Crescenta Valley boys' soccer fails to find footing, falls in playoff opener to Brea Olinda

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Crescenta Valley’s Brandon Carrillo and Yechan Kang work together to defend against a corner kick header by Brea Olinda’s Ethan Stupin in a CIF Division III first round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Brea Olinda won the game 3-0. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Caleb Abad rosses the ball while being defended by Brea Olinda’s Matt Vrablik in a CIF Division III first round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Brea Olinda won the game 3-0. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Yechan Kang comes in hard on a slide tackle against Brea Olinda’s Ethan Stupin in a CIF Division III first round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Brea Olinda won the game 3-0. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Caleb Abad is being held from the ball by Brea Olinda’s Ryan Esparza in a CIF Division III first round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Brea Olinda won the game 3-0. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s head coach Grant Clark during the game against Brea Olinda in a CIF Division III first round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Brea Olinda won the game 3-0. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s goalie Nick Shahbandarian makes a save off of a Brea Linda header by Brea Olinda’s Kyle Tyson in a CIF Division III first round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Brea Olinda won the game 3-0. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Caleb Abad. being defended by Brea Olinda’s Ryan Esparza, kicks a well placed shot in the corner of the Brea Olinda goal that is saved in a CIF Division III first round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Brea Olinda won the game 3-0. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s David Villasenor and a Brea Olinda defender battle for an aerial ball in a CIF Division III first round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Brea Olinda won the game 3-0. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Guessing correctly, Crescenta Valley’s goalie Nick Shahbandarian drives in the direction of a penalty kick shot, but the ball gets under his arms to score in a CIF Division III first round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Brea Olinda won the game 3-0. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Talon Carvalho drives with the ball being defended by Brea Olinda’s Kyle Tyson in a CIF Division III first round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Brea Olinda won the game 3-0. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Talon Carvalho charges toward the Brea Olinda goal through the Brea Olinda defense in a CIF Division III first round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Brea Olinda won the game 3-0. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Attacking the Brea Olinda goal, Crescenta Valley’s Jesus Pena works to control a high bouncing ball being defended by Brea Olinda’s Eric Mayer in a CIF Division III first round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Brea Olinda won the game 3-0. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s David Villasenor battles Brea Olinda’s Sean O’Brien on a crossing ball in a CIF Division III first round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Brea Olinda won the game 3-0. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Caleb Abad chases a through ball that is aggressively cleared by Brea Olinda’s Ryan Esparza in a CIF Division III first round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Brea Olinda won the game 3-0. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Adom Oshagan reaches in to get a toe on the ball defending against the dribble by Brea Olinda’s Paco Hanon in a CIF Division III first round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Brea Olinda won the game 3-0. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Caleb Abad takes a crossing ball off the head to shoot it a little wide of the Brea Olinda goal in a CIF Division III first round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Brea Olinda won the game 3-0. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

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Crescenta Valley’s Adom Oshagan sends a pass while Brea Olinda’s Ethan Stupin passes by in a CIF Division III first round boys’ soccer game at Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday, February 7, 2019. Brea Olinda won the game 3-0. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

By Vincent Nguyen

Feb. 7, 2019 6:03 PM PT

LA CRESCENTA — Pass after pass, chance after chance, run after run, the Crescenta Valley boys’ soccer team had it all in the opening 20 minutes of its Division III first-round playoff match against Brea Olinda.

Although the Falcons were successful in gaining possession, many of their chances and passes looked forced, as if the opportunities weren’t coming naturally.

Then, an abrupt goal for Brea Olinda in the 27th minute changed the Crescenta Valley mindset to push harder for the equalizer.

But the efforts weren’t enough, and Crescenta Valley fell, 3-0, to Brea Olinda in the opening round of the Southern Section playoffs at Osborne Field on Thursday.

“We got a little too wide-eyed, maybe,” Crescenta Valley coach Grant Clark said. “We tried to go too much, too big, too early. It’s one of the things when you coach high school kids. You have 15-, 16-, 17-, 18-year-old kids and we give them an idea and a game plan and they, a lot of the times, go along with it pretty well and sometimes we go out of that plan and things go a little bit haywire.”

The Falcons (11-8-4; second in the Pacific League) tallied three, successive corner opportunities to start the match, and came closest to scoring in the 11th minute when senior Caleb Abad went up for a point-blank header that was saved by Wildcats goalkeeper Jackson Swindle.

The Wildcats (9-8-2; Crestview League runner-up) came through when they picked off a failed Falcons clearance inside the box and slotted home the opening goal from Sean O’Brien in the 27th minute.

“I think if Crescenta Valley had scored in the first 20 minutes, it would have been a totally different game,” Brea Olinda coach Steven Teal said. “They definitely dominated that.

“The way we’ve played all year is we’ve been kind of a hit-or-miss team. We’re used to being dominated in early games and I think our goal, which was kind of lucky since it was a play where we played it, hit off their own guy and dropped for us to finish it. That goal just kind of settled them and they figured that out.”

A header from Kyle Tyson doubled the Brea Olinda lead, 2-0, in the 65th minute before a penalty-kick from Paco Hanon in the 73rd minute capped the scoring.

Crescenta Valley outshot Brea Olinda,10-3, with seven shots on target, but couldn’t prevent the shutout.

“What we wanted to do was get the forwards to be targets and to receive the ball to allow a lot of the offense to come underneath them,” Clark said. “We’re a lot more successful when we start playing to hit the forward, drop it back and then find the gaps, and we just never really got into that rhythm today to be able to do that.

“It is what it is. We start working toward next year. They get to play for this year and we start working on next year.”

vincent.nguyen@latimes.com

Twitter: @ReporterVince

Crescenta Valley boys’ soccer fails to find footing, falls in playoff opener to Brea Olinda