Bryce AldertonWith the spread on the table,...

Bryce Alderton

With the spread on the table, Newport Coast Elementary’s boys third-

and fourth-grade soccer team continued its feast through the first

two games of this year’s Pilot Cup.

Newport Coast, nicknamed the “Coyotes,” recorded its second

consecutive shutout -- a 9-0 decision over Newport Heights Friday at

the Farm Complex.

Before each Pilot Cup game, team manager Heidi Neal organizes a

food connoisseur’s dream -- a table covered with chips and salsa,

pasta salad, meats and cheeses and brownies to name just a few of the

many morsels.

The way the Coyotes ran up and down the field Friday, they will

need to put back all that nourishment into their bodies.

Newport scored five goals on eight first-half shots while tallying

four on seven attempts in the second half. The first four goals came

within the initial eight minutes.

Clad in red cleats, Connor Gaal took control at midfield and burst

through the Newport Heights defense, crossing the ball into the left

of the goal from about six yards out for the 4-0 lead.

Gaal would score two goals as did Chris Freeman, who saw some time

in goal in the second half.

Newport Coast boasts a lineup of 20 players while Newport Heights

has 12. Thad Richards, a third-grade teacher at Newport Heights who

conducted the team’s first practice only Monday, had just 10 to use

in Friday’s game.

The ones he had, which included defenders Chance Beauchamp and

Chris Whitelegge, along with forward Nathaniel Stien-Zucker,

regularly slid to knock the ball away from an opponent and maintained

pressure.

Newport Coast just had too many weapons.

“This is the first time playing soccer for a lot of these guys,”

Richards said. “For the skill level they have, they played well.”

Coyotes Coach Tiet (Ted) Bui tried to slow his team down, to pass

the ball around in the second half, but the players still had scoring

on their mind.

“No more goals,” Bui repeatedly shouted as he held his clipboard.

Bui, whose son Michael scored a goal in the second half, has spent

the last seven years watching these kids grow on the soccer field.

“Some I know from school, some I know from the Pilot Cup,” Bui

said. “They are spirited children.”

Coast players had an “NC” written in paint on one cheek and an “N”

on top of their heads. The “Coyotes” nickname came from the many

animals cited around homes and parks in the Newport Coast area, a

group of three Newport Coast teachers said.

Cole Gennrich, Hunter Molnar and Tony McCoy added single goals in

the second half against constant pressure from defender Jesse Torres.

Newport Heights’ goalkeeper Ryan Look stopped two shots in the

first half while Chase Kapana made one stop in net in the second

half. Scotty Youngman controlled the Newport Coast goal in the first

half.

With Friday’s win, Newport Coast is guaranteed a berth in one

quarterfinal game today at 12:30 p.m.