CdM owns soccer crown

MISSION VIEJO — Somewhat out of shape, yet never out of sorts, the Corona del Mar High boys’ soccer team was ultimately true to form in the CIF Southern Section Division IV title game Friday night against La Mirada at Mission Viejo High.

It was, CdM Coach George Larsen said, some second-half adversity that helped clear the way to a 2-0 Sea Kings’ win, giving the top-seeded squad the program’s first section title.

The victory upped CdM’s record to 24-1-1, extended its winning streak to a season-best 12 and increased its shutout total to 16.

Senior reserve forward Ali Sadri — in the game only because of injuries to starting midfielders Paul Zubatov (concussion late in the first half) and Kjell Wolker (dislocated shoulder in the 50th minute), as well as a yellow-card assessed to a teammate — broke a scoreless tie by scoring from 10 yards out off a scramble that followed Jack Gorab’s corner kick in the 66th minute.

CdM senior forward Reed Williams added an insurance tally in the 77th minute, finding the upper right corner while driving from the left wing for his 29th goal of the season.

Williams, who had two dangerous scoring chances earlier in the second half, including a header in front that glanced off the crossbar and over the cage in the 60th minute, took a moment to savor his capping goal. He executed an atypical post-goal celebration by running away from teammates who chased him, before he fell to the turf near the goal, triggering a brief dog pile.

Williams and Sadri were the first two Sea Kings to hug after the final seconds ticked off the clock, and were eventually the epicenter of a wild celebration that included about 200 students and fans storming the field from the home stands.

“As soon as it went in, I went ‘Wow, this is a dream come true coming right now,’ ” said Sadri, who was inserted about nine minutes before his goal, after senior defender Alex Mainthow exited with a yellow card he picked up with a hard tackle.

“Ever since my freshman year, when I found out what CIF was, I was like ‘Oh my gosh, winning it my senior year and scoring the winning goal would be my dream,’ ” Sadri said. “Now, to go out like this ... words can’t describe.”

Williams, bound for UCLA, figures to have more work ahead in the CIF State playoffs, for which pairings are announced Sunday.

But after Friday’s win, he was completely in the moment.

“It’s joy, a little relief and a little dream come true,” he said of his prevailing emotions. “I’ve been working on getting this ring for four years and to get it my senior year is just a dream come true. There are a lot of banners in our gym for CIF championships [in nearly every other sport] and we wanted to get soccer in there. It has been too long. We finally got [a banner] up there.”

Nothing was assured, however, against a strong La Mirada squad (24-1-4), which entered the game unbeaten, having posted a school-record 16 shutouts. The Matadores, like the Sea Kings, made program history by reaching the final.

“We didn’t realize [Zubatov] had a concussion until halftime, when he didn’t know what was going on,” said Larsen, in his first season at the helm. “Then we had [Mainthow’s] yellow card and [Wolker’s dislocated] shoulder. We were dealing with some things that second half. If [Zubatov and Wolker don’t get hurt], guys like [Sadri] probably don’t get on the field.”

Others who stood out for CdM included sophomore goalie Connor Gaal, who stopped a point-blank header on the goal line in the 64th minute for the second of his two saves.

Defenders Gorab, Greg Allen, Matt Francini, and Mainthow also sparkled, while freshman forward Jack McBean helped open things up when he shifted from forward to center midfield due to injury attrition, Larsen said. It was the first of five playoff games in which McBean did not score.

“We were up against a really good offensive team,” Larsen said. “We bent, but never broke. At one point, we had three or four guys in positions they hadn’t played all season, and here you are 0-0 in a CIF final and you’ve got to make it work. They found a way.

“You could almost see our guys say ‘Hey, we’re dropping like flies here and we better make a stand here or this thing is going to slip away.’ You could just sort of feel them get that surge coming and you could see that extra push at the end of the game.”

Brian Ford, Chris Burke and Mason Case also contributed mightily in the midfield for the Sea Kings, who posted a 19-13 advantage in shots.

Josue Quintanilla made six saves for La Mirada.