Mesa earns one for thumb

COSTA MESA — The thrill of winning has not worn off, the Costa Mesa High girls’ soccer team just has its sights set higher.

The Mustangs won their fifth consecutive league title, claiming the Orange Coast League crown, after four years of dominance of the Golden West League, with a 2-1 victory over Calvary Chapel Tuesday.

The demeanor of the Mustangs following the victory was of a team familiar with being in that position.

The post-game cheer was like any other win, with a couple players skirting off quickly afterward. Half of the team changed and chatted while waiting for the remainder of the players and Costa Mesa Coach Dan Johnston to finish participating with the Eagles in their “senior night” festivities. It was the final home game for Calvary Chapel even though the match was at Costa Mesa.

It was the third victory in a row for the Mustangs, a streak that has seen the team take down each of its league opponents. Costa Mesa (11-7-7, 5-1-2 in league) has only one loss in its past 12 matches and is 11-3-7 since losing to Estancia for the second time in three days in the Newport-Mesa Cup early in the season.

“I have yet to figure out what makes this team tick,” Johnston said. “They really came together when they needed to and that was very heartwarming.”

Senior Courtney Lindburg said Johnston is a driving force for the team.

“We were the first senior team to come out weak,” she said. “Dan’s the man. We just want to prove it to him that we can compete and live up to his expectations. We want to do it for him and his reputation.”

Senior Kaily Carich said the team was worried early on about not living up to the team’s past success, but with the help of captain Caitlyn Duffy keeping players in line the team was able to rebound.

“There were a couple of games that scared us,” Carich said. “It kind of woke us up and we realized it’s not going to be easy. We’ve improved a lot.”

With one game remaining, Thursday against Estancia, the Mustangs are dealing with all phases of injuries. Sophomore Dana Gentling, who has not played in over a month, and senior Cyndi Mendoza returned from injuries. Both were playing with some pain that limited their time.

Senior Sharon Frazier, who lead the team last season with 18 goals, is still out with a leg injury and will receive the results of her MRI Thursday on whether she can play, although she said she was 95% to go against Estancia.

Goalkeeper Katie Finn said she still has a bruise on her stomach from a slide tackle she took in the chest against Estancia a week ago. She said she has Costochondritis (inflammation of rib cartilage), which has made it hard for her breathe, as a result of the same play. She made four saves in the second half.

“I’m a little bit nervous coming out, I don’t want to get kneed again,” said Finn, who added that a victory over Estancia in the finale would be the perfect revenge. “Everyone is going to be pumped up. We just need everyone to play together as a team.”

Costa Mesa thoroughly dominated the first half and sophomores Ayla Medina and Kyra Graham continued to demonstrate why they are so dangerous working in conjunction. Medina dropped a pass to Graham who tapped it back to Medina cutting into the box and the forward finished it off past the diving goalie for a 1-0 lead.

Graham made it a 2-0 lead early in the second half, when despite being knocked over she blasted a shot past the goalkeeper.

“Kyra is tough,” Johnston said. “She is a big goof but she is all muscle and gristle. She’s fun to have around, especially when she is scoring.”