Estrada lifts GPA, Costa Mesa

Jesus Estrada planned to follow in the footsteps of his three older cousins, each of whom played on the boys’ soccer team at Costa Mesa High.

For a smaller player, Estrada showed promise. He could score with either foot, and he learned to use his head on the field while playing in adult leagues on the weekends.

In the classroom in his first two years at Costa Mesa, Estrada didn’t use his head.

Grades got in the way of his goal of being the next Estrada to play for the Mustangs. Instead of kicking a ball on the field, Estrada kicked aside his homework.

“Instead of doing my homework, I went to go play,” said Estrada, and of course, it wasn’t with the Mustangs. They could’ve used his talent the past two seasons.

With Estrada academically ineligible, Costa Mesa went winless in Orange Coast League play. Seventeen matches with no victories.

Estrada doesn’t blame anyone but himself.

“I would slack off in class,” said Estrada, who understood that in order to earn an opportunity to play in his junior season, he had to change.

“I got a little bit more mature and started realizing that I needed to [get my grades up].”

Heading into last week’s league opener, Estrada knew two of his cousins were responsible for recording Costa Mesa’s last league win in 2006-07. Some consider Steve and Francisco Estrada to be the team’s biggest fans.

They’ve suffered through many losses. The struggles on the field for Costa Mesa appear to be over. Estrada has raised his grade-point average and the Mustangs’ level of play this season.

Costa Mesa is off to a 2-0-1 start in league, good enough for first place. When the Mustangs opened league play at Laguna Beach with a 2-1 victory, Estrada was just happy to be on the field.

“That was my first league game for Mesa,” said Estrada, knowing he’s come a long way and so has Costa Mesa in Alex Cordoba’s second season as coach.

“I heard a Laguna [Beach] player say, ‘We’re losing to this team?’ I thought that was pretty funny.”

The Mustangs, who are 8-3-2 overall, are no joke. They’re legit and have the talent to end Estancia’s Orange Coast League title run.

The eight victories match the Mustangs’ win total from the previous three seasons combined. Estrada’s presence in the midfield, where the game is decided, has lifted the Mustangs to new heights.

“[Estrada] reads the game well,” said Cordoba, who has one of the best midfields in the area with Estrada, Jose Faboreno and Franco Ramirez. “He’s really dangerous sending the through balls and dissecting the defense.”

Estrada can find the back of the net, too.

In a pivotal road game against league favorite Godinez on Monday, Estrada scored the eventual game-winning goal. Cordoba moved Estrada to the outside, giving the Mustangs another offensive threat.

When Dong-gi Shin sent a pass to the right to Estrada early in the second half, Costa Mesa figured Estrada would beat the defender to the ball. In a matter of seconds, the one-on-one situation turned into no one near the ball, except for Estrada.

From the right side, Estrada touched the ball and found the upper-left corner of the net. The goalkeeper stood no chance at stopping Estrada. Nothing has slowed him down, including grades.

“He’s just the perfect example on campus for the students,” Cordoba said. “If they work hard, there [are opportunities to play again]. That’s a positive for the program.

“He was in our athletic class [last season] and just every day I would ask him, ‘How are you doing?’ I just motivated him and got him to see that he still had a future with the program.”

Estrada said he’s thankful for the support. Now, his cousins get to follow him on the field.