Magical run ends for Costa Mesa girls’ soccer in 1-0 setback in CIF semifinals

The magic run. The Cinderella run. The unexpected run.

Whatever you wanted to call it came to an end Saturday afternoon for the top-seeded Costa Mesa High girls’ soccer team after a 1-0 setback against Westridge of Pasadena in the CIF Southern Section Division 5 semifinals at Glendale High.

“I am very proud of the girls,” Costa Mesa coach Jason Boyce said. “They did some great work this year.”

Costa Mesa (19-3-4) surrendered a first-half goal with 10 minutes remaining and could not recover. Costa Mesa had a few chances but not many good looks on goal.

“We just didn’t get a solid shot off,” Boyce said. “I thought we dominated the second half. We found a few holes but we needed that last open spot and never got it. They dropped a lot of players back and we never could get a shot off.”

It was a disappointing end for Natalia Guzman, Rayleen Chavez, Daisy Carrillo, Vanessa Carrillo, Jamilette Lopez and all the others. It was the only goal Costa Mesa gave up in four CIF matches. However, it only scored one goal in the four matches.

“I suppose that is ‘just’, right”, Boyce said. “There was never any issues with our defense. We just had trouble finishing opportunities. We had trouble getting good shots. We had to be aggressive, push and attack. It just didn’t work out today.”

Regardless, it was one of the best seasons in recent memory.

Costa Mesa played in its first semifinal since 2003 when it shared the Division 3 co-championship. Costa Mesa blanked its first two opponents (North Hollywood Campbell Hall and Temple City) before knocking off Riverside Hillcrest 1-0 earlier this week. The Orange Coast League champion knew it was in for tough offense in Westridge. The Tigers (12-6-4) had scored nine goals in victories against Thousand Oaks La Reina, Cathedral City and Katella.

Boyce said he is excited about the future.

“We only graduate a few seniors,” Boyce said. “We have a great defense and should only get better the next few years. We won a lot of games. We only lost a few. the future is bright.”

JACK POLLON is a contributor to Times Community News. Follow him on Twitter: @pollonpreps