Teams tight on cold night

COSTA MESA — Rain from the last couple of days moved the Corona del Mar High girls’ soccer match away from home.

Coach Bryan Middleton viewed this as a positive going into the Sea Kings’ nonleague match against Costa Mesa Tuesday night.

By playing at Estancia High, the Sea Kings avoided muddy conditions and gained experience playing on a new surface and under the lights that can bode well when league play starts.

Two teams from the Pacific Coast League use a similar turf as the one at Jim Scott Stadium and play at night.

For 80 minutes, the Sea Kings familiarized themselves with the field’s fast play and with how high the ball bounces compared to grass.

They just have to get used to scoring goals.

CdM’s offensive woes continued as the Sea Kings and Mustangs finished in a scoreless tie on a cold night.

This marks the Sea Kings’ fourth scoreless tie of the season. More than half of their matches have ended with zeros.

“We’re still tying,” said Middleton, whose team is 1-1-5. “It’s the story of [our nonleague play]. Hopefully we get this out of our system before we get to league.”

League starts in four weeks, an ample amount of time for CdM to heat up offensively.

From observing the Sea Kings, they were doing a better job staying warm on the bench by sitting close to each other.

Players on Costa Mesa’s side wrapped themselves in blankets. One was in a sleeping bag.

Both offenses looked asleep until late in the match.

Compared to the Mustangs (3-2-5), the Sea Kings created more scoring opportunities. The best one almost resulted in a CdM goal in the 76th minute.

Kaylee O’Connor hit the crossbar with a shot, but it quickly hit another crossbar bringing the ball back into play.

The rebound went to Katie Devarian, who found the back of the net. Devarian ran toward teammates, believing she broke a tie.

The way things have gone offensively for CdM, Middleton didn’t buy it. And he had another reason not to get excited.

One of the linesmen waved the goal off.

Due to O’Connor’s shot striking the crossbar and then bouncing back and hitting the football goalpost crossbar, the referee ruled the ball out of play.

Middleton never argued the call.

Costa Mesa’s bench jumped off its feet and celebrated. Coach Dan Johnston stayed composed, trusting his defense to shut down CdM the rest of the way.

“They got a lot of shots,” Johnston said, “but they didn’t get a lot of good shots. The only really good shot they got was the ball that had already been out of bounds.”

Stopper Brook Urmson was glad the Mustangs avoided trouble.

“I was worried there,” said Urmson, who along with sweeper Kristina Roche made things easier for goalkeeper Jessica Rubright.

Costa Mesa and CdM play again on Dec. 27. The match won’t be on the same field, as the two are in the North Orange County Tournament.

The Sea Kings have another match at Jim Scott Stadium Thursday against Estancia.

“It’s just good to get used to playing on the turf’s surface,” Middleton said. “I think we can play a pretty good game on this type of field because we have a lot of possession- and passing-skilled players.

“We’re just not finishing balls yet.”

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].