Sea Kings slip, slide to victory

Chris Yemma

Just what exactly does a few weeks worth of rain do to a soccer

field?

Ask the Corona del Mar High or University girls soccer teams.

Amid the sloppiest and muddiest conditions either team has faced

all season, and probably in a long while, Corona del Mar slipped and

slid its way to a 2-0 Pacific Coast League victory Tuesday on

University’s home field ... or mud pit, rather.

Before the opening whistle had blown, both teams were already

sopped in mud just from warming up and stretching. After the starting

whistle was blown, the Sea Kings (7-7, 2-0 in league) and the Trojans

(4-5-2, 1-1) were in for a slippery surprise.

The ball didn’t roll. The majority of the time, the ball would

skid to a halt immediately after touching the ground, creating an

entirely different form of soccer -- mud soccer.

“In a mud bowl like this, you want to play as direct as possible

so the ball goes forward,” Sea Kings’ Coach Bryan Middleton said.

“Any ball played backward can be dangerous. It can get stuck in the

mud or stuck in a mud puddle.

“Basically any ball that goes at the keeper you want to follow it

up because it could slip out.”

Corona del Mar took advantage of the slop early. In just the third

minute of the game, junior Phoebe Chang took a penalty kick from 20

yards out and slipped it past the keeper for a quick 1-0 lead.

From the opening whistle it seemed as if University was in for a

long day. The ball stayed on the Trojans’ defensive side for most of

the game and only on rare occasions would it squirt out to the other

side.

CdM outshot University, 13-10, but two of the Sea Kings’ attempts

made it through, while the Trojans couldn’t muster enough force on

any shot to break the barrier.

In short, the mud got the best of them.

“All you can do with mud is play with desire,” University Coach

Chip Fuller said. “You still try to play soccer, but there’s things

you have to adjust to. You can’t roll the ball; you have to keep it

in the air.”

CdM’s second goal was a confirmation of Fuller’s theory.

Junior Kelly Morgan lofted a corner kick in the 44th minute that

Taylor Fallon headed right at the goal.

Under normal circumstances it would have rolled right through, but

on the spongy surface the ball stopped right on the goal line.

But junior Hannah Rollins was there to finish it off.

“We just adjusted and the girls played to the coaching,” said

Middleton, who’s Sea Kings are currently riding a six-game winning

streak.

After the first half of the season when Middleton purposely

scheduled his team against ranked opponents and started 1-5, the

tactic appears to be paying off for the Sea Kings, who have now

evened their record for the first time.

CdM played CIF Southern Section Division I ranked Mater Dei,

Mission Viejo and Dana Hills earlier in the season in preparation for

the league schedule. And now, the Sea Kings are 2-0 in league.