A Playoff Classic That Deserved a Late Round

It was a game that probably should have been at least a quarterfinal and it turned out to be worthy of a championship, but an overtime thriller last Thursday between Aliso Niguel High and Marina was only a Southern Section Division I first-round matchup.

Either Aliso Niguel (15-2-3), ranked No. 3 in the county and the division’s fourth-seeded team, or Marina (19-7-3), seventh in the county and 10th in the division, were facing the end of their season too early. Both teams might have advanced much farther.

The game was all that might have been expected as Marina upset the Aliso Niguel, 2-1, in sudden-death overtime.

It was one of the most intense and dramatic games played this season, and an emotional experience for Marina Coach Tino Ray Younger. But imagine how gut-wrenching it was for Wolverine Coach Randy Dodge, who was not allowed to coach or be in attendance after getting a red card in Aliso Niguel’s last regular-season game. When it was over, however, Dodge immediately appeared and dejectedly walked across the field to console his team.

How emotional was it?

So emotional that Younger was brought to tears by his team’s effort before sudden-death overtime and then again after the victory.

So emotional for the more than 400 spectators that the metal bleachers never stopped reverberating after regulation and the referees were constantly harassed from both sides of the field. Seventeen fouls were called on each team. Yellow cards were issued to Aliso Niguel’s Kim Devine and Stacy Lindstrom, both of whom had flown in from the Olympic Development Program national championships in Phoenix. The card so frustrated Devine that she dropped to her knees in tears.

So emotional was the loss that Lindstrom collapsed at midfield in tears after the deciding goal. Twenty minutes later, Devine was still overcome in the parking lot before she left to catch a flight back for the ODP finals.

So emotional was the victory that Aliso Niguel players ended up in a dog pile in front of the net where striker Jessie Chase deposited the game-winner. It was a celebration they had already envisioned, thanks to Younger, who told them to close their eyes and imagine just such a scene before they took the field for sudden death.

It was definitely a team victory for the Vikings, who lack the star power of other highly regarded South County teams. But anything Marina lacked it made up for with intensity on defense.

Sophomore Paige Morgan completely shut down Devine, allowing her only two shots. Sophomore reserve Lindsay Megill helped control Lindstrom, the Wolverines’ leading scorer with 13 goals.

Unfortunately for the Wolverines--and high school soccer fans--a bad draw meant the Southern Section would be without one of its better teams after the first round. The same problem occurred last year when second-seeded Capistrano Valley was beaten in the opening round by Esperanza, a team, like Marina, that came into the playoffs ranked 10th.

The Cougars, who are top-seeded this year, have one loss . . . to Aliso Niguel.

Marina hosts Long Beach Poly today at 3 p.m.

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PLAYOFF PRIMER

The rest of the playoffs went pretty much as expected, with county teams winning 18 of 20 games. In Division I, Esperanza travels to Colton. The Aztecs scored two goals in an incredibly lengthy 18 minutes of injury time to beat Diamond Bar, 2-1. CIn Division II, Sunny Hills heads to Jurupa Valley, which is led by Veronica Zepeda, who has been a member of the women’s national team this year. Top-seeded Pacifica leads the way in Division III, hosting Temecula Chaparral, which defeated Central Union, 10-0, in the first round. In Division IV, second-seeded Corona del Mar, making its first playoff appearance, will travel to Santa Fe Springs St. Paul.