Boys soccer: EAGLES FLYING TO THE FINALS

Tony Altobelli

COSTA MESA - In a game reminiscent of the Los Angeles

Lakers-Detroit Pistons NBA games of the late 1980s, Estancia High’s boys

soccer team used its speed and patience to hold off a rugged St. Francis

squad, 4-1, in the CIF Southern Section Division IV semifinals Tuesday

afternoon.

“Boy, that was a long game,” a drained Estancia Coach Steve Crenshaw said

afterward. “St. Francis is a very good, physical team. We just had to

hang in there and eventually, our playmakers would step up and be heard.”

The Golden Knights (24-4-3), third-seeded in Division IV, kept the

Eagles’ playmakers Esaul Mendoza and Cesar Terrones in check for the

first 60 minutes of the game. The final 20 minutes was a different story

before some 700 fans lining the sidelines.

With the score tied, 1-1, Mendoza scored his 43rd goal of the season off

a short lob pass from Armando Ortiz, giving the second-seeded Eagles

(19-1-1) the lead for good.

“I’m so happy right now,” Mendoza said. “We out-touched them at the end.

That’s our style of game. We really wanted to use our speed against their

size.”

From there, goals from Cesar Terrones and Juan Zarate in the final 10

minutes put the game away.

“We’ve scored a ton of goals in the second half of games this season,”

Crenshaw said. “Once we started playing with short passes, our style of

game, we took control of the game.

The win sets up Saturday’s showdown with Bishop Montgomery at a time and

site to be determined. It’s the first trip to the finals since the Eagles

won the 2-A title in 1995.

Estancia got on the scoreboard first in the 30th minute when Mendoza

snuck a pass past the Knights’ charging goalie over to Terrones, who

ripped a shot past two defenders and into the empty net, his first of two

goals for the game, giving him 33 for the year.

St. Francis nearly tied the game just before halftime, but a loose ball

near the Eagles’ goal was headed away by senior Omar Navarrete.

“Omar has had a great season for us,” Crenshaw said. “Our offense begins

from the back and Omar is a big part of that.”

Unfortunately for Crenshaw, it was a defensive miscue that enabled the

Knights to tie the score when Ryan Shaw stole the ball and chipped a shot

over the Eagles’ goalkeeper at the 50th minute. It was Shaw’s team-record

23rd goal of the season.

St. Francis, this year’s Mission League champions, nearly took the lead

when Phil Weinberg tried to feed a wide-open Shaw near the goal, but the

pass sailed high.

Whether it was a second wind or an awakening, Estancia took over the game

from that point, sending wave after wave of offensive attackers toward

Knights’ goalkeeper Sean O’Connor.

O’Connor had eight saves for the game, including three from point-blank

range.

Eagles’ keeper Hilario Arriaga had seven saves, including a quality stop

off a free kick, keeping St. Francis from tying the score.

Following Mendoza’s goal, Terrones gave the Eagles a 3-1 lead when the

Knights sent O’Connor up the field to hit a free kick. Arriaga made the

save and sent an outlet pass to a streaking Terrones, who managed to

outrun O’Connor and the Knights’ defense and found the back of the net

for his second goal of the game.

Three minutes later, off a St. Francis defensive lapse, Luis Rivera stole

the ball and fed Zarate, who ripped a shot in the upper-left corner to

end the scoring.

“I’m so proud of these guys right now,” Crenshaw said. “I’m still pretty

numb right now. It really hasn’t sunk in yet. This is what it’s all

about. We’ll be ready to go.”

CIF SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION IV

Semifinals

Estancia 4, St. Francis 1

St. Francis - Shaw; Estancia - Terrones 2, Mendoza 1, Zarate 1. Saves -

O’Connor (SF) 8; Arriaga 7.