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Arriaga brothers lead Whittier to shutout over Davis in Daily Pilot Cup soccer opener

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Pablo Arriaga won the Daily Pilot Cup soccer tournament as a Costa Mesa Rea Elementary School sixth-grader nearly a decade ago and last year took his alma mater to the Gold final for fifth- and sixth-grade boys, where it lost on penalties to Costa Mesa Davis.

Now he’s at Costa Mesa Whittier, coaching his younger brother, Omar, and has a fifth- and sixth-grade side that could claim the trophy this Sunday.

The Dolphins on Tuesday afternoon opened the 20th edition of the local tournament with an emphatic 4-0 victory over the defending champions, and Arriaga believes it could be the start of something good.

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But no promises.

“I coach at [storied youth club] Pateadores, so I don’t think we’re [the team to beat],” he said after the triumph at Jack R. Hammett Sports Complex, adjacent to Costa Mesa High School. “I know all the other teams, coach a lot of the other players. [Costa Mesa] Kaiser is a very special team, probably the team to beat.”

Arriaga, whose brother Edgar is his assistant, also is high on Newport Beach Mariners, which is coached by Ryan Baker, who was his coach at Rea nine years ago.

We can make it to the finals. We just can’t be too cocky, because we’ve experienced that in all the years I’ve been playing.

— Omar Arriaga, Whittier sixth-grader

Whittier looked like real contenders in its Group B opener, going ahead on a penalty kick at the end of the first 25-minute half, holding off Davis’ charge after the break, then putting away three late goals to finish off the Ducks.

Omar Arriaga converted the penalty after Kembe Howerton’s hand ball, and the game turned on another penalty kick in the 32nd minute. Davis was controlling play in its attacking third when Chris Esparza tripped Brandon Markert in the box, and Esa Ashraf stepped up to the spot.

Immediately, goalkeeper Derrick Del Loera walked toward Ashraf, and the referee had to send him back to his goal line. Moments later, he parried Ashraf’s shot.

“Whoever’s shooting it, I have every single kid screaming at the player, just getting in his head, and the goalie’s getting up in his face ...,” said Pablo Arriaga, who has emphasized penalty-kick preparedness since Davis’ title victory last year. “I think all those little things added up to that moment.”

Whittier Elementary’s Samuel Maldonado, center, is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal against Davis during a boys’ fifth- and sixth-grade Gold Division pool-play match at the Daily Pilot Cup on Tuesday at Jack R. Hammett Sports Complex in Costa Mesa.
(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)

Edwin Cervantes, the focal point of the Whittier attack, made it 2-0 after stealing a ball just outside Davis’ box in the 45th minute. Samuel Maldonado added two goals in the next three minutes, the first after goalkeeper Ryan Taylor fumbled a ball and the second on a free kick from about 25 yards.

Davis lost Howerton after he headed the ball, which isn’t allowed, to halt a Dolphins attack in the second half, and players from both sides — the Ducks’ Caden Crawford and Whittier’s Josue Barrajas — were red-carded after tussling in the final minute.

“Few bad calls here and there, and game got out of hand,” said Davis coach Owen Markert, who has four players — Ashraf, Crawford, Tanner Burnham and Grant Comeau — back from last year’s championship team. “We needed to keep cool and keep playing through the tough calls and the tough situations, and it didn’t happen. ... They made their penalty and we didn’t, and it kind of fell apart from there.”

Whittier plays Huntington Beach Pegasus in its final pool-play match on Thursday at 5:30 p.m., while Davis has Pegasus Friday at 4:30 p.m. The top two teams from Group B advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals.

Ashraf repeatedly tested Whittier’s defense, and Burnham delivered incisive passes from deep in midfield. Cervantes and Omar Arriaga were excellent for the Dolphins, who have high aspirations this week.

“We can make it to the finals,” said Arriaga, a sixth-grader. “We just can’t be too cocky, because we’ve experienced that in all the years I’ve been playing. We get too cocky, and we end up getting [eliminated] in the first round.”

Davis Elementary’s Luca Crespi, center, chases down a loose ball against Whittier during a boys’ fifth- and sixth-grade Gold Division pool-play match at the Daily Pilot Cup on Tuesday at Jack R. Hammett Sports Complex in Costa Mesa.
(Kevin Chang / Staff Photographer)

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SCOTT FRENCH is a contributor to Times Community News.

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