Time Is on Newport Harbor’s Side in Tie With Eagles

Newport Harbor used every second of the clock, and then some, to preserve its Sea View League lead in boys’ soccer with a 2-2 tie with Santa Margarita Friday at Kaiser Elementary school in Costa Mesa.

The eighth-ranked Sailors (7-3-1, 4-1-1) tied the game at 83:30 on a header by Brett Baker to cap a furious rally and dash the hopes of the Eagles (10-7-2, 2-2-2), who appeared to be on the verge of an upset.

Eagle Coach Curt Bauer said he knew the last 10 minutes of the game would be played on their side of the field, but he didn’t think the referee would tack on a few additional minutes on the clock.

“Whenever you go on the road and you’re up by a goal late in the game, the ball is going to stay on your side because the other team is putting on tremendous pressure,” Bauer said.

“But I never thought the referee would add more than a minute of extra time to compensate for the goal and the one injury. It’s hard to lose a win like that.”

Santa Margarita scored first when Mike Baldridge knocked in a header at 32:26 in the first half. Newport Harbor tied the score five minutes later when Manuel Oropeza drilled a shot past goalkeeper Byron Foss, to make the score, 1-1, at the half.

After missing a couple of big opportunities early in the second half, the Eagles scored when Baldridge took a free kick from Matt Moses and put it just over the outstretched hands of Sailor goalkeeper Zach Wells, giving the Eagles a 2-1 lead at the 17:30 mark. The Eagles had a few more chances to pad their lead, but couldn’t capitalize.

Newport Harbor then began its rally and after several scoring chances, it finally tied the score to preserve its league-best record.

In other league games:

El Toro 1, Woodbridge 1--Andy Valderrama scored off a rebound with two minutes left to tie the score for ninth-ranked El Toro (12-4-4, 3-2-1). Dan Chun scored for seventh-ranked Woodbridge (12-3-4, 3-1-2) 25 minutes into the second half.

Irvine 2, Corona del Mar 0--David Reid scored the winning goal midway through the first half and Eric Kim added a goal in the second half for Irvine (8-8-2, 1-4-1). Sophomore Chip Kimmich had four saves and posted a shutout in his first varsity start.