Edison boys’ soccer tops Newport Harbor, remains unbeaten in league
The Sunset League boys’ soccer schedule is more drawn out than it used to be before the formation of an eight-team conference, more games likely meaning more chances to make up for one’s missteps.
There are now a dozen league games — a home-and-home set to be played between each of the seven teams in the league. It is a far cry from the pressure-packed six-game sprints that came out of the Surf and Wave leagues, but the Edison boys’ soccer team has yet to slip up.
Edison jumped on Newport Harbor for a 4-0 victory, notching its fifth straight win to open the Sunset League on Friday at Davidson Field.
Charlie Breneman, the head coach of the Chargers, said he was happy to see a return to the Sunset League, as opposed to the conference that was split into four-team divisions.
“Maybe it’s a good thing to get some extra practice or an opportunity for kids to recover from a game,” Breneman said with the team’s bye coming up on Wednesday. “It’s more of a marathon than it has been in the past, but we’re just trying to take it one game at a time and focus ourselves on the next challenge.”
Luke White, Dylan Petruolo and Nico Bammer scored goals for the Chargers, who were also the beneficiary of an own goal in the contest.
After a bit of a dry spell with just one goal across two defeats in its regular post-holiday appearance at the Laguna Hills Hawks Invitational, Edison (6-4, 5-0 in the Sunset League) got back on track offensively. The Chargers have tallied 18 goals in league play, with the midway point coming Friday at home against Fountain Valley (5-2, 4-0).
“I think that we’ve been really good offensively,” White said. “We’ve been putting in a lot of goals. In the beginning of the season, we were struggling a little bit defensively. We were letting in a few goals in preseason, but I think we’re definitely getting it together now. I think we’re definitely turning a corner.”
The Chargers struck early and often, using their speed on the perimeter to get behind the Sailors’ defense. Brandon Markert blocked a shot attempt by Nathan Jackson just two minutes in, but the next time up the pitch was a different story.
White opened the scoring, commenting that Micah Novak “torched the guy on the outside” before sliding a cross over from the right side to set up the tap-in goal.
In the fifth minute, it was White’s turn to dribble the ball deep into the attacking third. He laid it back across the box, and Petruolo came up from his attacking midfield position to send a shot into the twine.
Edison continued to counter and create chances, and when Bammer fed a ball in, a ricochet spun over the head of Newport Harbor goalkeeper Jack Shepherd (five saves) and landed in the goal. The Chargers had taken full command of the game with a 3-0 advantage just 23 minutes in.
“We knew we had to have quick restarts and quick transition, so they couldn’t get their block of seven set up,” Breneman said. “We talked a lot about getting in behind them and playing a smart ball on the ground … and allow our pace up front to get to it. The way we started was exactly what we were working on, what we were talking about, and sort of was the game plan.”
A midfield that also included Logan Yapelli and Oliver Worster earned takeaways before the Sailors could create much with possession. Andrew Mosham made four saves, two coming in a span of three minutes in the second half on free-kick bids by Giovanni Vazquez. Center back Hayden Baker got his head on one of those attempts to make it a more difficult save.
Bammer concluded the scoring in the 80th minute, getting his head on the business end of a cross from Adam Kirkorn.
Newport Harbor (3-5, 2-3), which won the CIF Southern Section Division 2 championship last season, has struggled to score this season with just four goals in its eight contests. One goal was enough, though, for wins against Corona del Mar and Los Alamitos in league play. Ali Omar had the deciding goal in both games.
“We graduated 36 guys in two years, and I think the group is doing a fantastic job,” Newport Harbor coach Ignacio Cid said. “They got a big shadow. They have a big shoe to fill, and they’re doing an unbelievable job representing what we believe Newport Harbor boys’ soccer culture is.”
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