Boys soccer: Estancia looks to reload at full speed

Tony Altobelli

COSTA MESA - Estancia High boys soccer Coach Steve Crenshaw isn’t

expecting a whole lot of sympathy from opponents this year after losing

more talent in one year than some programs see in a decade.

“Orange County may not ever see a team with as much talent as that,”

Crenshaw said of his 21-1 CIF Southern Section Division IV champion team

from a year ago. “We were ranked 10th in the nation by the National

Soccer Coaches Association and it was a special group to coach.”

With 12 players gone from that program, including scoring machines

Esaul Mendoza and Cesar Terrones (80 goals combined), Crenshaw will do

battle with a talented, though very young squad in hopes of continuing

the newfound winning tradition.

“This is a rebuilding year, but we have a lot of talent on this team,

nonetheless,” Crenshaw said. “We had a scrimmage against (defending

Division II champ) Mater Dei and held our own, even though we didn’t play

all that well. It was definitely a matchup of youth versus experience.”

While last year’s varsity squad hammered opponent after opponent, the

freshman team was doing the same thing and a major chunk of that young

talent has made the jump to the spotlight, ready or not.

“These guys can play a high caliber of soccer,” Crenshaw said. “We

just have to relax out there and play our style of short passes and field

control and we’ll be fine.”

Senior Armando Ortiz is one of the few returning members of last

year’s squad and according to Crenshaw, he’s hungry for more.

“He’s almost like having another assistant coach out there,” Crenshaw

said. “He had a taste of success last year and he wants to do it again.

He doesn’t mess around out there and he doesn’t let others mess around

either.”

Defensive specialist Alfredo Marillo and backup fullback Juan Zarate

are the other remaining pieces of Estancia’s championship team.

Replacing Terrones and Mendoza is the sophomore duo of Javier Millan

and Victor Cruz. “They even play a little like Cesar and Esaul,” Crenshaw

said. “Victor has that same relentless, wear-you-down style like Cesar,

while Javier is a little more flashy, like Esaul. Both are very explosive

and both have a tremendous amount of skills.”

It’s a global-happy squad for the Eagles with the additions of

Russian-born Nikolai Doudtchenko and South Pacific Islander Abdul Kaiyum.

Both are sophomores and both have a promising future in the sport,

according to Crenshaw.

“Nikolai also spent some time in Scotland, so he has been exposed to

some high-quality styles of soccer,” Crenshaw said. “Abdul is a tall

slender kid with a great understanding of the game. The first time I saw

him, I knew he was going to be a star.”

Using his speed in the sweeper position will be junior Rolando Vivar.

“He reminds me of Ramon Garcia when he played here,” Crenshaw said. “He’s

got a ton of speed and he’s another smart soccer player on our team.”

In goal for the Eagles will be junior Giovanni Gonzalez. “He’s a

sound, savvy keeper and he’ll do a great job for us,” Crenshaw said.

“Mater Dei controlled the scrimmage, but they only scored one goal and

that’s in large part to Giovanni’s play.”

Crenshaw believes that, despite the loss of talent and experience, the

Eagles can still compete for a league title and beyond.

“It’s a work in progress, but we have a ton of talent here,” he said.

“This could be the making of a strong and talented Eagles’ team for years

to come.”

ESTANCIA BOYS SOCCER

1 Giovanni Gonzalez Jr.

3 Sergio Vivar So.

4 Rolando Vivar Jr.

5 Juan Rodriguez Jr.

6 Armando Ortiz Sr.

7 Eli Navarrete So.

8 Juan Zarate Sr.

9 Fidel Gomez So.

10 Javier Ramirez So.

11 Osbaldo Nieves Sr.

12 Javier Millan So.

13 Alfredo Murillo Sr.

14 Nikolai Doudtchenko So.

15 Ricardo Garcia Jr.

16 Abdul Kaiyum So.

17 Luis Parada Sr.

21 Victor Cruz So.

Adam Kapko Sr.

Coach - Steve Crenshaw