It wasn’t Costa Mesa’s intention to sit back, absorb pressure, then attack in transition, but one takes what the game gives, and the visiting Mustangs made the most of that to complete a Battle for the Bell soccer sweep against crosstown rival Estancia.
Noe Martinez scored two first-half goals, the second from the penalty spot, and Carlos Alcala led a sublime defensive effort Friday evening as Costa Mesa held on for a 2-1 victory, its third in a row against the Eagles, and claimed another Bell for boys’ soccer after missing out the previous seven years.
It came down to two moments over nearly an hour and a half in what justly might have gone scoreless but for one gorgeous long ball and a bit of frustration seven minutes later.
Costa Mesa celebrates a goal by Noe Martinez during the Battle for the Bell boys’ soccer match against Estancia on Friday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
“That wasn’t the plan,” said Costa Mesa assistant coach Miguel Espinoza, who is leading the team during head coach Santiago Guzman’s suspension, expected to end with the new year, for a postgame incident after last season’s controversial playoff shootout loss to Cathedral City. “We wanted to possess, but them being down, they were going to get the ball moving and try to get a goal.
“It kind of [played out that way]. That’s OK, what matters is the result.”
The triumph followed a 2-1 win by the Costa Mesa girls’ team at home Thursday, the first time both have won the annual trophy in more than a decade, as the nemeses met in nonleague encounters after this year’s releaguing split up the old Orange Coast League. The Mustangs also swept Bell showdowns in boys’ and girls’ basketball, girls’ water polo and wrestling.
Costa Mesa’s Noe Martinez (19) celebrates his first goal during the Battle for the Bell boys’ soccer match against Estancia on Friday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Alcala, aided by back-line partner Jorge Puga with savvy holding midfielder Roman Serpas in front of them, was dominant at the back, frustrating Estancia striker Gabe Johner as Estancia (1-3) strained to turn ample possession into chances.
They had far more of the ball than Costa Mesa (1-3-2), moved it smartly through midfield, but couldn’t find Johner, their top scorer, between the lines. The first legitimate opportunity didn’t arrive until 12 minutes into the second half, when Christian Gomez forced a foot save from Mustangs goalkeeper Kevin Perez Henriquez.
“They didn’t really have an idea what to do in front of our defense, and I [credit] that to my team,” said Espinoza, a 2016 Estancia graduate whose “motivation” for going into coaching came from Eagles head coach Robert Castellano. “I thought my team defended really well. We kept our shape, and that’s what we’ve worked on this week. So I’m very satisfied.”
Costa Mesa’s Noe Martinez (19) draws a penalty shot after Estancia’s Andy Rivas (7) pulled his jersey to stop a shot.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Alcala, stepping onto the back line, an area of concern, after playing a key role in midfield as Costa Mesa last winter won its first league title in 22 years, repeatedly cut off Eagles attacks and kicked off counters, and he was as responsible as Martinez for the opening goal in the 23rd minute.
Alcala booted a clearance a good 60 yards downfield, over Estancia’s back line and onto the sprinting Martinez’s path. The senior forward took the ball to the box, one-on-one, stepped left past goalkeeper Joel Perez and softly nudged it into the net.
“It was just amazing,” he said. “The first goal, I was like, ‘OK, we’re going to win this game.’ [The ball landed] in front of me, and I took the touch, and then I juked the goalkeeper, just tapped it in. It was an easy goal.”
Estancia’s Julian Duarte (8) battles Costa Mesa’s Jason Perez in the midfield for ball control on Friday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Martinez netted another seven minutes later, converting a penalty kick after Eagles defender Andy Rivas took a long tug on his jersey as he fired just wide of the upper-left post. It was all Costa Mesa needed.
“Frustration got the best of us,” said Castellano, whose team applied heavy pressure as he switched from a 4-3-3 formation to a 4-4-2 diamond and finally to a flat 4-4-2 in the second half. “I was proud of the boys [after halftime], they showed a lot of fight, they worked, tried to claw back in. Just two mistakes, and that was it.”
Estancia was impaired by the loss of sophomore winger Isaac Becerra to a concussion after a dozen minutes, then lost Johner, another concussion, in the final minutes. It did get a bit of consolation from an odd sequence four minutes into stoppage.
Costa Mesa’s Carlos Alcala (8) and Estancia’s Gabe Johner (13) try to control a long pass at midfield on Friday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Henriquez, the ball in his hands after an Eagles foray — and in no hurry to punt it downfield, accidentally dropped it, then picked it up again. Can’t do that. Estancia was awarded an indirect free kick just inside the 18-yard box, Julian Castro poked it to the right and Axel Mejia hammered it to the left side of the goal.
“It is what it is,” Espinoza said. “We got the result, so that’s what mattered.”
Costa Mesa’s Gio Ortiz (21) and Estancia’s Christian Gomez (10) run down a loose ball on Friday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)