By Uy Pham
It took two minutes for Fountain Valley High School boys’ soccer (3-2) to net their first of four goals against the Corona del Mar Sea Kings (2-4) on Wednesday.
Senior Cash Heit played a long ball to senior and captain Drew Payne, who headed the ball to maintain control at his feet. Payne drove down the left side, sped past his defender and shot the ball across the keeper’s outstretched hands, pushing the Barons to a 1-0 lead.
Payne would go on to score three of the Barons’ goals in their 4-1 win, their second consecutive victory to start off the Sunset League.
“That’s what I do,” Payne said. “My teammates gave me good balls, and I put them away.”
On the offensive side, senior co-captain Ethan Ro crafted combination passing plays to create and assist scoring opportunities for Barons, and senior Gideon Griffiths provided key runs on the wings of the field. Junior Jacob Stevens made several key saves to prevent the Sea Kings from striking back, and senior co-captain Zach Groff maintained a strong defensive line. Working to both win back and maintain possession, junior Jack Chavez presented a formidable force in the Barons’ midfield.
The Sea Kings attempted to generate their own offensive build-up, but they were thwarted by the Barons’ defensive pace and pressure. Additionally, attempts at long balls were cleared back by the Barons’ defensive line.
However, the Barons did not wait long before their second goal. Groff sent the ball up the field, and a combination passing play involving Griffiths led to back-post cross to find junior Umar Majid’s run and score the goal.
Eight minutes into the half, the Sea Kings’ first offensive test came with a chip ball over the Barons, forcing Stevens forward to catch and meet the ball’s trajectory. A free kick allowed Corona del Mar to regroup, forcing the Barons to clear for a corner.
Moving through the half, the Barons struggled to work their way up the field with the Sea Kings’ tackles holding them back and countering the offensive pressure. Chavez continued to dominate the midfield, accelerating back defensively to intercept a pass after his pass was intercepted in the offensive half.
“We started strongly. We created two early chances, and we finished them both,” head coach Jason Smith said. “Then we kind of sat back and let [Corona del Mar] in.”
Corona del Mar converted their first and only goal of the game with 23:09 remaining. Connecting a through-ball and taking advantage of space in the Barons’ right side, the Sea Kings found themselves in an one-on-one situation and shot the ball past Stevens on the right side.
The Barons generated several more offensive attempts for the remainder of the half. Ro connected with Majid for an overhead ball, and a long free kick from Groff landed to Payne for a header, but the Sea Kings’ goalie diffused both attacks. Another close call came when sophomore Cole Korhonen found Payne down the right side for a pass, but the Sea Kings tipped away a cross intended for senior Asif Sahib.
To finish the half, the Barons and Sea Kings exchanged offensive chances, but, ultimately, both teams’ defense and goalies deterred either side from further goals.
Offensive tempo shifted to the Sea Kings to start the second half, but Groff’s defense remained firm. Majid connected with Ro for a give-and-go combination, whipping the ball to Payne, but the Barons’ could not convert the play.
Halfway through the half, junior Duel Hernandez sent the ball forward to Griffiths. Connecting in the Barons’ offensive half, Ro located Payne barely in the penalty box. Payne, spinning around, flicked the ball past the Sea Kings’ defender to the bottom left for his second goal and extending the Barons’ lead to 3-1.
“I told them that whoevers scores the next goal is in a great situation,” Smith said. “We were fortunate to get that goal against the run of play .. We made some subs, got some fresh legs in and I think that made a little bit of a difference.”
Stevens and Groff held off several of the Sea Kings’ counterattacks, but, with 10:44 remaining, junior Jarason Wang gained possession of the ball on the right side. Driving down the wing, Wang whipped into a cross to find Payne in the middle, who completed his hat trick by directing the ball past the keeper’s dive.
Strong defense from the Barons quashed the Sea Kings’ hope of closing the lead, as Hernandez and seniors Chrystian Varela and John Ennen utilized their explosive pace to disarm Corona del Mar’s final through-balls and counterattacks.
“We’ve just got to possess the ball better, and we’ll have a great chance of beating Edison, Huntington and [Los Alamitos],” Payne said. “2-0 is a good start [for league] … it’s a perfect spot to be.”
Boys’ soccer will face off against the Los Alamitos High School Griffins (0-3-3) in an away match on Friday at 7:00 p.m.
“We’re always going to improve,” Smith said. “If we’re not trying to improve every game, we’re not going to get better.”
