Sharks domin-’eight’

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COSTA MESA — Players near Rea Elementary Coach Ryan Baker on the sideline grabbed water bottles.

“What did I tell you?” Baker asked. “You’re not wetting me this time.”

When you lead Rea’s fifth- and sixth-grade boys’ soccer team to the final match at the Daily Pilot Cup, you’re guaranteed a bath.

If you’re the coach of the Costa Mesa school, you might as well wear swim trunks and go shirtless to the match.

The Sharks caught Baker again after beating Mariners, 6-1, to claim their third straight gold division championship at the Costa Mesa Farm Complex Sunday afternoon.

Baker walked away, T-shirt drenched, collar ruined. Coach isn’t worried.

The next Rea shirt he’ll put on will read “8 TIME CHAMPIONS, REA RULES, DON’T MESS WITH THE SHARKS!” on the back.

In the 10-year-old Pilot Cup’s existence, the Sharks have ripped apart the competition.

Rea claimed its eighth title in the fifth- and sixth-grade level’s top division.

Only once in the nine years Rea has been involved in the tournament has it fallen short of the ultimate prize. Some youngsters behind Rea goalkeeper Victor Negrete wanted the Sharks to fail one more time.

“They were saying, ‘Rea is going to lose,’ ” Negrete said.

The keeper waved goodbye after a referee ordered the kids to vacate the area.

Not much bothered Negrete again.

Mariners’ Jack Binford was successful once after Rea’s Marlon Nava scored five minutes into the match. Attacking from the left side, Binford blasted a shot outside the box, tying the match at 1-1.

Binford silenced Rea’s side, his goal standing out more than the sunglasses he wore on the pitch.

“They put a scare into us,” Baker said. “Our boys came back right away, and luckily scored quickly, so we didn’t have to be too afraid.”

Rea regained the lead in the 16th minute and never looked back.

Jose Garfias’ shot near the top of the box beat the keeper. Four minutes later, Nava put away a rebound, giving Rea a 3-1 lead going into the break.

With the momentum, Nava felt another championship was 30 minutes away.

“We felt pretty confident because we’ve won a lot of championships,” said Nava, who finished with three goals.

Rea, which outscored teams, 29-5, in its five games of the tournament, kept the pressure, attacking from every side.

Luis Perdomo scored back-to-back goals in a seven-minute span in the second half. Mariners Coach Jeff Braun said he began to see it get away, the program’s first title appearance in the fifth- and sixth-grade gold division over.

“We were in it in the first half. It was there to be had,” said Braun, whose team advanced to the final after winning on penalty kicks in its previous two matches. “We let [in] an easy one … in the second half, and at that point in time, I was just letting kids play some positions that they hadn’t played yet in the tournament, let some of the younger kids come in.

“It’s the sport that [the Sharks] play year round and they play in their school leagues, and they’ve got the ball on their foot all year long.”

When the Sharks aren’t kicking a ball around, they’re pouring water on their coach.