Hamilton’s late goal sinks Huntington Beach in All-Turf Tournament

These are critical days for Huntington Beach’s boys’ soccer team, which has begun what head coach Sean Dick calls its “second rebuilding year” with five losses, the latest a rather one-sided face-off to an Arizona powerhouse on opening day of the Oilers’ annual All-Turf Tournament.

It’s a group still figuring out what it’s about, how best to play, and if Thursday night’s clash with Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton, wasn’t — scoreboard aside — particularly close, Huntington Beach’s grit and fight offered promise for what’s to come.

Hamilton (3-0), No. 8 in the Arizona Republic’s state rankings, dictated terms most of the way, virtually penned the Oilers in their defensive third after the break and created myriad opportunities, but needed a last-minute strike to pull out a 2-1 victory in the 70-minute Pool D clash.

It was a deflating finish to an encounter that provided some big-picture positives for a team that has some time and much room to grow.

“[I learned] that we have the passion to want to win, and that’s what I was looking for in the boys,” said Dick, who guided Huntington Beach to a Surf League title and into the CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinals two years ago. “They’re starting to believe in themselves. If we can believe in ourselves, we can have a good run in league, and that’s what we’re [aiming] for.”

Huntington Beach slumped to 4-9-6 with a very young group last year, and this year dropped into the Wave League and Division 2.

Dick has the Oilers playing a tough schedule — their other losses, all by one or two goals, were to Long Beach Millikan, Mission Viejo, Long Beach Wilson and Corona Santiago — and it’s not going to get much easier in this 16-team tournament. They were scheduled to take on Montclair, the No. 2 team in the Division 1 rankings, on Friday afternoon and wrap group play Saturday morning against Bellflower St. John Bosco, likely with a consolation game to follow later in the day.

The tournament final will be played Monday evening.

Hamilton looked like a worthy candidate for the title game, and its winning goal, just seconds into stoppage, was brilliant, with Ethan Magnone finishing first-touch to the left post from right back Robert Angelo’s cross into the box.

“A beautiful goal,” Dick noted. “You can’t fault a goal like that. The guy had a good look, and he finished what he had. ... They’re a damn good team. A damn good team. We don’t get any better unless we’re playing better teams, so this was a good game for us to play.”

Dick tried out a 4-3-3 formation, found it “a little sloppy” but worth working on, and was pleased with how his group reacted after falling behind at the start.

The Huskies, with masterful midfielder Cade Williams the pivotal figure, took command from the opening kickoff, were ahead in the fifth minute — Alejandro Acevedo finishing easily from a long Davin Collinson goal kick that found space through the middle — and might have scored three in the first 15 minutes.

Huntington Beach finally found some life, began closing down space, cutting off passing lanes, and winning balls in midfield behind captain Matthew Moseley and Dillon Kosai. They nearly equalized on a Matias Calapaqui header from Moseley’s cross, then did so through pure fortune in the 21st minute.

Hamilton center back Jake Vitton played a no-look back pass into his box that got past the advancing Collinson, and Calapaqui raced in to knock it into the empty net. That provided some momentum, but Huntington Beach didn’t accomplish much with it while shutting down the Huskies’ forays until halftime.

The second half was all Hamilton — its shot advantage was 10-1 after halftime, 18-4 for the game — but the Oilers’ organization in its defensive third kept things even until the finish. There were several big plays, by center backs Adrian Saldivar, halting Vitton in the 49th minute, and Kelsen Janney, shutting down Williams a minute later; by goalkeeper Calvin Beebe, sprawling to push aside a Williams shot headed for the left corner in the 55th minute; and, most of all, by Cruz Rustia, who cleared Acevedo’s shot from a corner kick off the goal line in the 56th minute.

Hamilton couldn’t summon the winner until its final attempt.

“We’re still building as a team,” Moseley said. “We weren’t awake the first 10, 15 minutes, but once we snapped out of it, it became a little easier, finding our outlets on the wings. It was a lot better. We’ve just got to finish our opportunities and get up the field a little more.”