Mesa on Back Bay roll

Chris Yemma

After leaving it to the last minute against Newport Harbor High

Wednesday, the Costa Mesa boys soccer team took care of business

early Friday.

The Mustangs (2-2-1) took a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute against

visiting Corona del Mar, and held on the rest of the game to win

their second in a row. Mesa is now 2-0 against Back Bay teams this

week.

Eleven minutes before the close of the first half, Mustang junior

Zaid Khalil took control of a sky ball near the penalty box, tapped

it up to senior Jose Torres, who shot a grounder to the left side,

scooting it just past CdM goalie Andrew Dailynas.

Costa Mesa was in control after that, and rode the rest of the

game out on its solid defense. Corona del Mar (0-2-1) stepped up its

defense in the second half, but was not able to jump-start the

offense for any goals.

The Mustangs were without Coach Eugene Day, who was on the

sidelines for a Mesa lower-level game. Assistant coach Trinidad

Hernandez filled in.

“They’re getting the hang of playing as a team more than playing

as individuals,” Hernandez said. “As you can see today, they were

passing the ball and they were communicating more.”

Hernandez also took over the coaching duties for a home game

against Northwood Dec. 1 -- a 1-1 tie. He will be filling in for most

of the home games, he said.

It was only a matter of time before Mesa scored Friday. The

Mustangs had several opportunities and multiple shots on goal in the

first half, with the closest chance in the 16th minute.

Mesa senior Alfonso Pineda passed the ball up to Torres, who went

one-on-one with Dailynas. But Dailynas came out of the goal and slide

tackled Pineda, knocking the ball out of play. The CdM goalie

finished with four crucial saves.

With the win, Costa Mesa evened its record, with losses against

Fountain Valley and Orange Lutheran and the tie to Northwood. The

Mustangs are on track for a promising year, having already doubled

their win total from last season, a 1-16 campaign.

Before last year’s win, Mesa hadn’t won a game since Feb. 15,

2002.

“From last year to today, we’ve improved a lot,” Hernandez said.

“Basically they’re all seniors, so they all want to win.”

Corona del Mar, on the other hand, is already halfway to its loss

total from last season. The Sea Kings went 15-4-6 last season and

lost in the CIF Southern Section Division II final. But this season

is still young, as so are the Sea Kings.

CdM lost 15 seniors to graduation this season, and nine of its 11

players are starting for the first time.

“I’m pleased with the effort and I’m pleased with the progress,”

CdM Coach Pat Callahan said. “The preseason games don’t mean anything

to me in terms of results.”

The Sea Kings had a couple of opportunities in the second half of

Friday’s game, but came just short of capitalizing. The closest

opportunity came in the 79th minute off a cross, but Mesa goalie Eric

Vargas pounced on the ball before anyone could get a foot on it.

Vargas finished with nine saves and the shutout.