Dejected. Deflated. Defeated. The barons boys Varsity soccer team walked off the field as one of the biggest crowds in years dispersed from the stadium.
Earlier in the week a tie against Edison had set up a title match against Marina, the Barons were one win away from a Sunset League championship. In a game that was never out of reach until the last 5 minutes, the Barons were unable to score an equalizer or truly test the best goalkeeper in the Sunset League.
The strong point this week for the Barons was the Overtime 1-1 tie against the Edison Chargers. The Barons faced a stronger opponent than they saw earlier in the season but were able to face a fast and powerful Edison opponent. The Barons played their best soccer in the first half. They controlled a a slight majority in possession, and tested the Edison goalkeeper on many occasions throughout the half. About mid way through the 1st half the Baron midfield gained control of the ball and played a cross inside the box that found the head of Wade Sias(‘12) who reversed the ball back to Ethan Morrow who chested it down and fired away a shot into the net to put the Barons up 1-0. The lead was short lived though, after little less than five minutes a charger broke through the back line of the Barons and slid a well placed shot under Joseph Lorenger(‘10) to tie the game.
The Barons lost momentum after letting the lead go so quickly and in the second half lost their advantage in possession and found themselves playing a mostly defensive game. After suffering a barrage of attacks throughout the second half, even a called back goal, the Barons survived the second half unscathed and still tied. The double overtime was a much tighter affair with both teams trading chances. However no team could capitalize and the Barons, taking a more defensive posture, somewhat forced the tie.
When news came that Marina had tied Newport Harbour, the Barons were relieved, “our whole season comes down to Friday, our destiny is in our hands,” commented coach Jason Smith.
When Friday came and the stands were filling with proud and excited Barons, many of whom had never been to a soccer game, the feeling of the team was one of determination, and confidence. The Barons had faced Marina two times before in the season and had dropped both games by very close margins.
The Barons started the half out with a hurried energy and created a few offensive chances right from the start. The Barons continued to apply heavy pressure, and the Baron defense handled the Marina attack throughout the first quarter of the game. Marina was able to withstand the Barons and took advantage in the 30th minute when Joseph Lorenger came out to clear a high bouncing ball and missed taking his defenders out of the play allowing the Marina forward to come up with the ball and score the deciding goal of the game. In the 37th minute the Barons came their closest to scoring in the entire game. Joseph Solimon got behind the defense but was stuffed by the Marina goalie, the ball popped out to Issac Garcia who missed the one time shot wide. The Barons tried frantically to score in the remainder of the half and created chances off of corners and throw-ins but to no avail as the half wound down.
Although the boys did not have a bad half, the 0-1 deficit put the Barons in a tough place, they needed a goal against one of the most defensively secure teams in Orange County. The Second half once again started positive for the Barons with some early offensive pressure. However the Barons could not stay a dangerous threat to Marina, and possession in the midfield and from out of the back suffered. The game became fairly dicey the rest of the way. The ball was being lost by both sides, and neither team seemed to be able to connect many passes on a very tight field. The poor pass rate was welcomed by the Vikings, the Baron attack was easily thwarted as the time continued to wane down. The Barons desperate for a goal pushed into a very offensive formation but despite the extra attackers there were no dangerous chances and the Vikings were able to keep the ball more on the Barons defensive third. In the last 5 minutes the fatal blow to the Barons came off a free kick just outside the box. The set piece was finished by a header in the box which put Marina up 2-0, and with only minutes left to play, put the game out of reach.
Although the Barons gave up their first place position in the Sunset League, they are still only 1 point behind the Vikings and Wednesday’s game against Los Al becomes the new biggest game of the season. Friday’s lost will be a large mental hump for the Barons to traverse, but the first words out of Coach Smith’s mouth after the game were “we forget about this game, and we look toward next week,” the boys need a clear head against Los Al, and with a little help from Edison tying or even beating Marina, the Baron can still come away with a Sunset League title.
