Warriors shine, befuddle Sailors

Chris Yemma

With assistant coaches pacing both sidelines, the Newport Harbor High

girls soccer team encountered a side of Woodbridge that hasn’t been

seen yet.

It just happened to be the Sailors dumb luck that they ran into

Woodbridge on a night when the Warriors played their best soccer all

season.

Under the floodlights at Alton Park, just across the street from

Woodbridge High, Newport fell to the Warriors, 3-0, in a Sea View

League game on a night when Woodbridge was playing like it was in the

spotlight.

The victory gave the Warriors (4-7-1, 1-3-1 in league) their first

league win in five tries and it snapped a two-game Newport (6-5-1,

2-2-1) winning streak.

Woodbridge’s first league win also came at the helm of assistant

coach Fernando Moreno, who was pacing his first varsity sideline

while filling in for Gabe Smith.

“You would not believe how high I am right now,” Moreno said. “You

know, to come in and coach my first varsity team and do the job that

we did, with the soccer we played -- that’s what I’m most proud of.”

For Newport assistant coach Will Guzman, who was filling in for

Phil D’Agostino, it was less of a high.

“They were a pretty skilled team, but we could have done a lot

better,” Guzman said. “We weren’t connecting on a lot of our passes

and that really killed us.”

Woodbridge, on the other hand, connected on passes and made the

connections count.

In just the third minute, Woodbridge freshman Gloria Chun sped

down the left sideline all alone and centered an arching pass to the

middle of the penalty box. Roni Yadlin used her head to connect and

sent the ball past Newport goalie Mary Giberson for the quick 1-0

lead.

The Warriors added a second goal in the 20th minute and an extra

insurance goal in the 53rd minute to erase any chance of a Newport

comeback.

In what was perhaps a sign of the Sailors’ painstakingly slow

loss, Woodbridge’s Kristine Housek broke free down the middle,

forcing Giberson to charge her to prevent a wide-open shot. They both

collided and the ball rolled ever so slowly into the goal for the 3-0

Warrior lead.

And that was the type of night it was for the Sailors, a night

they played a completely different Woodbridge team that was guided

from the reins of a completely different coach.

“Today, for the first time, they played to the level they should

have,” Moreno said. “They have not played at this level at all. Today

was the first time all season.”