Dana Hills Earns No. 1 Status

It’s little wonder Dana Hills is the top-ranked boys’ soccer team in the county.

The Dolphins possess the rare combination of speed and size on their front line and Tuesday it was again a recipe for success as Dana Hills clinched the South Coast League title with a 2-0 victory over host Capistrano Valley.

The teams battled to a scoreless tie Jan. 19 at Dana Hills, but the Dolphins would much rather spread out and unleash their counterattack on the bigger field at Capistrano Valley and wasted little time taking advantage of the Cougars’ home field.

In the fifth minute, midfielder Mario Compean broke down the Capistrano Valley central defense on the dribble and sent a perfectly timed ball through to Brendan Huiberts streaking down the right wing. Cougar keeper Zach Mikelson made a valiant attempt, but Huiberts unleashed a shot inside the corner of the penalty area and slotted the ball just inside the far post.

Thirty-five minutes later, midfielder Matt Du Hadway intercepted a pass near midfield and teamed with forward Simon Offord on a near duplicate of the first goal. Du Hadway eluded two Cougar defenders before sending a pass to Offord, whose 20-yard blast shot past Mikelson and inside the far post.

Dana Hills (20-1-3, 8-0-1) suffered the dreaded 2-0 letdown early in the second half and the fifth-ranked Cougars (17-4-5, 6-1-2) responded with a flurry of shots, two of which sailed dangerously close over the crossbar. For the most part, the Dolphins created the best chances to score and if it weren’t for a couple of spectacular saves by Mikelson and the flawless defense of Cougar sweeper Josh Brown, it could have been a rout.

“This is great,” a beaming Dana Hills Coach Dennis Korinke said. “The last two years, it’s come down to the last game of the year. Last year, we had a chance to win league and ended up third. It’s great to have won the title with a game to go.”