Boys’ Soccer: Edison steps up on road
SAN DIEGO — On the last Sunday in February, the Edison High boys’ soccer team held its end-of-the-season banquet. And it made sense, as the day before, the Chargers lost in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.
It was time for the players, coaches and family members to look back on a Sunset League title run, and for the seniors to say their goodbyes.
Three days after the banquet at Mile Square Park and two days after players turned in their uniforms at school, Coach Charlie Breneman found out the season was not over just yet. There would be at least one more match, coming in a new postseason tournament.
In the middle of last week, Breneman said he learned through Rich Boyce, the school’s athletic director, that the Chargers would earn a berth into the CIF Southern California Regional Division I playoffs. On that same Wednesday, Breneman gathered his team and it practiced.
“I was a little shocked,” Breneman said. “It was sort of like getting the band back together.”
The Chargers might have to have another banquet after what they pulled off on Tuesday.
The No. 8-seeded Chargers traveled to San Diego and upset No. 1 St. Augustine, 3-1.
Dominic Bair scored twice and Kobe Wood had a goal, helping Edison get past the opening round. Goalkeeper Mitchell Wilson turned in a stellar performance, making seven saves, and defenders Ben Spetner, Jared Velazquez and Drew Brummett used their bodies to keep the ball out of the net.
It took a team effort for Edison to take down St. Augustine (14-3-8), ranked No. 3 in the state by TopDrawerSoccer.com, and advance to the semifinals. Since the Chargers are the lowest seed in the eight-team tournament, they will have to play every contest on the road.
The Chargers’ round trip was 184 miles. Their next trip will be a lot shorter.
The Chargers get to play in Orange County.
Edison (21-5-1) plays at No. 4 El Toro (15-10) on Thursday at 4 p.m. El Toro defeated No. 5 Coronado, 1-0, on Tuesday.
The semifinal matchup is between two schools with the same mascot: Chargers. The El Toro Chargers won the CIF Southern Section Division 1 crown, edging Redlands East Valley in penalty kicks, 4-3, at Corona High last Friday.
With Redlands East Valley opting not to participate in the CIF SoCal Regional, Breneman said that opened the door for Edison. Redlands East Valley is the same team that shut out host Edison, 1-0, in the quarterfinals on Feb. 25.
“My guess is there’s a big club tournament this coming weekend in Las Vegas,” Breneman said for Redlands East Valley not wanting to continue its season past the section playoffs. “Some of [my] guys are actually participating [in the club tournament] as well.
“Sounds like Mitchell, our keeper, will be heading out to Las Vegas Thursday. But I think everyone else should be here Thursday. Saturday will be a different thing.”
Edison is not looking toward Saturday’s finale or past El Toro, which has won 11 of its last 13 matches.
With Wilson out, Breneman said Thiago Costa will start at keeper for Edison. Costa almost came in for Wilson because Breneman said Wilson did not feel well at halftime.
Bair at least gave Wilson a lead to work with, tapping in a rebound in the 28th minute.
Wilson returned for the second half, and St. Augustine tested him right away with a shot from outside the box. Wilson responded with a save.
St. Augustine evened things up on Jake Haupt’s 30-yard blast that hit the upper-left corner of the net in the 51st minute.
Five minutes later, Bair, Sam Kemper and Wood came together to put Edison back in front. Bair dribbled into the box, passing the ball back to Kemper, who took a shot. The ball deflected out toward Wood, and with a wide-open net, he squibbed it through to give Edison a 2-1 lead.
The rest of the way, the Saints threatened on the narrow field, and Wilson and the Chargers denied the hosts. The main referee added eight minutes of extra time, enough to give Bair one more scoring chance.
As the Saints earned a corner kick in stoppage time, they brought up the keeper. They did not get a shot on goal, and Spetner popped the ball out to Bair. With no one in goal, the striker was on his way to an easy goal.
As he raced the other way all alone, Bair smiled and lifted his arm up.
“That was a fun one. It was a victory lap,” Bair said of his 18th goal during his senior season, which he believed was done with after the Feb. 26 banquet. “It was a little weird to play after some closing ceremonies. I think [this is] more of a second chance. Also, a lot of these guys have been playing together for a long time, and we were really sad that we were going to be going our separate ways. It’s nice to be back together.”
Edison reunited, and it picked up its first win in a CIF SoCal Regional under Breneman. The only other time Breneman took Edison to the tournament was in 2009-10, when it lost in the opening round to Paramount in penalty kicks.
“I’m just so thankful that you guys were willing to come together there at the end,” Breneman told his players. “I can’t be more proud of you guys. That right there … was a special game. That is something that you will remember for the rest of your life.
“Let’s not stop here. You just took down the No. 1 team in San Diego.”
Twitter: @ByDCP
