A perfect Sunset for Sailors
The Newport Harbor High boys’ soccer team has gone from worst to first in the Sunset League.
A season after going winless in league, the Sailors have closed out the first part of league this month perfect.
What a difference a new season and a new coach can make.
Behind a goal from Alex Enriquez and Bryant Reyes, the Sailors improved to 5-0 in league with a 2-1 win at Fountain Valley on Wednesday.
The Sailors, who went 0-10 in league last season, are in first place in Coach Ali Khosroshahin’s first season at the helm. He credits the 13 seniors for the turnaround, players like Reyes, Alex Avila, Tanner Cislaw, Elijan Mastnak, Alvin Mancilla and Raul Guerrero, and goalkeeper Chandler Siemonsma.
Newport Harbor has never finished first in the previous 10 seasons in the Sunset League. The school rejoined the league in 2006-07.
Newport Harbor’s last league title came in 2003-04, when it was part of the Sea View League. The Sailors shared first with Woodbridge and Foothill that season.
This season, the Sailors are all alone in first, ahead of preseason league favorite Edison, which is 3-2, and defending league champion Los Alamitos, which is 2-2-1. The Chargers lost to the Griffins, 2-1, on Wednesday.
Reyes leads the Sailors with six goals in league. He and Newport Harbor start the second half of league at Huntington Beach on Friday at 5 p.m.
Five matches in, the season is already a success. Newport Harbor has surpassed its league win total from the past two seasons.
The Sailors began to prevail right before league. In the final consolation match of the South Orange County Classic at El Toro High on Dec. 21, they beat rival Corona del Mar in penalty kicks.
The two schools will meet again, this time in the Battle of the Bay match at CdM on Saturday at 3 p.m. The contest was originally set for Dec. 16, but rain postponed it.
No conditions have affected Newport Harbor (7-5-3 overall), not even having to play every match on the road because of the ongoing renovations to Davidson Field. Having to travel hasn’t stopped Newport Harbor. Since picking up its first win against CdM, the Sailors are 7-1-1.
Costa Mesa shares first
In Phil Weber’s first two seasons as coach, the Costa Mesa boys’ basketball team has upset perennial Orange Coast League champion Laguna Beach twice, at Laguna Beach last season and at home this season.
Last season’s win marked the Mustangs’ first on the road over the Breakers since the 2001-02 season, and on Wednesday, Costa Mesa topped Laguna Beach at home for the first time since 2006-07.
Osman Hefner finished with 22 points and Nico Dasca had 14 points, leading the Mustangs past Laguna Beach, 46-39, and keeping them atop the league with Godinez.
Costa Mesa (7-13, 3-0 in league) travels to Godinez (18-3, 3-0) for a first-place showdown on Friday at 7 p.m. The Grizzlies are ranked No. 12 in the CIF Southern Section Division 3AA poll, one spot ahead of Laguna Beach.
The Mustangs look to take down a ranked team for the second time in three days.
Mustangs face No. 1 team in state
Costa Mesa gets its first shot at Godinez, the top-ranked boys’ soccer team in the state by TopDrawerSoccer.com, at the Santa Ana Sports Complex on Friday at 5 p.m.
No team has been able to knock off Godinez this season. The Grizzlies, ranked No. 3 in the country by USA Today, are 13-0.
The Mustangs have only defeated the Grizzlies once in the history of Orange Coast League, and it happened seven years ago. Godinez, the four-time defending league champion, is unbeaten in its last 40 matches in league, going 33-0-7 during the stretch.
The Mustangs are 1-1-1 in league, while Godinez has won its three league contests.
Battle for the Bell
Rivals Estancia and Costa Mesa go up against each other in the Battle for the Bell in boys’ basketball and boys’ soccer next Wednesday.
The soccer match is at Costa Mesa at 6 p.m., and an hour later, the tip off for basketball is at Estancia.
Last season, Costa Mesa swept the two-game basketball series, giving it bragging rights for the fourth time in five seasons, while in soccer, the schools split their two matches.
Edison’s Walker is on fire
Randall Walker has scored 83 points in his last two Sunset League boys’ basketball games.
The senior guard’s 38-point performance in a 72-56 win over defending league champion Los Alamitos on Wednesday has Edison in first place at 4-0.
The Chargers wrap up the first half of league play with a home game with Marina on Friday at 7 p.m. They last placed first in league in 2014-15.
