Sea Kings’ eyes wide open

Bryce Alderton

The turnaround came six games ago.

What a long time that seems now for Corona del Mar High boys

soccer coach Pat Callaghan, whose team heads into today’s CIF

Southern Section Division II semifinal against top-seeded Thousand

Oaks on a six-game winning streak. The game begins at 3 p.m. at

Moorpark College.

A 2-0 loss to Tesoro Jan. 30 woke up the Sea Kings (15-3-6) and

caused Callaghan to move some players to different positions.

“It was an eye-opening experience for us,” Callaghan said. “It lit

a fire underneath us and gave us a challenge. We had been coasting a

bit and needed something to get us to work and pick up the

intensity.”

CdM then reeled of three straight wins to capture the Pacific

Coast League title outright.

Among the players to switch spots following the Tesoro loss were

seniors Jeritt Thayer, Grant Almquist and Julien Cerutti. Callaghan

moved Cerutti to the outside from his usual center midfielder spot

while Thayer took control as a center midfielder. Almquist moved to

defense from the midfield.

“We were looking to distribute out of the back more effectively

and it also gave us a strong defensive force in the middle,”

Callaghan said.

CdM has allowed just four goals the last six games, including four

shutouts.

Junior sweeper Shane Collins has steadied the defense along with

senior Parker Ferguson.

“It also got Julien Cerutti space on the outside and he is usually

in one-on-one situations that he’s able to take advantage of,”

Callaghan said. “We are able to transition from back to front with

accurate passes instead of clearing the ball and having the forwards

do a lot of unnecessary running.”

The front lines have responded, especially seniors Chris Ringstrom

and Danny Whitaker, who find each other with passes quite frequently.

“They are setting each other up and are unselfish. There are no

egos involved ... it’s just let’s find a way to score a goal,”

Callaghan said of Ringstrom and Whitaker.

Ringstrom has scored three of CdM’s eight goals in three playoff

wins thus far and has amassed 22 for the season.

The Sea Kings face Thousand Oaks (25-3-3), which needed two

overtime periods to down Back Bay rival Newport Harbor, 1-0, in the

other quarterfinal Thursday.

The Lancers are led by junior Jason Leopoldo, a member of the boys

under-18 national team who scored the goal against Newport.

“Thousand Oaks is probably the most difficult opponent we will

play,” Callaghan said. “[The Lancers] are obviously well coached and

a good team, but I am more concerned with how we play.

“We’ve just continued to get better and better. I think we think

we are always going to win, I don’t care who it is. We haven’t been

outmatched all year. There is not a team I’ve seen or played against

that I feel is more talented than we are. The guys are just enjoying

themselves and playing good soccer.”

The final will be played Saturday at Cal State Fullerton,

Callaghan said.

Loyola hosts Riverside Poly, a matchup of two unseeded teams, in

the other Division II semifinal today.