Oilers top Sea Kings on late goal

Rick Devereux

The Corona del Mar High boys soccer team looks scarcely similar to

the squad that won the 2004 Pacific Coast League title and advanced

to the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs.

“We lost nine of 11 starters from last year,” Coach Pat Callaghan

said. “But we have a good crop of seniors who had a lot of experience

on the [junior varsity] level last year as juniors, so we shouldn’t

miss a beat.”

That experience on the JV level did not translate into a

season-opening victory Monday as the Sea Kings lost to host

Huntington Beach High, 1-0, in a nonleague game. Corona del Mar will

play host to Santa Ana Valley Wednesday at 3 p.m.

CdM kept pace with the Oilers for most of the game, but a goal in

the 79th minute ended the hopes of a scoreless draw.

“There was no problem with our effort,” Callaghan said. “We held

our own for 78 minutes. Good teams like [Huntington Beach] take

advantage of scoring opportunities.”

Corona applied pressure in the first half when senior midfielder

Nick Ossipoff gathered a header from senior midfielder Austin Brawner

and drilled a shot from inside the penalty area. But the ball sailed

wide right.

The Corona del Mar defense was able to keep the Oilers from

scoring opportunities in the first half as goaltender Andrew Dialynas

did not face a shot on goal.

The action grew more heated in the second half. Both teams were

called for several fouls.

“I think [the fouls] are indicative of it being the first game of

the season,” Callaghan said.

More contact did not equate to dirty play, however.

“This was a physical match,” Huntington Beach Coach Matt Mosley

said. “I was impressed with how both teams played. It was not chippy

and there no cheap shots. It was just a very physical contest between

two teams playing hard.”

The increased activity led to increased scoring chances.

Huntington Beach junior Gilberto Gastellum received a pass following

a free kick and lofted a shot wide right from inside the penalty box.

Following another free kick, Huntington Beach senior Jason Cope’s

header ricocheted off the goalpost.

Dialynas was able to corral an Oiler header from a corner kick to

save a goal, one of the junior’s eight saves.

CdM senior midfielder Grant Almquist sent a free kick inside the

18-yard box where sophomore forward Allan Hardison headed the ball.

The Huntington Beach goaltender had to make a leaping save to prevent

the score.

“We really wanted to concentrate on played sound defense,” Mosley

said. “We wanted to get the shutout. Unfortunately, [CdM] basically

shut us out as well.”

With time winding down in the second half, Huntington junior Gray

Bailey collected a pass at the top of the penalty box. Bailey turned

quickly to his right and fired a low shot that evaded a diving Sea

King goalkeeper for the score.

CdM pressed up field on the final touches as sophomore midfielder

Brian Burke centered the ball and senior defenseman Kyle Jung shot on

goal. But senior keeper Jeff Mollica was able to contain the kick and

preserve the shutout.

“There was no flow to the game,” Callaghan said. “We let the win

slip away against a very good team. Coming into the game I wanted to

see good decision-making. And, for the most part, I did see it.”

While a win is always the desired outcome, Callaghan was not

discouraged by the result.

“This is not bad for us,” Callaghan told his team after the game.

“Good teams get better everyday. We have to go out and work hard to

make sure this doesn’t happen again.”