Andersen captures 5-1 win

COSTA MESA ? The Andersen Elementary third- and-fourth-grade boys’ soccer players proved much more accurate with a ball on their foot than with an ice chest in their hands Sunday afternoon.

After topping Newport Coast, 5-1, in the Gold Division championship game at the Farm Complex, several Dolphins tried to give Coach Jon Johnston the now-traditional postgame victory shower.

But Johnston proved evasive and the chest, filled mostly with ice, was dumped harmlessly at his feet, rather than over his head.

It was one of few misses all day for Andersen, which took a 2-0 lead, before Newport Coast countered near the end of the first half.

The Dolphins then dominated the final 30 minutes, scoring all three second-half goals to prevail.

Bo St. Geme opened the scoring for the winners, punching a loose ball in front into the net in the 11th minute.

Jeff Johnston doubled the lead in the 19th minute, converting a through ball from Ben Humphreys by knocking it just inside the near post from the right wing.

Alex Moore, a catalyst for Newport Coast throughout, helped set up the Coyotes’ lone goal in the 30th minute. He booted a high shot from about 20 yards in front that tipped off the goalie’s upraised hands and onto the torso of a charging Ryan Cargile. Cargile directed the ball into the net, giving Newport Coast some much-needed momentum.

Jon Johnston, however, said the late goal also energized his team.

“I think that goal helped our kids come out strong in the second half,” Johnston said. “[The Dolphin players] were a little down about it at first, but we tried to tell them they were still up, 2-1.”

Andersen had already shown it could bounce back from adversity. The Dolphins were defeated, 2-0, by Harbor Day in pool play. But Andersen advanced to the playoff rounds as a wild-card entry.

After defeating defending division champion Rea, 4-0, in the quarterfinals on Saturday, Andersen avenged its earlier loss with a 3-1 semifinal triumph over Harbor Day on Saturday.

“We lucked out by getting that wild-card [bid],” Jon Johnston said. “Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.”

Jon Jonhston was quick to point out that the Dolphins were plenty good, a point they made rather emphatically with a dominant second half.

Austin Percy was tripped inside the 18-yard box to set up a penalty kick for Joey Martino early in the second half. Martino, who scored two goals in the semifinal win, shot hard into the lower right corner for a 3-1 lead.

Martino was responsible for the fourth goal, arcing an extremely skillful free kick from the left wing into the upper right portion of the net from about 25 yards out. The shot, which would be the envy of any player at any level, left the Newport Coast goalie no opportunity to even touch the ball.

Humphreys finalized the scoring by booming a direct kick into the upper right portion of the net from about 30 yards out.

Martino, who anchored the defense at stopper, but came forward to trigger set plays, stood out for the winners, as did St. Geme, Humphreys, Jack Molnar and Jeff Johnston.

Charlie Rodosky and Percy shared goalkeeping duties for the Dolphins, each making quality saves. Percy stopped a low, hard shot from about 10 yards in front in the 51st minute.

“I’ think we’ve got an extremely strong team,” Jon Johnston said. “Most of these kids have been playing club soccer, as well as other sports, together. They’ve played together in a lot of tournaments, so they pass the ball around very well.”

Harrison Carter, Hugh Crance, and Charlie Coffman were other standouts for Andersen, which also received contributions from James Flughaupt, Jack Benziger, Drew Hanson and Austin Ridge.

In addition to Moore, Mason Garell, Chad Redfearn and Brandon Huang created opportunities for Newport Coast, which overcame a 2-1 semifinal deficit to earn a 3-2 win over Mariners Christian.

In the semifinal, Garell scored the tying goal and Redfearn converted an assist from Garell for the game-winner. Both goals came in the final 10 minutes.

Matt Freeman, goalie Ali Amir-Arjomand, Daniel McCabe, Max Bourne, Travis Matin, Arran Pollack and Brandon Wolfe helped Newport Coast earn runner-up medals.