense with brute

force, and they racked up four yellows and one red card. Estancia had

three yellow cards of its own. Santa Ynez’ red card and player ejection

came in the 60th minute, setting up an Estancia free kick just outside

the Pirates’ penalty box. And Islas responded by rifling the ball over

the goalie for his second score of the day.

Mendoza got his third goal five minutes later when he chased down a lob

pass, collided with Santa Ynez’ goalie and knocked the ball inadvertently

into the net. Juan Zarate capped off Estancia’s scoring on the 77th

minute by chipping a pass from Freddy Murillo into an empty net.

With that, the carnage was over, and Santa Ynez left the field in a

stupor. The Pirates’ scouting report on Estancia consisted of scores

printed in newspapers and a secondhand account from Monrovia Coach Mike

Headley, whose team lost to Estancia in the first round, 8-0.

“Any time somebody doesn’t know anything about us, they’re in for a

shock,” Crenshaw said. “If they can’t sustain their intensity for the

entire game, we’re going to get our shots. And once that starts, they

can’t deal with it.”

So Mission League champion St. Francis will have four days to get

acquainted with the Eagles before both teams meet with a berth in the CIF

championship finals at stake.