Reed between the posts

CORONA DEL MAR — Coach George Larsen said he doesn’t have his Corona del Mar High boys’ soccer team focus on the wins.

“It’s about getting better each day,” said Larsen, who in his first year with the Sea Kings might be running out of ways to push them.

How much can a team improve after it has been perfect? No team has shown the capability to keep up with CdM early in the season.

Laguna Beach was the sixth team to try and the Sea Kings sent the Breakers home with a 4-0 nonleague loss on Wednesday.

Patrick Coyne, the opposing coach, said he would’ve been happy with a tie. That wasn’t possible, not after the Breakers’ first scoring chance came with 10 minutes left in the match.

By then, the Sea Kings’ usual scoring threat, Reed Williams, treated the home crowd to another dazzling performance.

The UCLA-bound striker recorded his fourth hat trick, giving him 16 goals on the season. Larsen pulled the senior shortly after he put away his third goal of the match in the 57th minute.

Williams, who also assisted on a goal, wasn’t the lone CdM player to exit. Joining him was goalkeeper Connor Gaal. He looked excited because there was much more action on the bench than on the field.

Gaal didn’t have to make any saves. The defense was the reason why.

Jack Gorab, Greg Allen, Matt Francini and Kjell Wolker shut down the Breakers’ attack. The group in the back is young and quite formidable.

The defense has allowed only five goals and twice it has shut out the opposition. With Gaal starting at keeper, Larsen knows what he has in the sophomore.

“He’s got size, agility, jumping ability, and he knows the game,” said Larsen, who coached Gaal a few years back with the Newport Beach-based Slammers FC club program.

Gaal lined up at a different position back then. As a freshman last season, he played a different sport altogether at CdM.

Larsen knew Gaal played basketball. That was about to change after a tryout with the soccer team in November.

To Larsen’s surprise, Gaal showed up.

“I walked out and one of the boys said, ‘Guess who’s out here?’ ” said Larsen, who correctly guessed Gaal, his former center midfielder with the Slammers.

Larsen walked toward the tryout area and saw Gaal with a big smile on his face. Gaal then asked if he could try out.

“I don’t know if I can get back to that level [from club], but I heard you need some help at goalkeeper,” Larsen said Gaal told him. “Obviously, we were thrilled to get someone like Connor, an athlete like that, who’s able to fill that spot for us.”

The Sea Kings, ranked No. 6 in the CIF Southern Section Division IV preseason coaches’ poll, are strong at every position.

The standouts on the team are clearly Williams and junior Brian Ford, the Pacific Coast League Offensive MVP and Defensive MVP, respectively, last season.

Ford starts at midfield after starring in the back last season. The position change gives the Sea Kings a stronger attack from the middle.

The move is paying off as CdM is averaging close to five goals per match.

Another notable addition is Sebastien Welch. Williams calls Welch the “cross country superstar.” Players like Gaal and Welch joined the program because of its growing popularity on campus.

“There’s been a lot of talk about soccer, a new coach, a new program,” said Williams, adding Larsen has brought not only more structure, but also brought CdM players together.

“I think we can win [a section title], win league, and obviously I want to win Friday against our rival [Newport Harbor].”

Williams expects the visiting Sailors to test the Sea Kings in the Battle of the Bay.

Newport Harbor, ranked No. 8 in Division I, will be the fourth team ranked in the CIF that CdM has played this season. The two teams tied last season, but the Sailors kept the trophy because they won the match the season before.

“A kid on my [Slammers] club team plays for Newport Harbor,” said Ford, referring to Chase Nugent. “We’ve been talking about [the match] for a while.”