Daring Mesa goalies come through at zero hour

Barry Faulkner

Though she produced a performance those in attendance won’t soon

forget, just how much Costa Mesa High girls soccer goalie Kindra

Bailey remembers about Saturday night’s CIF Southern Section Division

III title game, is open to question.

Bailey, who made six saves and thwarted a handful of Walnut

scoring threats the first 64 minutes of the scoreless tie, appeared

to clash heads with a Walnut attacker as a corner kick sailed in

front of the Mesa goal in the 65th minute at Cal State Fullerton.

Both Bailey and Walnut senior forward Nicki Becker remained on the

ground for several minutes after the collision. Both had cuts tended

to by support staff and both were eventually helped from the field.

Becker, Walnut’s scoring leader, returned to the game, but Bailey was

replaced by senior Kaitlyn Gentling, who added one save and also

collected several loose balls in the attacking zone to preserve the

shutout.

Bailey, who watched the completion of the game sitting on a

trainer’s table set up on the sideline, walked onto the field for the

postgame awards presentation. After removing an ice bag held over her

nose, she was included in a team picture on the field to commemorate

the co-championship, then was then taken by her mother to a hospital,

said Mesa Coach Dan Johnston, who described Bailey’s condition as “a

little woozy.” Bailey had adhesive bandages over what assistant coach

Erin Van Horn said were a pair of cuts, aligned vertically from the

center of her forehead to the bridge of her nose. Van Horn also said

there was a knot on her forehead.

Her wounds were tangible evidence of the aggressiveness with which

Bailey attacked her duties, capping her first varsity season, in

which she shared time with Gentling, by helping produce her team’s

14th shutout. It was the 10th time in the last 12 games Mesa’s

opponent failed to score, including 3 of 5 playoff games.

“She was phenomenal,” Van Horn, a former Mesa keeper in her second

season helping coach the Mustang goalies, said. “Our goalies haven’t

been tested a lot this year, but she was ready and she played to her

potential.”

Bailey’s aggressiveness was obvious early and she repeatedly

charged out to collect balls inside the 18-yard box, sliding into

attackers four times in the first half to smother loose balls. She

had three saves by halftime.

“She got more and more aggressive toward the end of the season,”

Van Horn said of last year’s junior varsity keeper. “I think that

semifinal game (the second playoff victory in which she played the

entire contest), really helped her confidence.”

Johnston and Bailey’s teammates were also generous with praise.

“Kindra played great,” said Johnston, who had alternated her with

Gentling in the first-round and quarterfinal playoff wins. “(Bailey)

came up big when she needed to. Kindra was fired up. She wanted to be

a champion. I wish the rest of our team was that fired up in the

first half.”

“I was depressed when she got hurt, because she was playing very

well and very aggressively,” Gentling said. “We knew Walnut was a

tough team and we had to play our best defense. Kindra played an

awesome game.”

Stacy Krikorian, a junior fullback who, along with senior sweeper

Devin Denman, junior stopper Valerie Gomez, fullbacks Kara Jenkins, a

junior, and Nelly Barrios, a senior, helped hand Walnut its fifth

shutout this season, said it was fun to watch Bailey’s development,

particularly late in the season.

“It was a bummer when she got hurt, because she has was playing so

well,” Krikorian said. “She gives her all every minute she’s in

there. She was awesome tonight.”

Perhaps Bailey’s best effort came five minutes into the second

half, when, having bolted about 10 yards from the cage, she blocked a

strong shot from the right wing by Walnut offensive catalyst

Christina Carriaga. The rebound rolled about 15 feet back out toward

the middle of the box, but Bailey quickly pounced on it, before a

Walnut player could do any more damage.

Gentling, who missed much of the league season with a hip injury

sustained in a fall during a game, also earned accolades for her

play.

“It was a tough situation to step into, with very little warmup,

but I thought (Gentling) played great,” Van Horn said.

“Kaitlyn is a really good goalie and she showed that,” Johnston

said.

Said Krikorian, “We all believe Kaitlyn and Kindra are equal, so

when she came in, we felt just as good about our chances.”

Even Walnut Coach Scott DeGraff chimed in.

“I thought both their keepers did a good job,” he said.