Fantastic four for Walker

Steve Virgen

Shortly after leading the Newport Harbor High boys soccer team to a

4-0 CIF Southern Section Division II second-round playoff win, senior

Joel Walker became a bit concerned.

Valley View fans came toward the Sailors bench yelling for Walker.

“Where’s No. 9? Where’s No. 9,” the four Valley View students

said.

But to Walker’s surprise the Eagles fans wanted to congratulate

the Newport Harbor forward. Each of the boys shook his hand. It was

of little surprise that Walker had gained so much respect.

“That’s never happened to me before,” said Walker who scored four

goals, two in each half, to end the Eagles’ 11-game home unbeaten

streak and send the Sailors (16-6) into the quarterfinals, where they

will face top-seeded Thousand Oaks. The site for Thursday’s match

will be determined today by a coin flip.

A possible Back Bay rivalry matchup could come about if Newport

Harbor and Corona del Mar win in the quarterfinals Thursday. The Sea

Kings upset fourth-seeded Santa Monica, 1-0, in the second round.

With Walker, who has 35 goals this season, the Sailors have a

chance to advance. Against Valley View, Walker appeared to be the

fastest player on the field and he was certainly the most dynamic.

Perhaps his fourth goal proved to be the most electrifying and it

typified his night.

In the 70th minute, Walker, at this point being marked by two

defenders, showed some fancy ball-handling skills. He used his speed

to get past one defender and sidestepped the other player. Then,

one-on-one with the goalie, he jabbed inside and tapped the ball

toward the outside.

He finished the play with an open shot on goal and celebrated, as

the Valley View defenders looked on in frustration and disgust ...

and awe.

“That No. 9 is a player,” Valley View Coach Jack Landgraf said.

“When he touched the ball it was positive and he was the one who

broke our back the whole game.”

Walker also provided the game’s turning point. Both teams seemed

evenly matched, but Walker scored two goals in a two-minute span to

provide momentum for the Sailors.

Newport senior Skyler Taugher started the action on Newport’s

first goal with a pass to senior Matt Tracy, who crossed it to

Walker. From about 15 yards out, Walker, in mid-air, kicked the ball,

simultaneously pivoting his hips to direct the ball toward the left

corner of the net for the goal in the 16th minute.

Two minutes later, senior Will Guzman won a ball near his sideline

and passed it in front of Walker, who was sprinting toward the Valley

View net. The goalie came out and Walker kicked it away from him to

get himself in the clear for his second goal.

“Joel is just that player to go to,” Newport Harbor Coach Ryan

Hernandez said. “He’s just Joel. He just scores goals. He creates and

he’s just so fast. He knows how to use his speed.”

Walker collected his hat trick in the 65th minute when he was

fouled in the 18-yard box. He outran two defenders and was swiped at

before he could get a shot off. He then connected on the penalty

shot.

“That’s pretty great,” Walker said of his performance. “[Scoring

five goals in a 7-1 victory over Burroughs Dec. 27], that wasn’t

against a good team. But this was against a great team. Their defense

was great. I didn’t get the ball that much.”

Walker also said he was excited to play against Valley View

because the Eagles have senior Maximo Calderon, who was a teammate of

Walker’s on the Olympic Development Program Southern California team

for boys born in 1986.

Calderon appeared to be the Eagles’ best player. He had an

opportunity to score in the 10th minute but his shot just went wide

left. Then, in the 40th minute he fired off another shot, but this

time it was saved by senior goalie Taylor Carver, who had six saves.

Carver is in his first year of varsity soccer.

“He has been doing great,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez also said his team is playing with great confidence.

“We just don’t want to look back and say, ‘Oh, maybe we could have

done it with [that] group of kids,’ ” Hernandez said. “We can do it.

We scored four goals on a good team and on an away game.”

Tracy, who scored one goal in the Sailors’ 3-0 first-round win

over El Dorado, did not play in the second half. He told Hernandez

his head hurt after colliding with a player while going up for a

50-50 ball. Hernandez decided to rest him for the rest of the game.

He will most likely be ready Thursday.