Boys soccer: Mesa back for seconds?
Barry Faulkner
The Costa Mesa High boys soccer team needs a win or a tie today
against visiting Corona del Mar to finish off what would be its second
straight Pacific Coast League championship.
It would also be the second league title in the history of the program
and signal the continuation of nothing less than a soccer revolution
along the east side of Fairview Road.
“If we do our job (today) no one can tell us we’re not league
champions,” said Mustangs Coach Eugene Day, who is adamant about sharing
credit, if not dishing it off altogether, with former Mesa head man Mike
Dunn.
Day, a walk-on whose son Louis was a standout on last year’s Mustangs
and whose daughter Sharon is a high-scoring forward on this year’s girls
PCL title contender, said Dunn laid the foundation for the program’s
success. Day, who coached the frosh-soph for five seasons, then took over
the varsity last year when Dunn resigned, merely laid down the law.
“A lot of people would believe (unprecedented success the last two
seasons) is a surprise,” Day said. “But it’s not a surprise to me. I’ve
been there for seven years.
“What Mike did when we came into the program together was make the
decision to have frosh-soph and junior varsity teams, to give kids a
place to develop. It was kind of skimpy that first year, when I had as
few as eight or nine players, there were about 11 on the JV and Mike had
about 14 on varsity. We separated everybody and it hurt that year. But we
had to show the rest of the kids, the seventh- and eighth-graders, that
even if they didn’t make the varsity, they could still play, no matter
what their skill level was. I gave Mike all the credit last year, even
though he didn’t want to take it. I’ll always give him the credit for our
success, because of the decision he made (to have three teams) that first
year.”
A mere six years later, the Mustangs (12-3-2, 6-0-2 in league), ranked
No. 4 in CIF Southern Section Division IV, take an 11-game PCL unbeaten
streak into this week. They need only a tie in two league games (they
visit Laguna Beach Wednesday), or just one loss by either Northwood or
Laguna Beach, to silence those who assumed last year’s PCL championship
was a fluke.
“If we struggled this year, everyone could look at us and say we got
lucky last year,” Day said. “This (title) would really prove these kids
know how to play soccer.”
In addition to developing talent, clearly Day’s day-one demand for
unselfishness, proved pivotal.
“I told them, ‘If they weren’t going to share the ball, they’d be
sitting (on the bench),’ ” Day recalled. “Last year, we had some guys
fighting me a little on that, but we had about three or four guys who
knew what I wanted and they helped get the idea across.”
Newport Harbor High is also hoping to stake its claim to the Sea View
League title this week and can win at least a share of the crown with a
victory Tuesday at Woodbridge.
The Sailors (9-6-2, 5-2) enter the week tied with the Warriors (18-2,
5-1) with 10 points (two points for a win and one for a tie) atop the
league standings. The Sailors were defeated by the Warriors, ranked No. 1
in CIF Southern Section Division III, by a 1-0 count in their first
league meeting Jan. 11.
Since that game, the Tars have won three straight league contests to
clinch only their second postseason berth in the last five seasons.
Since Newport Harbor is idle the final day of the league campaign,
when Woodbridge is scheduled to visit Aliso Niguel, the Sailors could
clinch a share of the crown with a win. A Woodbridge win or a tie Tuesday
would force the Sailors to rely upon help from Aliso Niguel to gain a
share of the Tars’ first league crown since 1997.
Sage Hill High’s first varsity season should include a CIF playoff
berth. The Lightning (8-4-1, 5-2-1) enter the final week of the Academy
League schedule needing only a tie Tuesday at the Oxford Academy, or a
tie of a loss by third-place Calvary Chapel of Downey, to wrap up second
place, behind league-leading St. Margaret’s.
If the Lightning can avoid losing to Oxford, it would then face St.
Margaret’s, which thumped Sage Hill, 7-0, in the first round, as a
postseason tuneup Friday at the Tartans’ field. St. Margaret’s is ranked
No. 3 in CIF Division V.
Corona del Mar (5-10-3, 2-5-1) and Estancia (5-12, 2-6) conclude their
seasons with two PCL games this week.
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