Estancia creates victory

COSTA MESA — Some teams operate best using plays displayed on a clipboard. But for the Estancia High boys’ soccer team, a better medium might be a canvas.

Eagles Coach Robert Castellano said improvisation and creative artistry most often trump designed strategies when it comes to his team’s best offensive approach. It is a principle that proved out again Friday in a dramatic 1-0 Orange coast League-opening victory over visiting Calvary Chapel.

Sophomore Carlos Moreno put the finishing brush strokes on a three-pass masterpiece in the first minute of injury time, snatching victory from a probable tie in a contest in which, Castellano acknowledged, Calvary Chapel controlled play the majority of the time.

The scoring play began when Estancia (8-6-3), which extended its unbeaten streak to eight games, won the ball in the middle of the field. Junior forward Martin Garcia passed the ball to senior forward Ricky Gomez, who then connected with Moreno.

Moreno ran onto the pass over the Calvary Chapel defender’s head and booted it from roughly 15 yards out near the center of the cage, just inside the left post.

It was only the third goal of the season for Moreno, who started at forward, but shifted to center midfielder later in the game.

“Moreno was out of position, to be honest with you,” Castellano said of the winning play. “He shouldn’t have been there. He’s a center mid, so he wasn’t supposed to be that [deep into the 18-yard box]. So, I guess we got lucky on that one.”

Estancia is making a habit of having late-game good fortune. It rallied in the final minute to win the North Orange County tournament semifinal (against California of Whittier), then erased a 2-0 deficit in the final 13 minutes against Calvary Chapel to forge a deadlock in the title game Dec. 22. Estancia then won on penalty kicks to hand Calvary its only setback in an 8-1 run on which the Santa Ana-based school entered league play. Calvary outscored opponents, 29-5, in those eight wins

Calvary (9-5) also gave up a goal in the final moment of last year’s league finale against Estancia, a 1-1 tie that allowed Estancia to claim sole possession of the league title. Had Calvary hung on, it would have earned a share of the crown.

“I have a lot of respect for that team,” Castellano said of Calvary. “It’s a pretty good rivalry. Games are always heated when we play this team.”

Since righting itself following a 1-6-1 start, Estancia is proving impervious to heat.

“We’re the comeback kids on our eight-game unbeaten streak,” Castellano said. “It’s like, after we get scored on, the kids play like there’s no pressure on them.”

The lack of pressure also promotes the offensive spontaneity Castellano said he encourages.

“I think, offensively, we’re very creative up top,” Castellano said. “[Gomez, who collected his team-best seventh assist] and [Garcia] are always making these very dynamic runs. They make these diagonal runs that make them very hard to mark. We go over our runs all the time, and sometimes I get them to make it up on their own. And sometimes it works.”

Calvary, with taller, thicker players than Estancia, forced junior goalkeeper Edgar Vega to make four of his five saves before intermission.

“The first half was all theirs,” Castellano said of the visitors, also nicknamed the Eagles. “We were playing their game, which is very direct with a lot of kickball. Our game is on the ground. In the second half, we started doing that.”

Calvary’s size presents problems for Estancia, but Castellano said that equation works both ways.

“I’m sure we’re a bad matchup for them, too,” Castellano said.

Castellano also singled out the play of senior center back Earvin Bahena, freshman defender Christian Montillo and sophomore defender Alan Anaya, the only Estancia player to start every game this season.

Vega was cleared to play with a fractured finger two games before the unbeaten streak began, and Castellano gave him — as well as senior J.J. Rodriguez, who shifted from forward to midfield and has a team-best eight goals — some credit for helping turn things around.

“Having Vega again is like signing a new player,” Castellano said.