Huntington Beach Hasn’t Been Well-Oiled Machine

When Huntington Beach tore through the Marina holiday tournament and handled a torrid Mater Dei team in the final, the Oilers appeared to be a good bet to win a second consecutive Sunset League title and a strong contender for the Southern Section Division II title.

But with one game left in the regular season, the Oilers have no chance to win the Sunset League and only a small chance of qualifying for the playoffs. After starting 11-0-1, Huntington Beach (14-4-2, 4-4-1) won only three of its next eight and resides in fourth place. Once ranked as high as third in the county and second in the Division II poll, the Oilers have fallen to sixth in the county and ninth in Division II.

What happened? Some of it has to do with the fierce competition in the Sunset League. The top four teams are ranked in the county’s top 10 and fifth-place Los Alamitos would probably be 11th or 12th.

“In most leagues, even if you’re not playing your best, you have a chance to win the league or at least make the playoffs,” said Oiler forward Drew McAthy, who leads his team with 18 goals. “It’s frustrating. We started off so well, but it’s just a really tough league.”

It has been especially tough on sophomore forward Joel Murphy, who had nine goals in the nonleague season but didn’t score his first league goal until Friday in a victory over Marina. McAthy has scored only two goals in league, but has missed four games with an ankle injury.

“When you have teams marking a sophomore like Joel, you’ve got to look at what the rest of the team can do,” Huntington Beach Coach Kevin Smith said. “I just think we’re not deep enough.”

McAthy admitted the Oilers are not the same team they were six weeks ago.

“Before the Mater Dei game, we were so intense, so fired up,” McAthy said. “It’s just not there right now. Hopefully, it’s not too late to start winning again.”

If the Oilers defeat Los Alamitos on Wednesday and last-place Marina upsets Esperanza, Huntington Beach would finish third and automatically earn a playoff berth. Otherwise, the Oilers are left hoping for a wild-card berth.

NOT A GOOD SIGN

Signing day came and went last week for Santa Margarita’s Spencer George and El Dorado’s Ignacio Cid, two of the county’s better players. George and Cid wanted to play for UCLA, but both have pretty much given up on becoming Bruins.

George said he is leaning toward playing at Harvard, provided he is admitted. Cid, who has 34 goals this season, is still hoping for a Division I scholarship.

LOOKING AHEAD

On Wednesday, fourth-ranked Edison (15-3-2, 6-2-1) will play at second-ranked Fountain Valley (15-2-3, 6-1-2) for the Sunset League title. If Fountain Valley wins, it will likely be seeded among the top three teams in the Division I playoffs.

If Edison wins, it will be its first league title in seven years. The Chargers probably won’t be seeded in the Division II draw because they have never been ranked by the Southern Section this season.

If you have an item or idea for the boys’ soccer report, you can fax us at (714) 966-5663 or e-mail us at david.mckibben@latimes.com