By Tyler Sonderholzer
On Friday, the varsity boys’ soccer team tied the Newport Harbor Sailors 1-1 on senior night.
“We played better than we have played in a long time,” assistant coach Jonathan Lloyd said.
The Barons had a strong offense at the start of the game with several chances from senior Masin Marini who shot the ball wide and attempted a cross that just went wide. However, the Sailors had a great scoring chance on the counter-attack but the shot went over the net.
The defense committed a number of fouls throughout the first half including a yellow card by senior Alexis Gonzalez midway through the half. However, they also made several good plays including an amazing slide tackle from senior Keoni Porter that broke up a Sailor scoring chance.
Most of the ball possession during the first half was controlled by the Baron offense and they were able to have several scoring chances from players like junior Devin La Clair and sophomore Micah Yanez. La Clair had two shots that just went wide and Yanez was able to keep control of the ball after going past several Sailor defenders. However, they were unable to convert their chances into goals.
“I’d say we need to finish our chances more than anything,” Lloyd said, “We’ve got tons of chances and we only got one goal to show for it. So I guess that would be it. Gotta bear your chances.”
Senior Alex Pham made a great play breaking up a cross and junior Jack Todd was able to break up a play that would’ve led a breakaway to wrap up a scoreless first half.
Going into the second half, the defense was the main story for the Barons with good defensive plays including a great slide tackle from freshman Drew Payne and a save from junior goalie Austin Quach, keeping the game 0-0.
Unlike the first half, the second half consisted of the Barons more on the defensive side of the ball; they were also much cleaner in not committing fouls. However, the Sailors were able to break away from the defense and had an excellent scoring chance but it went wide.
With 15 minutes to go, a throw-in by Marini to La Clair allowed for La Clair to score, making it 1-0.
After a collision with Payne, Quach was shaken up but managed to stay in the game and made a save shortly after.
As the clock ticked down, the Baron defense remained strong but with three minutes remaining, the Sailors scored to tie the game 1-1. The Barons had one last chance on a throw-in from Masin but it was saved and the game ended in a tie.
“I’m so proud of us, after loss after loss we finally came back,” La Clair said, “I wanted the seniors to come out, have fun, play a good game, and just have us come back from our last few losses. I mean we played amazing and I’m super proud of all the boys.“
The Barons are now 0-3-1 in the Sunset Surf League and 2-7-3 overall. Their next game is a home game at Fountain Valley High School on Jan. 26 at 3 p.m. against the Huntington Beach Oilers.
