Growing pains persist

Chris Yemma

If you called it a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde syndrome, you’d probably

be right.

On any given day, there’s no telling which Costa Mesa High boys

soccer team is going to show up. A win here, a loss there -- who

knows what personality the Mustangs are going to take on that day.

Costa Mesa achieved wins over Newport Harbor and Corona del Mar

earlier this season, but has also lost to lesser teams on its way to

becoming 3-8-1, 1-3 in the Golden West League.

This sort of schizophrenic behavior has been plaguing the Mustangs

all season, Mesa Coach Eugene Day said.

And after a 1-0 league loss Friday to visiting Orange -- a team

that achieved only its third win of the season -- Day is at a loss

for the solution.

“On certain days when we play good, we’re praying that everybody

has a good attitude, and that shouldn’t be,” Day said. “It’s like hot

and cold.”

The Mustangs’ last victory was a month ago to Westminster in the

Trabuco Hills tournament. Since then they have lost three straight,

including the loss to Orange (3-7, 2-3).

That’s Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll’s evil alter-ego. But when Dr. Jekyll

shows up, everything’s different. Take last Friday’s 2-1 loss to

Saddleback, for example.

Against the Roadrunners, ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section

Division III, Mesa only lost by one goal, but missed four wide-open

shots. If any one of those goals would have gone in, the Mustangs

would have had a chance to take down a soccer heavyweight.

And compared to last season -- a single-win campaign with the one

win against Orange, fittingly enough -- Dr. Jekyll has definitely

made frequent appearances.

But when the other personality makes itself known, Mesa is in for

a challenge. So, just what makes the less favorable character show

up?

“It’s all about their attitude,” Day said. “Sometimes some of them

get the wrong attitude and it shows throughout the rest of the team.”

That’s the personality that showed up Friday against Orange. Both

teams were headed into the showdown vying for a second or third spot

in the league behind Saddleback. Orange was looking to redeem itself

from the loss to Mesa last season, and the Mustangs were looking snap

their losing streak.

The Panthers, who were sharpening their claws the majority of the

game by keeping the ball on their offensive front, pounced first and

hard. In the 58th minute, they sank their teeth in and scored the

lone goal of the game on a breakaway down the middle.

Both teams were even in the shot category, with 20 each, while

Mesa goalie Eric Vargas produced nine saves.

The Mustangs’ closest scoring opportunity arrived in the 66th

minute, when senior Jose Torres slammed a hard grounder right at the

goal. But Orange goalie Eric Salgado was there on the save.

And the Mr. Hyde that played the Panthers lost, on a day when the

Mustangs could have used a win to even up their league record.

“We should be playing at the same level every game,” Day said. “It

stinks, because we have a good team.”

Dr. Jekyll, on a leave of absence Friday, is looking to make an

appearance when the Mustangs take on Estancia Wednesday at Orange

Coast College.