One goal enough for unbeaten CdM

Steve Virgen

A loud group of students continually cheered for the Corona del Mar

High boys soccer team and delivered some sparse heckling for Sage

Hill Tuesday.

But the CdM fans were basically silent when it came to Cesar

Arriaga. He would be the standout goalkeeper for Sage Hill. He made

17 stops, yet one got by as CdM remained undefeated with a 1-0

nonleague victory on the Lightning’s field.

CdM senior Dominic Rubino scored in the 37th minute finishing off

an assist from fellow senior Jeritt Thayer. Rubino fired a shot from

about 10 yards out near the visitors’ sideline. His strike found the

right corner of the net and Arriaga nearly pulled it down.

“He’s awesome,” Rubino said of Arriaga. “It was a good strike, but

it really wasn’t where I wanted to put it. I got kind of lucky that

it deflected off the goalie’s hands.”

Arriaga, a senior who was the Academy League’s Most Valuable

Player as a sophomore, impressed many and typified an improved squad.

Last year the Sea Kings defeated Sage Hill, 7-0. CdM (4-0) is in

Division II in boys soccer, while Sage Hill (1-2) competes in Division VI.

“He was very aggressive and could punt the heck out of the ball,”

CdM Coach Pat Callaghan said. “He kind of kept us on our heels.”

Callaghan was not aware of the Sage Hill’s goalie’s name until

after the game. Callaghan actually coached Arriaga’s older brother,

Hilario, who was instrumental in leading the Pirates to the state

championship match in 2000. Hilario, a goalie, also helped lead the

1999-2000 Estancia boys soccer team to a CIF Division VI

championship. At OCC, Callaghan was an assistant.

Now, Callaghan is the head coach of the Sea Kings and has grand

expectations for his team that captured a share of the Pacific Coast

League crown last year. CdM defeated Sage Hill, but the Sea King

coach saw plenty of room for improvement.

“We just didn’t play very well,” Callaghan said. “It wasn’t about

the score; it was just how we played as a team. I don’t think we did

things very quickly. I don’t think we played with a lot of energy

early on. We just kind of sat. We just weren’t sharp. It was a

sluggish performance.”

Callaghan also said he was pleased with his team’s second-half

effort and the fact that the Sea Kings won most 50-50 balls. Julien

Cerutti, Rubino and Thayer controlled the midfield, while forwards

Chris Ringstrom and Danny Whitaker were involved in several offensive

attacks.

For Sage Hill, senior Jordan Salinger, along with freshmen Alex

Edelstein and Conrad Whitaker provided defensive support for Arriaga.

In the 5th minute, Arriaga was out of position and he was down with

an injury. A player stepped on his hand, which had already had a

broken thumb prior to the game.

With Arriaga down, Edelstein stepped up and kicked away a shot by

Rubino. The Sea Kings had 22 shots, while the Lightning produced

seven. CdM’s goalie, Andrew Dialynas, recorded four saves.

“I was very happy with the kids,” Sage Hill Coach Noureddine El

Alam said. “They played a good game. I think if we play the way we

did [Tuesday] against our level, I think we will do very well.”