Edison boys’ soccer fights back before falling to Harvard-Westlake in overtime
The beautiful game was anything but for the Edison boys’ soccer team on Friday night, the Chargers being dealt a cruel fate after battling back twice.
Studio City Harvard-Westlake’s Nathan Casamassima scored four minutes into overtime, quelling what would have been an improbable comeback for the host Chargers in what wound up as their 3-2 ouster from the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.
Casamassima, a senior captain who said he has been competing under a minutes restriction due to injury, was playing out of position when he struck for the Wolverines’ golden goal. The left back moved up to the left wing, and it was Theodore Ottosson who fed the shallow cross in from the right side to the far post for the decisive touch.
“He’s one of our best players,” Casamassima said of Ottosson. “That was a perfect cross. I was there. I thought it wouldn’t go in, at first. I saw it trickling in, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I hope they don’t clear it off the line,’ and then it went in. It was a great play.”
Harvard-Westlake (17-4-1), the Mission League champion and ranked fifth in the division, will face Moore League champion Long Beach Millikan (15-3-6) in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Micah Rossen opened the scoring early in the first half for the Wolverines, who kept the Chargers off balance and out of rhythm offensively until late in the period.
Luca Petruolo got the Chargers even in the 35th minute, completing an effective combination with Nathan Jackson dribbling near the left post and then playing the ball back with a centering pass.
It was a short-lived respite from chasing the game for Edison (15-3-4), which conceded deep into stoppage time. Center back James Federman was the culprit this time, heading in the corner kick from Rossen to send the Wolverines into the break with a 2-1 advantage.
“It was an intense game,” Harvard-Westlake coach Mike Erush said. “It was a high school playoff game, but the response to go into overtime is tremendous for this group and well deserved.”
Edison called on its defense to make critical tackles to keep the margin within striking distance in the first half, getting key contributions from Sebastian Bilger and Rafael Godoi. In the second half, the Chargers largely dictated the pace and field position.
It appeared that the Chargers had missed their best chance to equalize when Micah Novak’s bid from a careening corner kick screamed wide of the right post in the 49th minute.
With three minutes left in regulation, Edison finally got the bounce it had worked for the entire second half. Tai Khoshkbariie challenged for a ball at midfield. The ball caromed to Evan Crownfield, who played a through ball to send Khoshkbariie in on a breakaway, and the Chargers’ captain didn’t miss his chance.
“There’s no other option except to score,” Khoshkbariie said. “I had to set in my mind, if I had a chance, I have to put it in. That’s my role. As a captain, I have to lead the team. My mindset was just, ‘If I have a shot, I will score it.’ Getting back into that game and then losing like that was rough.”
Edison was the second-place team in the Surf League this season, earning an automatic qualifier spot into the playoffs with wins over Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar to end the season. The Chargers beat Baldwin Park Sierra Vista in the first round of playoffs.
“I think our kids did really well tonight to fight and battle back and put themselves in a position to potentially win it,” Edison coach Charlie Breneman said. “Maybe had we been a little tighter in a couple moments or a little more turned on, I think for big stretches we outplayed them, or outworked them, at least.”
Also in the CIF Southern Section boys’ soccer playoffs:
Newport Harbor 1, Agoura 0: Senior Eduardo Hopkin’s goal was the difference for the visiting Sailors on Friday in the second round of the Division 2 playoffs.
Newport Harbor (16-5-1) plays host to Oxnard Pacifica (19-5-2) in a quarterfinal match on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Davidson Field.
Ventura Foothill Technology 3, Laguna Beach 1: Sophomore Grant Regal scored for the Breakers, who were eliminated from the Division 5 playoffs in Friday’s second-round match at Ventura College.
Laguna Beach (8-13-1) was the second-place team in the Wave League this season.
Cathedral City 2, Costa Mesa 2 (4-3 on PKs): The visiting Mustangs held a 2-0 lead before falling victim in a penalty-kick shootout on Friday in the second round of the Division 6 bracket.
Nathen Rocha and Miguel Reyes scored the goals for Costa Mesa (11-5-3), which was the Orange Coast League champion, marking the program’s first league title since 2002.
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