St. John claims pool

Chris Yemma

Kimo Wakim’s first passion is basketball.

So it’s no wonder his height and jumping abilities play to his

advantage in the sport of soccer.

Wakim posted a shutout to help lead the St. John the Baptist

fifth- and sixth-grade boys soccer team to a 2-0 Silver division

Daily Pilot Cup victory to win Pool C Thursday at Costa Mesa High.

With the 5-foot-2 Wakim in the goalie position, St. John (2-0) has

allowed just one goal while dishing eight in both of its games during

this season’s tournament.

“It seems like we have a lot of athletic kids on this team,” said

St. John Coach Scott Neiger, 15, a freshman at Mater Dei. “They’ve

all been clicking and working together.”

The 11-year-old goalie, whose only competitive soccer experience

comes from two years in the Pilot Cup, was fundamental in sparking

the defense, but it was Lisandro Tolentino, Estevan Silva and Alex

Ouderkirk who keyed the offense.

Tolentino scored the game’s first goal after gathering a loose

ball in the middle and firing it in, just two minutes into the game.

The defense was able to thwart California (1-1) for the remainder,

and Silva added an insurance goal with just a minute left.

Ouderkirk took numerous shots on goal, with two sailing just over

the crossbar and out of play. He also played some defense and broke

up a couple of California offensive attacks.

The outcome provided Neiger a victory against his Mater Dei friend

and opposing coach Juan Guadarrama, 14. It was one of the motivating

factors for the players.

“This was a good win because [Neiger] wanted us to win,” Tolentino

said. “He wanted us to beat [Guadarrama].”

Wakim made two key saves with just a few minutes remaining and his

team only holding a 1-0 lead. He finished with five saves while the

rest of the defense held California to five shots.

“When [California] was kicking from over in the corner, my team

kept telling me to get it,” said Wakim about his save on a free kick

that sailed over his defenders’ wall with minutes remaining. “I

didn’t miss any goals that were kicked at me.”

St. John, also aided by Josh Matlock, Connor Moy and Anthony

Garcia, managed 17 total shots on goal and kept the ball on its

offensive end for the majority of the game.

The win was also sweet for Neiger because it marked the furthest

he’s gone in the Pilot Cup, including his playing days for St. John

when he was younger.

“It’s finally good to keep winning,” Neiger said. Daniel Cabrera,

Daniel Lopez, Ivan Robledo and Cody Auterson sparked California.