Cordoba steps down

After leading the Costa Mesa High boys’ soccer team to its first playoff appearance in nine seasons, Alex Cordoba has stepped down as coach because he wants to spend more time with his family, said Phil D’Agostino, the school’s principal.

Cordoba, who coached the Mustangs for three seasons, led Costa Mesa in February to a 4-3 win against Muir of Pasadena in the wild-card round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs.

Costa Mesa qualified for the postseason after it finished in third place in the Orange Coast League. The Mustangs went 9-10-4, 4-4-2 in league.

“I understand the needs of wanting to be with his family,” D’Agostino said. “I’m going to be sad to see him go.

“Whoever we hire, we are going to have some big shoes to fill.”

Cordoba turned the program into a playoff one after going 0-5-3 in league in his first season. The Mustangs improved in his second season, posting a 3-4-1 record in league, good for fourth place.

In Cordoba’s final season, the Mustangs won more league matches than in his first two seasons combined. More importantly, he guided Costa Mesa somewhere it had not been to in quite a while, the playoffs.

— David Carrillo Peñaloza