Girls soccer: Mesa squeezes by Estancia

Joseph Boo

COSTA MESA - The first half was a fruitless one for Costa Mesa

High’s girls soccer team in its Pacific Coast League opener against

cross-town rival Estancia. Despite logging over 20 minutes of attack

time, the Mustangs were losing, 1-0, at halftime Thursday afternoon.

So Costa Mesa came out in the second half and blitzed the Eagles until it

took a 2-1 lead. Costa Mesa goalie Margaret Landeros then stopped an

Estancia penalty shot to preserve Mesa’s undefeated record.

“Well, a win’s a win. But it was an ugly one,” Costa Mesa Coach Dan

Johnston said.

Although Costa Mesa (6-0-4, 1-0 in league) kept most of the game on one

side of the field, it couldn’t get shots. The Mustangs only had four

shots at halftime.

“You got to give Estancia credit,” Johnston said. “They worked hard for

the ball. They kind of took us out of the game.”

Estancia (5-4, 0-1 in league) didn’t have a lot of chances in the first

half, but unlike the Mustangs, it converted on one. During the injury

time, Karleen Curran was brought down just inside the 18-yard box, and Becca Silva converted on the penalty shot to give Estancia the lead.

Costa Mesa responded in the second half with even more offensive

pressure, and it finally converted. Freshman Sharon Day tied the game in

the 50th minute by dribbling the ball through two Estancia defenders for

the shot. She later assisted on Mesa’s second goal in the 60th minute

with a perfect cross pass to Katie Roche for a header.

“That made us angry,” Johnston said of Estancia’s first penalty goal. “We

were very angry about that, and the girls really came out to play in the

second half.”

After the two goals, the game settled into a midfield struggle. Estancia

goalie Helen Flores made an impressive diving stab for one of her nine

saves to keep her team in the game.

Then the game almost turned disastrous for the Mustangs. A hands

violation was called on Mesa in the 18-yard box for Estancia’s second

penalty shot. This time, it went right to Landeros, who screamed joyfully

with the save.

“We had bad luck with that penalty shot,” Estancia Coach Anton Striegl

said. “I wish that one went in. But overall, I was pleased with the way

we played.”