Ocean View boys’ soccer falls out of third place in Golden West League with loss to Segerstrom
Since the midway point of the Golden West League season, the Ocean View High boys’ soccer team had controlled its own destiny.
At least that had been the case with regard to securing a spot in the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs.
The Seahawks played seven league matches before suffering defeat, but a string of five consecutive ties did not separate them from the pack.
Ocean View dropped its second straight league contest, losing at home to Segerstrom 1-0 on Monday night in a critical match for the playoff hopes of both teams.
Segerstrom (7-11-3, 3-3-3 in league; 12 points) moved past Ocean View (5-10-8, 2-2-5; 11 points) for third place in the league.
Senior center back Alejandro Topete blasted a shot into the top left corner from 40 yards out for a goal in the 36th minute. It was his first goal of the season.
“I saw it, and I was like, ‘Should I go for it?’” Topete said. “I didn’t hesitate, and I went for it, and I took the shot. They gave me good enough space to position myself for it, and all I did was put it in the net.
“It’s a very important game. It puts us in a better position to get into CIF.”
The best play for Ocean View often was the long throw from center back Nathan Santy. In the 73rd minute, Santy got another chance near the corner flag.
Santy tossed the ball to the near post, and Anthony Ruiz and Oswaldo Moran were both in the area of a deflection that went off the right far post and stayed out.
In the 79th minute, Topete found himself in the middle of another key play. Breaking toward the goal, Ruiz went to the ground as Topete caught up to him in the box.
“I just felt his body bump into mine from the back,” Ruiz said of the entanglement. “It was a clear penalty, but I guess the ref saw it a different way.”
The play was also difficult to accept for Seahawks coach Lucas Kim.
“We are at the mercy of the referees,” Kim said. “They’re human, whether they make mistakes or not. Obviously, we judge them, and sometimes we sanctify them, depending on the situation and how it plays out.
“It’s not about blame. It’s about accountability, and now, just owning up to we were knocking on their door and nobody let us in.”
Topete said he was unsure whether his tackle had been a clean one, adding that it was “the ref’s call in the end.”
On Wednesday, the Seahawks will close out the regular season on the road against first-place Godinez (15-1-3, 7-0-2; 23 points), while the Jaguars will host second-place Garden Grove (11-10-2, 6-3-1; 19 points).
“It all comes down to the last game on Wednesday,” Jaguars coach Neil Stevenson said. “[The Seahawks] play Godinez, and I believe that Godinez has already won the league, so there’s no incentive for Godinez to win the game. They’re going to win the league anyway, so they might rest guys for CIF or something like that.
“We have to take care of our business. Garden Grove beat us 3-0 last time. They’re a good group, so we’ll hopefully do well that day, too.”
Kim said that the inability to get the extra two points during the stretch of five ties left the team in a precarious position. Ocean View is still alive for its first playoff berth since the 2011-12 season.
“That’s 10 points left on the board, [and] us going from being contenders for first place to now fighting for third place,” Kim said. “The game is a fickle mistress, and she’ll have her way if you allow her.”
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