Estancia takes over first in league with rout of Costa Mesa

Four games into the Orange Coast League boys’ soccer season, Estancia High boasted the league’s most goals scored, while Costa Mesa had allowed the fewest.

Something was bound to give when the two teams met in Wednesday night’s Battle for the Bell — and it did — as an offensive explosion vaulted the Eagles past their opponent into first place.

Host Estancia found its way on the scoreboard just two minutes into the contest, paving the way to a 4-0 win over a Costa Mesa team that had given up just three goals in league play before Wednesday.

“Everybody wanted this against Mesa,” Estancia coach Robert Castellano said. “They beat us two years ago when they were sophomores, and it still scars them. They didn’t want to leave as seniors without returning the favor.”

A pair of these seniors for Estancia (10-3-4, 3-0-2 in league), Andy Martinez and Nico Ramirez, kicked off the scoring with a play that would symbolize a high-octane performance from the Eagles’ attack.

Martinez settled a second-minute set piece just outside the box, and to the surprise of his opponents and teammates, elected not to fire at the net. Instead, he found Ramirez in an opening, who failed to break stride before sending his shot past Costa Mesa goalkeeper Wally Olmedo.

“That set piece goal was a big motivator for us,” said Martinez, who had a goal and an assist. “I don’t think their center backs were ready. I think they expected me to shoot the ball. I grew up playing with most of these guys, so they probably thought I was going to go for the shot. But I trust Nico, and just tapped it over to him knowing he was going to finish.”

When pressed after the game, Ramirez admitted that even he was surprised at his teammate’s decision to pass up the shot, before praising his vision on the pitch. Ramirez had two goals.

“Andy always knows where to place you,” Ramirez said. “He always knows just where you’re going to be. I trusted his ball and just went for it.”

While their ball movement was on display in this opening moment, the Eagles, ranked No. 5 in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 poll, would be their constant defensive pressure and willingness to fire any shot within striking range that truly set the tone.

No player represented this offensive approach better than Martinez, who continuously fired at the net from as deep as 50 feet outside the box. The aggressiveness paid off in the 33rd minute, as Miguel Peña, who gave Costa Mesa (9-3-1, 3-1-1), No. 4 in Division 4, headaches with his defense, ball control and open-field speed all night, sent a ricochet from a Martinez shot on goal past Olmedo to take a 2-0 lead into the half.

After failing to find the net on his first seven attempts, Martinez broke through in the 47th minute with a goal that seemed to put the game away. Containing a pass deep inside the box with his back to a pair of Mustang defenders, he created just enough space to find his shot. The eighth time was the charm for Martinez, whose goal returned confidence to the Eagles and demoralized a Costa Mesa team that appeared to find its footing in the opening minutes of the second half.

“I didn’t know how to celebrate,” Martinez said. “I just threw my arms up. Once we put that goal away, it sealed the game. I think our team was just like, ‘okay, we’re the big dogs in this match,’ and just put them away in every way we could.”

While the Mustangs relinquished their league lead with the setback, there is plenty of room for optimism going forward. The loss marked their first of league play, and only their second overall on the season. Regardless of this setback, they also remain in second place in the league, with wins over two of the three teams currently in a tie for third.

Perhaps most evident, however, was the fact that Costa Mesa is learning to deal with the absence of Aldai Morales-Bravo. Coach Jason Boyce said Morales-Bravo is expected to be sidelined at least a month with a foot injury suffered last week against Godinez.

Wednesday was the team’s first contest without its key defender, and Boyce is seeking improved communication moving forward.

“Right now we’re looking to battle back and rebound from that,” Boyce said. “We’d like to put that game behind us.”

Standing alone atop the league standings, Estancia is grateful for its rival’s help so far this season, which includes handing defeats to league contenders Godinez and Laguna Beach last week.

“This is the best Costa Mesa team I’ve seen since my seventh-grade year, so props to them,” Martinez said. “They’ve done an outstanding job this year, especially in league play, taking points away from Godinez and Laguna. That’s big for us, and helped us get into first place.”

Next up for Costa Mesa is a match with Saddleback, which it leads by three points in the standings. Meanwhile, the Eagles look to carry over their momentum into Friday’s showdown with Godinez, looking to pick up their first win in the series since 2013.

“We have a big game against Godinez on Friday,” Castellano said. “We want to beat Godinez. We haven’t beat Godinez in a while and the seniors want to beat them. We’re worried about them, and this is going to give us a lot of momentum for our game on Friday. Mesa beat them the other night, Laguna beat them, and we want to get a shot at them too before they leave our league.”

JOSH CRISWELL is a contributor to Times Community News. Follow him on Twitter: @joshccriswell