Sea Kings fall behind

CORONA DEL MAR — Standing atop of an SUV, Bryan Burke did his best to watch a soccer game without stepping foot onto the Corona del Mar High campus Friday.

The Sea King senior was supposed to be playing in that game, a CIF Southern Section Division III quarterfinal against Saddleback, but he was charged with two yellow cards in the second round Wednesday. So he played it safe, cheering on his teammates. But late in the second half, a silence came over him and suddenly it was OK to come down from the car and onto the field.

That’s because Saddleback scored three unanswered goals, two in a span of three minutes, on its way to a 3-1 victory that eliminated the Sea Kings.

“It was hard,” Burke said of watching the game. “I thought we were doing well, but we just had a couple of mistakes. It was a good team and we had a good run.”

CdM (9-11-2) started the season 2-8-2, but then won six of its next eight. Will Harrison helped CdM avoid the shutout with a goal off a rebound in the 73rd minute.

But that was little consolation after the Roadrunners (15-7-5) got two quick goals from freshman Omar Laris, and then another from sophomore Edward Zepeda. Laris’ first goal came in the 54th minute. It was a high bouncing ball off a direct kick from about 20 yards out.

The ball was a hard play for goalie Aman Sahni, a senior who made three show-stopping saves and finished with five.

Sahni suffered a concussion Wednesday and he said he was advised by a doctor to stay away from the field. But Sahni said it was the playoffs and he didn’t want to sit out.

Wednesday he was ill from the effects of the concussion. Friday he appeared just as sick from the loss. But Coach Pat Callaghan said he was still pleased with the season.