High School Roundup: Laguna handed first OCL loss
The Laguna Beach boys’ soccer team suffered its first loss and Godinez further solidified its first-place standing in Orange Coast League competition Wednesday when the Breakers were defeated by the visiting Grizzlies, 2-0, at Guyer Field.
The result put Laguna at 2-1-2 at the end of the first round of league play. The Breakers are 6-6-2 overall. Godinez, meanwhile, sits atop the league at 5-0.
The Grizzlies (12-1 overall) are ranked fifth in CIF Southern Section Division 4.
“Godinez showed exactly why they are top of the league and ranked in the division,” Laguna Coach Dan Richards said. “They have so much talent throughout their squad and also work extremely hard for each other. Our boys worked hard to compete with them, but we definitely couldn’t argue with the end result if the game.
“We now know exactly what we are up against and the lads understand what it will take if we want to make the postseason.”
Laguna took its second league victory on Jan. 23 by blanking host Calvary Chapel, 3-0, at Centennial Park in Santa Ana.
“I was really impressed with Calvary and thought they played a great game,” Richards said. “They have such a young squad and I think that they will be a real threat moving forward.
“We didn’t start well at all and had to change a few things around tactically to get it going. I was a little disappointed with how the boys approached the game and it nearly cost us.”
Willy Wheeler scored in the first half, and Charlie Warner and Tommy Ressler both posted goals in the second half.
“Obviously, getting the win was the main thing and making sure we kept our record up of not conceding a goal in league play so far was a positive,” Richards said. “However, we know we will need to be much better then this if want to make the playoffs.
“At the half way stage of league, we have put ourselves in a very competitive position and there is everything to play for. With there being a three-way tie for second place that we’re involved in, the second round of games will be very interesting.”
The Breakers are at Estancia High on Friday to begin the second half of OCL play and take on Costa Mesa at 5 p.m. They return to Guyer Field next Wednesday for a 6:30 p.m. league match against Estancia.
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Girls’ Water Polo
The Breakers clinched a share of the Orange Coast League championship on Wednesday when they overwhelmed host Estancia, 25-2.
Laguna took an 11-0 lead after one quarter and was up, 14-0, before the Eagles (0-2 league, 4-12 overall) got on the scoreboard with 5:15 left in the first half. The Eagles didn’t score again until a deflected shot reached the back of the net at the 4:56 mark of the fourth quarter.
The win put the Breakers at 3-0 in league with one league game remaining.
“After a tough road these past couple of weeks, it was nice to get a game like this,” Laguna Coach Ethan Damato said. “We were able to work on a couple of things, and everybody got to play, and everybody scored.”
Makenzie Fischer led 13 Breakers in the scoring column with four goals. Evan Tingler and Sophia Lucas both scored twice.
Laguna, which improved to 3-0 in league and 18-0 overall, increased its win streak to 39 games.
The Breakers face a pair of ranked opponents in nonleague games on Friday and Saturday. First, they host Santa Barbara San Marcos, No. 6 in CIF-SS Division 1, at 5 p.m. Friday at Corona del Mar High. At noon on Saturday, they host Los Osos, the No. 6 team in CIF-SS Division 2, at Laguna.
Laguna defeated San Marcos, 14-4, on Jan. 16, a win that helped send the Breakers on their way to winning the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions title.
Next Thursday, Laguna starts play at the Irvine SoCal Championship tournament.
Laguna won the tournament last year.
“Everybody is going to be there,” Damato said of the SoCal Championships. “But, it’s one step at a time. First, we’ll focus on Friday (San Marcos) and Saturday (Los Osos), before we start to focus on the SoCal tourney.
“San Marcos is a talented team, and it’s a big divisional game for us. Saturday’s game against Los Osos is going to be a fun one.”
The Breakers finish OCL play on Feb. 11 against Godinez.
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Girls’ Soccer
The Breakers won for the third time in Orange Coast League play when they shut down visiting Godinez, 2-0, on Tuesday at Guyer Field.
Audrey Pillsbury scored twice for the Breakers, first on a free kick from 20 yards set up by a big offensive play by Paige Vitolo. Pillsbury’s second score came off the dribble and a plant into the lower-right corner of the goal.
Laguna Coach Bill Rolfing said the Breakers “played well with good efforts by all players.”
Laguna, which is tied with Palm Desert and Oxnard for the No. 10 spot in this week’s CIF-SS Division 5 rankings, improved to 3-2 in league and 5-5-5 overall.
The Breakers started Round 2 of league play on Thursday against Costa Mesa. The score wasn’t available at press time.
The Breakers are back home next Tuesday for a key 5 p.m. game against Estancia. They were two points behind the Eagles, ranked sixth in CIF-SS Division 5, in the league standings through Wednesday.
Laguna also plays a 3:15 p.m. league road game Thursday at Saddleback.
“Repeating as Orange Coast League champions is a goal, but we must finish in top three, at minimum, for postseason play,” Rolfing said.
In a league game Jan. 22, Laguna suffered its second straight one-goal defeat when host Calvary Chapel scored in the second half to pull out a 1-0 victory at Centennial Park in Santa Ana.
The Breakers previously were edged, 2-1, at Estancia on Jan. 20.
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CIF Weekly Rankings
Girls’ Water Polo: Laguna Beach (No. 1, Division 1).
Girls’ Soccer: Laguna Beach (tie-No. 10, Division 5).