One goal more than plenty

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — The Corona del Mar High boys’ soccer team was forced to face a complete opposite Monday.

The Sea Kings made up last week’s Pacific Coast League match that was postponed due to the rain. They knew what to expect at San Juan Hills.

No offense from the winless Stallions.

Teams have to try to score to win. San Juan Hills has yet to figure it out.

San Juan Hills packed it in on the defensive end, ignoring any offensive duties. The Sea Kings provided the scoring punch, a Reed Williams goal on a penalty kick late in the first half that stood up for a 1-0 victory.

The Sea Kings (14-1-1, 3-1-1 in league) have now won two straight since dropping their first match of the season.

Having Williams back has helped CdM, ranked No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section Division IV coaches’ poll. He played for the second time since injuring his right hamstring on Dec. 29.

The striker was taken down a couple of times by the Stallions (0-20-1, 0-3-1). Williams said he just didn’t feel right.

The Monday Blues didn’t stop Williams from recording his 22nd goal of the season. The UCLA-bound senior has scored in each of his 11 games.

“I felt like I’m a little sore still from Friday,” Williams said of the previous league match against Beckman, in which Williams scored twice, once on a penalty kick.

Unlike last week’s free shot from 12 yards out, Williams looked more relaxed. There also was no need for a do-over. The goalkeeper didn’t jump out before he struck the ball.

Williams, this time, beat the keeper with a little luck. The shot hit the left post and went in.

“We’ll take it,” Williams said.

Coach George Larsen just wanted to get a victory and leave with his team unharmed.

The Sea Kings, ranked No. 19 in the country by ESPN RISE, are getting healthy at a good time. The second half of league starts on Wednesday for CdM. Larsen said his team couldn’t afford to drop another league match because both Laguna Hills and University are in contention.

Defending league champion University is the team that handed CdM its lone loss. Laguna Hills is the only team to tie the Sea Kings.

The Sea Kings’ next two league matches are against Laguna Hills and University. Things on the field are sure to get more intense, compared to Monday.

Defender Jack Gorab described the match against the young San Juan Hills club as weird. There is nothing strange about what’s in store for the Sea Kings.

“We know if we want to win the league title, we’re going to have to beat Laguna Hills to do it,” Larsen said. “We had [a scoreless] first game. It was a very hard-fought, competitive match. We’re expecting the same sort of match.

“We felt that at their place it was their job to beat us and we ended up coming up with a tie. We felt OK with the result. We get Reed back and we’re a little bit healthier coming into this game.”

When Williams plays, CdM wins every time.

In the 11 games in which Williams has participated, the Sea Kings have outscored the opposition, 34-6. The defense, with Gorab, Greg Allen and goalkeeper Connor Gaal, has played a huge role in those contests as well.

Gaal didn’t have to do much Monday.

The sophomore spent most of the 80 minutes chewing on sunflower seeds. Gaal never made a save against a San Juan Hills team that Coach Alvaro Serrano said is dying for a win.

Seven minutes into the second half, Gaal was desperate for more seeds. He rushed over to the CdM sideline to stock up. Larsen shook his head and laughed as his Sea Kings controlled the action at the other end of the field.