Sea Kings stun Uni

IRVINE — Heading into the Pacific Coast League boys’ soccer match between Corona del Mar High and University, most of the talk seemed to be about senior standout Dersu Abolfathi and the Trojans.

Abolfathi is bound for Stanford and his University team was fresh off a big win over Laguna Hills. But before the match ended Friday, the hype had shifted to a remarkable junior named Reed Williams and the Sea Kings.

Williams scored three goals for Corona del Mar’s 3-0 win at Las Lomas Community Park in Irvine.

“[Williams] was a handful, and I knew he would be a handful,” University Coach Chip Fuller said. “You got a guy like that who is a very, very talented player and he scored three goals. Somebody has to put a body on him. We kind of let him roam everywhere and we paid the price.”

Before Williams could make the Trojans pay he had to stand on the sidelines when the match began. He didn’t start because he missed Thursday’s practice, as he was on an unofficial visit at UCLA.

“It was worth it,” Williams said of not starting on Friday. “Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to play [at UCLA] ... [the visit] makes me want to work harder. If I do go to a school like that, it’s going to be really hard to play. I’m trying to improve my game before I get to college and get better.”

The Sea Kings (6-6-3, 2-0-1 in league) also seemed to play with inspiration against the Trojans (4-5-2, 1-1). They tied with Laguna Hills, 1-1, last week and also scored a 3-0 win over Irvine Wednesday.

“The team played great today,” Williams said. “Every game I think we get better. Everything is starting to click. We are young, but we don’t have any weak links on the team. We are very balanced and we play well together.”

Of course, it helps to have Williams and sophomore defender Brian Ford. The duo missed the first five matches of the season due to club commitments. Their return to the team boosted the Sea Kings’ play. As a result, the CdM players found their roles and the Sea Kings became dangerous as a team, Coach Pat Callaghan said.

With just four seniors on his team, Callaghan didn’t quite know what to expect. But as the Sea Kings are unbeaten in PCL play, he’s attained more excitement for his team.

He definitely enjoyed the Sea Kings’ performance against Uni.

“I like our team a lot; everyone understands their role,” he said. “We executed really well and took advantage of our chances and gave up nothing. We gave up what we wanted to give up, which was shots under pressure.”

The Sea Kings didn’t use any type of special defense on Abolfathi, who was usually defended by Ford, simply because Ford covered the center midfield area. Abolfathi got off a few nice shots, but they either went wide or goalies Alex Mainthow (first half) and Zak Maurer-Erickson (second half) were there for a save.

Maurer-Erickson didn’t play in the first half because he was late for the team bus that was going to Irvine, Callaghan said.

“It wasn’t his best game,” Fuller said of Abolfathi. “When he’s on, then he’s extremely dangerous. So hopefully he’ll be on the next game and if he is he won’t be able to be stopped.”

Fuller also said that his starting goalie, junior Federico Antonelli, was out with an ankle sprain, but Fuller thought that had no bearing on the result. Fuller said Williams was simply too much.

After missing the first five minutes, Williams came in and scored in the 19th minute. He finished off a free kick from senior Miles Kellerman, who delivered a free kick Williams’ way from about 45 yards out. Williams scored again in the 25th minute. And, in the 74th minute, he completed the hat trick with a pretty goal, firing a shot just inside the left side from inside the 18-yard box on the right.

Williams had been playing with Slammer Futbol Club, the team based in Newport Beach, before joining the Sea Kings. When he returned, he wanted to make sure his presence was felt.

“I wanted to prove myself, especially against these guys,” Williams said. “They were all talking about Dersu. I wanted to make a statement and come out and score.”