Boys’ soccer ready to hit field again

The Laguna Beach boys’ soccer team hasn’t played in a week and on Friday, the Breakers return to action to face Aliso Niguel on the Wolverine’s home field. The nonleague match starts at 5 p.m. and is preceded at 3:15 p.m. by the junior varsity and frosh/soph games between the schools.

Laguna last played Dec. 9 when the Breakers battled Tesoro to a 1-1 tie. Freshman Harrison Gregory scored the Breakers’ goal.

“This game was always going to be a really good test for the team,” Laguna Coach Daniel Richards said. “Tesoro consistently produces a strong soccer program year after year, making them an ideal opponent to challenge ourselves before league play.

“We didn’t start the game as well as we would have liked, and Tesoro deserved the lead at half time. We were a bit anxious and forced the play too much which resulted in a lot of loss of possession.”

The Titans took a 1-0 halftime lead, but the Breakers fought back in the second half.

“The boys made some good adjustments in the second half and we started to control the game and created some good chances,” Richards said. “The goal by Harrison ‘The Future’ Gregory was extremely well taken, with him showing great composure and excellent technique.

“Overall, this was a good result and a step in the right direction for the program. The most pleasing part of the performance was seeing the ability and character of the team to come back from a goal behind against such good opposition.”

The Breakers, now 1-0-2, figure to be tested in the coming week. In addition to playing Friday at Aliso Niguel, they’ll take on Beckman at 3:15 p.m. Monday at Harvard Park in Irvine. On Tuesday, they’ll travel to Cypress for a 3 p.m. game against Oxford Academy.

“We have an extremely busy schedule coming up over the next seven days and will get the opportunity to test the depth of our squad,” Richards said. “We will be playing some very strong opposition again and look to continue our good start to the season.”

*

Girls’ Soccer

The Breakers continued play Dec. 9 at the Ocean View Winter Classic and were defeated, 4-0, by Marina. They played host to Laguna Hills on Thursday, but the score was not available at press time.

Laguna returns to action next Thursday for a 2 p.m. non-league home match against Laguna Hills.

*

Girls’ Water Polo

The Breakers, ranked sixth this week in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 poll, play a key nonleague match at 3:30 p.m. Friday at home against Mater Dei. The Monarchs are the top-ranked team in Division 2.

Laguna (2-0) also faces another strong test at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday when they take on Edison, ranked eighth in Division 1, in a non-league game at the Ocean View High pool in Huntington Beach.

“We have been training really hard and both the girls and myself self are excited to get to play a couple high level games to gauge where we are at this point in the season,” Laguna Coach Ethan Damato said. “Mater Dei just took second at the Villa Park Classic and is playing really well right now. Edison is the best No. 8 team I have seen. I’m not sure that is where (eighth) they will end up.

“Division 1 is crazy this year. I feel like there are eight teams who could beat each other on any given day. Should be a fun year.”

*

CIF Rankings

Girls’ water polo: Laguna No. 6, Division 1.

michael.sciacca@latimes.com

Twitter: @MikeSciacca