Boys soccer: Mesa better prepared

Barry Faulkner

This postseason, Costa Mesa High boys soccer coach Eugene Day has

already taken steps to prevent his team from paying a penalty for being

unprepared.

Last year, the Mustangs earned their first trip to the CIF Southern

Section Division IV playoffs in 10 years by winning the Pacific Coast

League championship. They then handled Azusa, 3-0, in the first round,

before playing Bishop Montgomery even through regulation and overtime

periods in the second round. The result was penalty kicks, which the

Mustangs had not practiced very much at all, and the Mustangs were

eliminated, 4-2, in four rounds of shooter vs. goalie competition.

Day, whose two-time PCL champions, seeded No. 4 in Division IV, host

Pacifica in Friday’s first round, said he has practiced the penalty kick

scenario all season.

“As a coach, you never think your team is going to be in that

situation,” Day said. “I can’t dictate how the game is going to go and

neither can the players. But, if (the last-resort tie-breaking method)

comes up, we’ll be more prepared for it.”

The Mustangs (13-3-3) carry a 15-game unbeaten streak into Friday’s

game against a Mariners squad that went 10-4-6 and finished second in the

Garden Grove League.

Newport Harbor (Division II) and Sage Hill (Division V) will both be

on the road for Friday’s first round.

The Sailors (9-7-2), who finished second in the Sea View League, visit

Century League runner-up Santa Ana Valley (11-6-7).

Sage Hill (8-6-1), which finished tied for second in the Academy

League in the school’s first varsity season, will take the hour-long boat

trip to Catalina Island to face Avalon.

In addition to penalty kicks, Day said his Mustangs will be prepared

for additional aspects of playoff competition, unlike last year’s squad.

“I think our guys go in with a much better attitude this year,” Day

said. “It’s not like, ‘Man, we made it.’ I think its more of ‘OK, we’ve

made it and now we know what to do.’ We’re more mentally prepared, we’re

expecting to play hard and, hopefully, move on.”

A well-balanced offense and a stingy defense helped the Mustangs

outscore opponents, 55-17, in the regular season. During the unbeaten

streak, Mesa has surrendered just eight goals and recorded nine shutouts.

Senior defender Stephen Thomas earned second-team All-CIF Division IV

honors last year and anchors a back line that protects senior goalie

Bryce Sheridan.

Seniors Eli Solis and Socrates Cruz are additional returning All-PCL

performers, while freshman forward Alfonso Pineda is another of several

standouts responsible for extending the Mustangs’ PCL unbeaten streak to

13 games.

Newport Harbor limped to the finish of a solid Sea View season, with

senior star Tyson Wahl sitting out the final three games with a back

injury.

Coach Kevin Esparza’s Sailors defeated every league opponent at least

once, except league champion Woodbridge, the No. 2 seed in Division II.

Santa Ana Valley split its two league games against El Modena, the

same team Newport tied, 0-0, in late December. The Falcons, coached by

Adnan Bayati, defeated El Modena, 2-1, then lost to the Vanguards, 6-2.

It’s the second playoff appearance in five seasons for the Sailors,

who lost in the first round in 2000.

Sage Hill lost its final two regular-season games after a three-game

winning streak. It has been outscored, 21-17, its last 11 games, after

posting a 27-7 scoring advantage its first four.

Coach Noureddine El-Alam’s Lightning face an 18-1-1 Avalon squad that

went 14-0 in the Liberty League and has won 16 straight games. The

Lancers’ only loss was an 8-3 setback to Division III Bloomington, which

went 18-1-1 and won the Sunkist League.

If Costa Mesa repeats its first-round success of a year ago, it would

meet either Cathedral (14-4-3) or the winner of Wednesday’s wild-card

game between Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks (12-3-5) or Santa Ynez (8-8-3) in

Tuesday’s second round.

Bonita (20-2-2), St. Francis (16-1-6) Lompoc are the top three seeds,

respectively, in Division IV.

In Division II, a Newport Harbor victory would produce a likely

second-round matchup Tuesday against top-seeded Los Alamitos (22-1-1).

A Sage Hill win would likely pit the Lightning against No. 2-seeded

Valley Christian (16-1-4) in Tuesday’s Division V second round.

The boys title matches in Divisions II, IV and V are scheduled for

Saturday, March 2.