Newport Harbor boys’ soccer felled by Los Alamitos in CIF Division 3 semifinals

Soccer has been called the cruelest game, one in which hard work can achieve so little, sublime skill can bring no reward, dominance too often is accompanied by defeat and one moment may produce profound agony.

The Newport Harbor High boys’ soccer team knows the feeling after dropping their CIF Southern Section Division 3 semifinal 2-1 Saturday evening at Los Alamitos.

The Sailors (15-5-6) set the game’s parameters with their direct, anarchic style of play, grabbed an early lead, then held off a relentless foe until the second half and headed into the final moments counting down to overtime — and perhaps another penalty-kick shootout.

Then, just like that, it was over.

Talismanic midfielder James Metcalfe scored a chaotic goal in the first minute of stoppage to send Los Alamitos (17-6-3) to its first Southern Section boys’ soccer championship game in 21 years.

“It definitely sucks,” said midfielder James Evans, who sent the Sailors ahead in the 15th minute. “Especially all the hard work we put into this season. It’s hard to end like this one, one step away from the final. It definitely sucks.”

Newport Harbor’s stirring run through the Division 3 bracket — a pair of triumphs in tiebreakers from the penalty spot sandwiched around a stunning upset of the No. 1 seed — fell just short of the title game at a most wicked juncture.

It’s not the end for Newport Harbor. The Sailors will play on in the CIF Southern California Regional tournament, with pairings to be determined following next weekend’s sectional championships. It’s not the preferred prize, but it’s something.

“We get to hang out a few more days and play a little more,” head coach Ignacio Cid said.

Los Alamitos will hit the road to face seventh-ranked Quartz Hill (16-1-4), a 1-0 winner at No. 5 El Dorado. The Griffins won in both previous trips to the title game in 1992 and 2002.

It didn’t come easy for the home side, which watched its early dominance — three good chances in the first two minutes — disappear as Newport Harbor’s aggressive, turbulent play quickly began to define the proceedings, posing questions that weren’t easy to answer.

“That team, the way they play, they make the game messy, they make it a little chaotic and you’ve got to be able to fight,” Los Alamitos head coach Donovan Martinez said. “First half, I thought they really gave it to us. They outplayed us, they were stronger than us, they won balls. Their direct play was giving us a little bit of problems, because we haven’t really played a lot of teams that go that direct. ...

“That’s how they play the game: Long balls, fighting for first and second balls. We try to get the ball on the ground, play a little more [to feet]. We like things not so chaotic, and they love it chaotic — they do a good job with that. First half we were really struggling with it. There was some frustration. Our players, you could see, were a little worried.”

Newport Harbor took advantage, putting the Griffins under pressure as Evans — moved from the back line into midfield with the return of central defender Ryan Magnani from a three-game, red-card suspension — put a header through the goalmouth a minute before he found the net. The goal came from a Marlon Cortes feed from the left, with Evans rocketing a shot inside the right post from near the top of the box.

That might have been all the Sailors needed. They sat back, clogged the passing lanes, provided little space to exploit and made things difficult for Los Alamitos, at least until halftime.

The Griffins found more of the game in the second half, behind Metcalfe and Derek Lund in the middle, Jack Nishimoto and Cael McElderry on the flanks and Demitrious Tanks up top.

An equalizer nearly arrived three minutes after the break, but defender Luke Deisner saved successive shots by Tanks, who finally evened the score five minutes later, his fourth postseason goal, picking up a ball from Alberto Gomez on a broken play and striking it inside the left post from about 20 yards.

Los Alamitos applied heavy pressure the rest of the way, nearly went ahead on a Nishimoto shot that left back Jacob Shubin saved on the goal line in the 76th minute. Overtime was nigh, but the Griffins, attacking from the wings, weren’t finished.

The decisive moment came just into stoppage. Enoch Gonzalez weaved his way along the left sideline, then sent a ball toward the near post, which Sailors goalkeeper Joshua Flores knocked away. It spun into the goalmouth, with defenders trying to get a piece of it, but Metcalfe knocked it home.

“They were relentless,” Evans said. “A really good team, a bunch of good players. I hope they win it.”

Cid said he was pleased with his team with its effort, in this game and all season, and that “the boys did amazing,” that they “pulled every bit of ability and talent out of their bodies, and they did it all with good grades and perfect character.”

“It’s OK,” he said. “[Los Alamitos is] really good. What can you say? ... There’s nothing to say. It hurts and you move on with your life.”

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