Whittier heats up in win

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COSTA MESA — The battle of the first-year coaches took place Friday at the boys’ third- and fourth-grade silver division matchup of Paularino against Whittier Friday at the Costa Mesa Farm Complex.

Whittier, who won the game, 6-1, set the tone early as Miguel Sanchez dribbled the ball through Paularino’s defense and nearly scored in the opening minutes of the first half.

Sanchez, however, couldn’t be stopped for the entire game and managed to score two goals against Paularino.

“I think they all played good, they did their best and they did what they had to do,” Whittier Coach Genaro Lopez said. “I think this was our best game.”

Another two-goal scorer for Whittier was Franky Gomez, who scored with a header and a kick.

Gomez also showed off his celebration ritual of sliding across the grass on his stomach after each goal.

Lopez added he has played in the Daily Pilot Cup since he was 9 and is now coaching the team for community service.

The other first-year head coach was Paularino’s Laura Gomez. She said it’s been a great experience coaching and the boys played hard out there.

Paularino’s key players were Antonio Leal, Troy Summerfield and Adam Smith, who played every minute and scored the team’s only goal.

After Whittier took the early 1-0 lead, Paularino had an opportunity to tie, but a shot from the top of the penalty box hit the crossbar.

Paularino did not have a better scoring opportunity until Smth’s goal in the second half.

In Smith’s goal, he received a pass from one of his teammates, dribbled across two opponents and kicked the ball into the upper section of the goal.

The other two goal scorers for Whittier were Jason Gomez and Adad Lopez.