Big comebacks help, hurt Santa Ana Valley

IRVINE The tables quickly turned for the No. 10 Santa Ana Valley boys soccer team Wednesday afternoon.

After storming back to beat La Costa Canyon of San Diego, 5-3, the Falcons were worn down by Woodbridge’s frantic attack and had to settle for a tie, 3-3, on the first day of pool play in the West Coast Classic at Irvine Valley College.

Santa Ana Valley (4-5-1) plays Garey of Pomona on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. Woodbridge (2-3-3) plays La Costa Canyon on Thrusday at 3 p.m. on the final day of pool play at IVC.

The Falcons trailed, 3-0, at the half against La Costa Canyon, and they also fell behind early against the Warriors.

Sophomore Andrew Sharp scored in the first five minutes to give Woodbridge the early lead, 1-0. But Santa Ana Valley, which seems to play at its best when behind, turned on the switch and countered with a Sammy Cordova goal. It almost didn’t go in after the initial attempt was beautifully saved on a half bicycle-kick by the Warriors’ Phillip Lu.

The Falcons’ Miguel Avila later danced around defenders and sent a soft touch to the back of the net from 19 yards out for a 2-1 lead.

“After we scored, they were just all over us,” Woodbridge coach Sean Ganey said.

Cordova added another goal in the second half, giving the Falcons a 3-1 lead. But that’s when things got interesting.

Tyler Kirkendall scored midway through the second half to pull the Warriors to 3-2. (Woodbridge had tied Garey, 2-2, earlier in the day and needed to at least tie against the Falcons to advance.)

Woodbridge began pressing late in the second half, something they had not done most of the first half. The frantic attack resulted in a Joseph Koo goal, courtesy of a Falcons backline breakdown from just inside the 18-yard box.

“We just couldn’t keep up with the intensity,” Santa Ana Valley coach Jose Sanchez said. “They (Woodbridge) did a good job of not quitting and they got us.”

In other Cal Cup games:

No. 3 Santa Margarita 5, Bellflower 1: Mike Munoz scored a school-record four goals to lead the Eagles (6-1-3). The old record of three goals was set by Andrew Sinderhoff in the 2006 CIF playoffs.

Earlier in the day, Santa Margarita tied Brophy Prep of Arizona, 1-1.

The Eagles play Esperanza on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. The Aztecs will have their junior varsity squad play Thursday's game, eliminating much of the drama from what would have been a showdown match.

No. 7 El Toro 3, Norco 1: Steven Ortiz, Andrew Parker and Tommy Sixsmith each scored to lead the Chargers (10-3-3) in pool play.

El Toro lost to Damien of La Verne, 3-2, in their first game. The Chargers play St. Augustine of San Diego on Thursday at noon.

Contact the writer: mmelendez@ocregister.com