Boys’ Soccer: CdM stays unbeaten in PCL
TUSTIN — The last Pacific Coast League match on Tuesday featured its lone unbeaten high school boys’ soccer team and a winless team.
The best side kept its unblemished season in league alive.
Corona del Mar traveled to Beckman and won, 2-1, at Tustin High, improving to 6-0-1 in league play.
Kyle Mabwa broke a 1-1 tie in the 48th minute, allowing the Sea Kings to stay in first place with 19 points, one point ahead of University. Mabwa’s first goal of the season moved CdM closer to winning its second straight title.
Three contests in league remain, and the next one for CdM is a big one at home against University on Thursday at 3:15 p.m. The Sea Kings are the only program in league to knock off the Trojans, who are 6-1 in league.
“We’re going to destroy them,” Mabwa said.
The junior is quite confident. He played a role in CdM becoming the first team all season to hand University a setback, as the Trojans went into the Jan. 12 affair 10-0-1 overall.
Since losing at home to CdM, 2-1, University has won four in a row, outscoring opponents, 15-1, during the stretch. The Trojans shut out Northwood, 5-0, on Tuesday.
“It usually comes down to the wire,” CdM Coach George Larsen said of the race to win league. “There’s usually a lot to play for down the stretch in these league finishes. We’re expecting that. University’s been great all season. We had a great game the first go-around that ended up being determined in the last 30 seconds of the game. I’m pretty certain is going to be another one of those games on Thursday.”
For CdM, it had a tight one with Beckman before it meets University, which is 14-1-1 overall and ranked No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section Division 4 poll.
Three minutes in against the Patriots, CdM took the lead. Matt Katz took a pass from Grant Joyce outside the box, and the sophomore caught goalkeeper Alejandro Perez-Vazquez by surprise. Perez-Vazquez didn’t seem to move when Katz struck the ball and scored.
“It’s unacceptable,” Beckman Coach Eddie Bairam yelled.
Not much has gone right for the Patriots, who dropped to 0-5-2 in league. It’s hard to believe that they’re the last team to defeat CdM, doing so last season.
All the Sea Kings have done since then is go 14-0-1. They have continued to excel, despite losing senior midfielder Will O’Connor to a broken wrist last week.
The defense, anchored by center back Andrea Pregoni, has played well. The unit turned in a solid performance against Beckman, as Pregoni, David Stephenson and Christopher Cruttenden made things easier for keeper Christopher Bartolic.
Midway through the first half, CdM allowed a goal. The score came right after a corner kick. The ball bounced around in the box, before Marvin Moreno put it away to even things up at 1-1 in the 22nd minute.
Late in the first half, Beckman had a couple of chances to take the lead. Alexander Diego stepped into a ball outside the 18, blasting it toward the right, missing a wide-open net. A couple of minutes later, Moreno launched a shot from 40 yards out, seeing it glance off the crossbar and out of play.
The Sea Kings finished their chance eight minutes into the second half, and Mabwa did it all after CdM played the ball in.
“He did a great job of just winning the physical battle with the defender in the corner, and then he set the goalie up well [by dribbling up the end line], acting as if he was going to pass the ball to the middle, and he used some deception to sneak the ball into the near post,” Larsen said. “It was a pretty clever finish. He came close to scoring again [in the 75th minute] and possibly assisting there [in stoppage time], but he woke up on a day where we needed somebody to step up.
“He’s been a player who is working himself back into form after missing the preseason with a broken [finger]. He hadn’t scored yet this season. He’s been coming close, coming close, so for him to [finish] was great.”
Twitter: @ByDCP
