Eagles emerge playoff bound

Chris Yemma

It turned out to be two very different league endings for two very

different boys soccer teams.

On an afternoon that provided an extremely out of the ordinary

soccer game, Estancia High came out on top to clinch second place in

the Golden West League and advance to the CIF Southern Section

Division III playoffs.

Costa Mesa fell, 3-0, to the Eagles (8-8-3, 6-3-2 in league) to

conclude its season Wednesday at Orange Coast College -- a season in

which multiple players were kicked off the team due to not

consistently showing up to practice.

In the first game back after Mustangs’ Coach Eugene Day brought up

junior varsity and frosh/soph players to fill the roster gaps, an

ex-player was kicked out of the stadium for heckling Day, the Costa

Mesa Fire Department was called to assist an injured player, and

Orange Coast College Public Safety was called at the conclusion to

prevent any conflicts between players, ex-players, students and

coaches.

But out of the extracurricular commotion, the Eagles emerged with

a playoff berth after beginning their season 1-4-1 under first-year

coach Gannon Burks.

“We set a goal, we wanted to try and compete in league and we set

a goal that we wanted to get to CIF, and we did,” Burks said. “So,

the credit goes to the boys -- they’re the ones that played and we

just kind of managed the team.

“They’re the ones that get the success.”

The Eagles reached the playoffs for the first time since the

1999-2000 season, when they won the Division IV title, the Pacific

Coast League title (before the Golden West League was formed) and

outscored their opponents, 93-9.

At one point this season, though, it was looking as if Estancia

was headed toward another unsuccessful year. But after a win against

Ocean View early in the league schedule, the Eagles started clicking,

having learned to play together.

“We started hanging together more outside of school,” said

Estancia senior captain Geo Macias, who was attended to by the CMFD

after suffering bruised ribs in Wednesday’s game.

“We started bonding and we started understanding, because we had a

lot of sophomores not getting along with the seniors. But in the end

we just put our differences aside and started playing as a team.”

Macias was slide tackled in the first half and fell hard on his

ribs, but did not go to the hospital. He returned in the final

seconds to fill in for goalie Marco Burciagag, who was injured just

before the end of the game.

Multiple players went down with injuries throughout the course of

the game, but none were severe.

And no bruises were bad enough to hurt Estancia’s elated feeling

after qualifying for the postseason. After an unsuccessful first

attempt by Macias, Burks was doused with a bucket of ice water near

the end of the game, solidifying that the Eagles had turned the

second half of their season into a worthwhile one.

“Teamwork and communication is huge for this team,” Burks said.

“They started learning that it takes teamwork, we built us a strong

foundation and we started playing well.”

Perhaps another turning point in Estancia’s season was a 1-1 tie

last week with nationally-ranked and Division III No. 1 Saddleback.

The Eagles used that apex to finish out the season on a winning note.

“We should have won that game, to be honest with you,” Burks said.

“But Saddleback’s coach said we were much improved, and I respect

that from that caliber of a team.”

Estancia’s unselfishness was evident early against Costa Mesa

(3-15-1, 1-10-0), as a wide-open Pedro Duarte passed the ball at the

last second to Angel Cirilo for Estancia’s second goal after both

streaked down the field uncontested in the 19th minute.

And, is if it were a reward for the earlier assist, Cirilo took an

errant Mesa pass 12 minutes later, with no defender anywhere near

him, and put it in for a 3-0 lead.

But the fairy-tale Eagles’ season turned into a less appealing

season for Mesa. Eight players either quit or were kicked off the

team for not showing up to practice, Day said before the game. So he

brought up junior varsity and frosh/soph players to gain experience

for next year.