Mesa belts foe, 4-1

Richard Dunn

Like the cha-cha, the Brazilian passing game is accomplished with

quick moves and fancy footwork, sort of like the Costa Mesa High

girls soccer team, especially with freshman Jasmin Day back in the

lineup for the Mustangs.

Coach Dan Johnston’s Mustangs, the No. 2 seed behind Troy,

improved to 21-1-2 overall after defeating Centennial of Corona, 4-1,

in the CIF Southern Section Division III quarterfinals Thursday on a

slippery Costa Mesa field. They will play Bonita in Tuesday’s

semifinals at a home site to be determined by a coin flip today.

Bonita advanced with a 4-1 win over La Mirada.

The Golden West League champion Mustangs, who played without Day

in their second-round road victory against Santa Monica because of a

tender ankle that she rolled against first-round opponent John Glenn,

scored twice in the first half and built a 3-0 lead in the 50th

minute after some nifty give-and-go work by senior sensation Sharon

Day and sophomore standout Jenny Sparks, who completed the offensive

rush on a cross from Day.

“That’s as sweet as it gets,” Johnston said immediately after the

play, coaching from a wheelchair (recovering from Achilles’ tendon

surgery) across the muddy track, while his players sat on a bench on

the sideline.

Centennial (13-8-1), the Mountain View League’s third-place team,

ended the Mustangs’ shutout bid when junior forward Tessa Smith

scored in the 61st minute on a cross from Cathleen Rodriguez.

“Our girls played hard, (but the Mustangs) had a lot of fast

players,” Centennial Coach Cori Tallman said.

Costa Mesa’s passing worked to perfection on myriad occasions, at

times making it seem like no defense was in front of them.

It was Jasmin Day’s second goal, in the 79th minute, which ignited

the estimated crowd of 250.

With control of the ball down the visiting sideline, Day unleashed

a rocket from about 30 yards with her left foot. Hooking right, the

ball could not have been placed any better into the far right corner

of the net, just past Centennial goalie Kim Paxman, whose 10 saves

kept her team within range. “That was beautiful,” one fan said.

Day opened the game’s scoring with a goal in the 11th minute on a cross from Sparks, whose goal in the 39th minute on a long pass from

senior Kristen Bagwell provided the hosts with a 2-0 halftime lead

and plenty of breathing room.

“We’ve had teams here with more talent, but we’ve never had a team

play as a team like this,” Johnston said. “They just live in each

others’ minds. That second goal (on some fine passing from Sharon

Day, Jasmine Day, Bagwell and Sparks) was as good in soccer as you’ll

see anywhere. That’s an example of what I mean when I say they live

in each others’ minds.”

Sharon Day leads Mesa with 28 goals and 35 assists this season,

while Jasmin Day has 23 goals now and Sparks 15 assists. “That’s a

pretty good threesome,” said Johnston, whose team last year when the

first-ever CIF playoff game in Costa Mesa girls soccer history,

before dropping out with a second-round loss to Louisville.

“We’ve sort of proven that we can score against anybody,” Johnston

added. “And that’s the mind-set I want other teams to have, that we

can score against anybody. That gives us an edge if they’re worried

about it.”

Sophomore Rachel Ronquillo, junior Valerie Gomez and junior Sara

Bryant were also “very solid” for the Mustangs in their win. Johnston

said he was pleased with his team’s performance.