By Amanda Newell
Staff Writer
The Mira Costa boys soccer team finished up its season on Feb. 16 with a loss against Servite high school, the number one seeded team in CIF. The boys ended with a CIF record of 1-0-1 and a Bay League record of 4-2-4.
The game took place in Servite and resulted in Costa’s 5-3 loss on penalty kicks after double overtime from tying 1-1 in regular time. Senior Andy Macedo scored Costa’s only goal, which kept the Mustangs fighting on throughout the game.
“Our goal was to hold Sevite to zero or one goal, and we succeeded in doing that,” senior Jess Chamberlain said.
Costa’s solid defense was one reason the boys stayed in the game so long. By holding Servite to only one goal, the boys were able to have a shot at winning in overtime as well as in penalty kicks.
“We played with a lot of confidence during the game,” Chamberlain said. “Our defense was really phenomenal. We were really solid throughout the entire game.”
Although the boys only made it through two rounds of CIF, they fought hard and played well together throughout both of them. Their first CIF game was a wild card match-up, and also a successful win against Alto Loma High school. Junior Travis Bradford gave the Mustangs their win 1-0 with his goal in the second half.
The boys had their ups and downs throughout their season, but displayed strong defensive and aggressive offense throughout most of their games. In the beginning of the season, after a few losses in the North Orange County tournament, the team practiced their ball control and possession skills and worked on improvement in those areas.
The team began to improve on these skills, leading to their wins against El Segundo and Peninsula in the middle of their season. Although only winning by a goal or two, Costa began to accomplish their goals that they set at the beginning of the season.
“Our offense started out pretty slow in the beginning, but the more we played together and the more games we got under our belt, the better we got,” Bradford said. “Our set plays also really became key towards the end of our season.”
By mastering their set plays that they practiced during their practices, the boys were able to improve their record and move on to bay league with high spirits. The team fought hard throughout the ten games, finishing with a record of 4-2-4 and ready for CIF.
“One of the most memorable games for me was one of our last games against Leuzinger,” Chamberlain said. “That’s where we really put our hearts into it and scored a hat trick. It was really a battle.”
Compared to the beginning of the season, the boys have not only improved individually on their soccer skills, but also developed as team by getting to know the team’s strengths and weaknesses as the team progressed.
“Our team as a whole improved a lot from the beginning,” Bradford said. “By the end we were playing to our strengths a lot more, which really helped improve our team as a whole.”
The boys season has come to an end, but the team has already planned on what they need to improve on to succeed in their season next year.
“Next year’s team needs to continue to have strong defense and possession,” Chamberlain said. “Another important thing is to focus on set plays. That’s how the majority of our goals were scored.”
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