Pacifica Christian boys’ soccer falls in first CIF finals appearance
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Pacifica Christian’s dream run through the CIF Southern Section boys’ soccer playoffs came to a sudden and spectacular end, one moment of magic — or breakdown, depending on allegiance — knocking out the Tritons in a tense, increasingly complicated Division 8 title game showdown Saturday afternoon at Orange Coast College.
Arcadia Rio Hondo Prep prevailed in overtime, 1-0, the singular work of star forward Easton Jara, who’d been held mostly in check by a Pacifica Christian defensive approach designed solely to do so.
His 29th goal this season was a dagger built from so many things, primarily the Tritons’ inability to prosper from early domination and, in searing heat on LeBard Stadium’s unforgiving turf, the increasing impact of (and frustration with) their opponent’s rugged, direct approach.
“I think we got a little tired. I’m not sure why,” said Tritons head coach Johnny Marmelstein, who has built the program into an emerging force after winning six Southern Section championships at other schools. “Maybe the heat. We didn’t play as well as we could play [over the first 25 minutes] .... We needed to score in the first 25 minutes, and we’ve been lucky. We’ve been doing that. We’ve been scoring goals. And we just couldn’t get one in.”
Pacifica Christian (16-4-1) certainly had opportunities, and at least a half-dozen good ones. The Tritons were in charge right away, winning virtually everything in midfield and repeatedly surging forward in search of crevices within Rio Hondo Prep’s low block.
They broke through just once, right at the start, neither Levi Redman nor Dean Soldan getting off the shots they wanted as the ball pinged around the goalmouth, and lacked the attacking pace needed to do more. They came close again, but from distance — Redman’s 33-yard drive clanged off the crossbar in the 18th minute — and would find chances later, the two best in the last 10 minutes of regulation, but command soon slipped away.
“We kind of got sidetracked, and we kind of broke up,” said sophomore goalkeeper Kasper Batley, who kept the Tritons in the game with four vital saves, two in overtime. “The gap from our offense, midfield and defense was split. It was a lot of booting, and in the beginning, we were more on the ground.”
Rio Hondo Prep’s physical dimension disrupted the home side’s possession game, then forged a vertical battle, one that favored their strengths. It bothered the Tritons, who competed with just 10 players after Soldan was red-carded after responding violently to a severe challenge in second-half stoppage.
“They were extremely physical, and you could see that our guys were getting more and more upset ...,” said Marmelstein, who would have preferred a more tightly officiated match. “Dean was getting whacked the whole game. He finally just said, ‘I‘ve had enough.’ I’m not excusing that, but referees need to control the game. And it was unfortunate that they chose to allow the game to be as physical as it was.”
Jara, monitored by four defenders, was a constant menace, dropping deep, then carving through the lines via dribble or pass, and the Kares (17-5-1), but for the best of Batley’s seven-save work, would have been ahead by halftime and then again right after the break.
“He’s a legend,” Marmelstein said. “We would have been down, 2-0, 3-0 if he hadn’t been in goal.”
The Tritons found second-half opportunities from the flank and especially in set pieces, missing narrowly from goalmouth service in the final minutes. Jonas Packiam’s goal-bound header from Jacob Coleman’s corner kick was swatted away by Kares goalkeeper Isaac Guzman in the 71st minute, and Shaun Sandhu couldn’t corral an awkward bounce at the right post nine minutes later, a would-be winner from a scrum-battled Coleman free kick that slipped devastatingly away.
Batley came up biggest in the extra period, smothering a close-range Yanick Diaz blast from an errant Tritons pass three minutes in, then doing so again when Jara played through Jace Frary moments before it was over.
“He’s out of this world. He’s magical. He keeps his team together,” senior co-captain Noah Kopel said of Batley. “He’s a safety net. When things go off, it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s a goal,’ and he just flies out of nowhere.”
Jara won it a little more than nine and half minutes through the first of two 10-minute, sudden-death periods, picking up the second ball from his throw-in, carrying square into the center, then curling in until an opening appeared. His above-the-box shot to the lower-right corner left Batley no chance.
“We kept him at bay for most of the game, except for the last 15 seconds of the game,” Marmelstein said. “We knew that he was dangerous, and we just lost track of him. Easton’s a great player, and great players win games.”
It’s the first boys’ soccer title for Rio Hondo Prep, a come-and-go program dormant for several years until revived last season.
“I’m kind of in shock right now,” Kares head coach A.J. Corsini said. “We’re not a soccer program, but, you know, what a run. That was just amazing. I’m so happy, I’m gonna cry.”
Pacifica Christian dropped a penalty-kick shootout, 5-4, at L.A. City Division II titlist Garfield in the CIF State Southern California Division V regional tournament on Tuesday. Colten Smith scored off a rebound from a shot by Aiden Lynch to give the Tritons a 1-0 lead, but Garfield tied the score with five minutes remaining to force extra time.
