Sea Kings find rhythm

CORONA DEL MAR — One player mentioned to the Corona del Mar High girls’ soccer team of the high chance of rain drenching the field today.

The Sea Kings decided to pour it on a day early. They were in dire need of an offensive outburst Tuesday.

Four players scored goals, lifting CdM to its first Pacific Coast League victory after recording a 4-0 shutout of visiting Irvine. In one game, the Sea Kings matched their goal production from the previous four matches combined.

The goal total turned out to be a season high. Defending league champion CdM made sure to get past the Vaqueros after dropping three of its last four matches.

“We finally broke out of our shell and started finishing offensively with the opportunities that we had,” CdM Coach Bryan Middleton said. “That’s what we were lacking. Hopefully, this win will carry us into the rest of the league.”

The Sea Kings (7-6-3, 1-1-0 in league) are trying to stay in contention for a second straight league crown until one of their top goal scorers returns from a left shoulder injury.

Emily Krebs, Hayley Raguse, Annie Alvarado and Alexa Mamatas provided the offensive punch, each contributing a goal for CdM with striker Alexandra Reinach out.

Middleton is hopeful Reinach can recover in time for the second half of league play. Middleton said the senior striker has been out since Dec. 18, when she suffered the injury during a 2-2 tie with Los Alamitos at the Mater Dei Tournament.

The Sea Kings’ offensive woes began right after Reinach left the lineup. The defense and goalkeepers Sarah Cox and Savannah Vaughn kept CdM in many of the ensuing matches. It didn’t always result in a victory, as the Sea Kings posted a 2-3-1 record.

Middleton called the stretch a case of “tough luck.” The three losses were each by one goal, including the league opener at Laguna Hills last Thursday.

“The defense and the keepers got a little frustrated that they were doing their part, but we weren’t finishing goals,” Middleton said. “I’m hoping that we’re past that now.”

The Sea Kings, ranked No. 10 in the CIF Southern Section Division II coaches’ poll, put away most of their chances in the first and second halves.

One player making her first appearance since being out with a hip flexor injury for a couple of weeks gave the Sea Kings their first goal.

Krebs sneaked a ball toward the left post in the 24th minute. Ten minutes later, the Sea Kings made it a two-goal game with the help of Alvarado.

Alvarado dribbled down the right side, and from outside the box sent a cross to the far post. The defender, standing near the goal line, tried to kick it out. The ball found Raguse’s foot and the senior finished.

Raguse and Alvarado hooked up again in the second half. This time it was Raguse finding Alvarado on a cross deep into the box. Alvarado put CdM ahead, 3-0.

Before the play, Raguse took a shot off the head.

“I don’t know which side of the head,” Raguse said with a smile, and it didn’t seem to matter where the ball struck her because the Sea Kings were on their way to their fourth shutout of the season.