Gaal’s best save: himself

Connor Gaal dives to his right, extending fully prone to block a shot aimed just inside the goal post.

The goalkeeper shuffles to his left to step in front of a would-be goal directed downward off the head of an attacker perched at point-blank range.

The sophomore springs from a crowd of players to either snatch or punch away a bending pass intended for an offensive player in the 18-yard box.

Yet all the while, it is Gaal who is being saved.

The acrobatic, aggressive iconoclast has been a big part of Corona del Mar High’s run to a CIF Southern Section Division IV boys’ soccer title, and a berth in today’s CIF Southern California Regional Division II final against Santa Barbara at Warren High in Downey at 1 p.m.

But Gaal’s emergence on this team, in a new position, to what Coach George Larsen considers an elite level of play, in a return to his local public school, is as redemptive as it is remarkable.

“It has definitely been a fairy tale,” said Gaal, who this time last year was, he admitted, having a difficult time, socially, academically and athletically.

“I was at the point where I just didn’t care and I didn’t want to do anything,” he said.

He had just completed, on a CdM lower-level team, a season of basketball, for which he had always had an abiding affection.

“Basketball was my first love,” Gaal said. “I always thought I couldn’t do without it. But my skill level was going down and I just didn’t have the passion.”

His lack of passion in general, he said, prompted his parents to enroll him in the Army-Navy Academy in Carlsbad to start the 2009-10 school year.

“My parents decided it would be good for me to grow up and see how the rest of the world is; to figure out life,” Gaal said. “Being at Army-Navy opened up my eyes and made me see I had to get my act together. It showed me I had to focus on things that count in life. After three months there, we all decided it would be better for me to come back to CdM.”

Gaal said that return meant a reconnection with childhood friends, many of whom were key members of the soccer team.

“I was talking to Mason [Case] and Jack [Gorab, a pair of sophomore starters] and I realized I was missing soccer,” said Gaal, who grew up playing soccer, including a stint as a midfielder with the Newport Beach-based Slammers club program. “When I transferred back to CdM, I decided to make the switch from basketball to soccer.”

There was also a shift to goalkeeper, where Gaal believed his eroded field skills would be less apparent.

Gaal’s athleticism and aggressiveness helped him adapt quickly to the new position and, by the third game, he had earned the starting job.

“I’ve been working hard to get my skill level up all season,” Gaal said. “I stayed after practice with whoever wanted to stay and take shots at me. I tried to get better in every part of the game.”

Gaal has been in goal for 15 of the 16 shutouts compiled by the Sea Kings (26-1-1), ranked No. 9 nationally by ESPN Rise, and his next save will give him 100 for the season. He made two saves in the 2-0 section title-game win over La Mirada on March 5 at Mission Viejo High, giving him four straight playoff shutouts.

His play in the postseason has particularly prompted praise from Larsen.

“He has been unbelievable all season,” said Larsen, who had coached the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week previously with the Slammers. Larsen, in his first season with the Sea Kings, was a big part of Gaal’s return to soccer this season.

“He’s never played goalie before this season, ever, so the fact that he’s doing this is amazing,” Larsen said. “He’s just doing it off of pure instinct and raw athleticism and it blows my mind. He’s not only one of the best keepers in high school soccer, he is going to become one of the best goalkeepers in the country.”

Indeed Gaal’s future, once murky, now appears bright.

“This season has definitely opened my eyes to the possibility of playing soccer in college, and maybe beyond that,” Gaal said. “Soccer has been a big role in my life and has brought about a big change in me. I’ve been hanging out with the soccer guys and my outlook on life is a whole lot different. Since soccer came along, I’m thinking more about my grades and keeping them up. Having success on the field makes me want to do better in everything I’m doing off the field.”

Gaal’s father, has noticed the changes as well.

“Our family is thrilled with the progress he’s made, because he has been on this team,” Chris Gaal said. “This is a very unique group of boys and the way they treat each other is exceptional. They take care of each other.”

Gaal said his back line — fullbacks Gorab and Matt Francini, as well as sweeper Greg Allen and stopper Alex Mainthow — has taken care of him all season.

But it’s Gaal who is also clearly taking care of business, both on the field and off.