University boys soccer coach Martin Carrington might have scheduled Thursday’s game for the wrong time.
When the Trojans start at 5 p.m. or later, they are constantly pressing, playing with the passion that put them in first place in the Pacific Coast League. Should the kickoff come right after school, his team looks lazy and “is slow to come out of the blocks,” Carrington said.
That latter was the case on Thursday as the Trojans faced PCL rival Corona del Mar almost right after their final classes for the day, and turned in another sluggish performance in falling to the Sea Kings, 2-1.
Evan Schwartz finished with a goal and an assist for the Sea Kings (5-6-2, 2-1). He gave Corona del Mar a 1-0 lead, converting a penalty kick in the 13th minute after University was called for a handball in the box, and his pass to Blake Munger in the 50th resulted in the winner.
“Fair play to them. They got what they deserved and we got what we deserved,” Carrington said. “They were the better team and completely stifled us.”
The Sea Kings dominated all but the final 10 minutes of the game. Indy Fuller scored his 13th goal of the season for the Trojans during that span, cutting CdM’s lead to 2-1 in the 70th minute.
“You put him in front of the goal, and it’s a goal,” Carrington said. “It’s about as automatic as you can get.”
Corona del Mar is young, graduating 25 players from last year’s team. And sometimes this season, they have lacked the composure to close out close games, Coach George Larsen said.
Fuller’s goal was just one of the several good scoring chances that Corona del Mar gave University toward the end of the match, and had it not been for a one-handed, diving save from Keon Ebbinga late in stoppage time, Tommy Levasseur would have netted the tying goal for the Trojans.
“They were a little shaky, but they held on. They at least took the next step and learned from the mistakes that they had the last game,” Larsen said. Corona del Mar held a 2-0 lead on Woodbridge and lost, 3-2.
“They are still learning and they are emotional (in a league game) and nervous. They are a work in progress.”
In other Pacific Coast League games:
Beckman 3, Irvine 1: David Lee finished with a goal and an assist to lead the host Patriots (7-2-2, 1-0-2).
Woodbridge 2, Northwood 0: David Medow and Jeffrey Vu each scored for the visiting Warriors (6-3-2, 2-1-0).
Contact the writer: ddottore@ocregister.com
