Los Alamitos High’s boys soccer team forced overtime with a goal in the closing minutes of regulation, but eventually suffered a 3-2 loss in the extra period against Corona del Mar, on Friday at Corona del Mar High.
Corona del Mar led 2-1, with the game dwindling down to stoppage time, when the Griffins used a short corner kick to set up a shot from an angle by Nishimoto. The shot hit a defender in front of the goal, then bounced around a mass of players in front of the goal box.
The ball came out in front, near the top of the box and senior Enoch Gonzalez got off a hard shot that found its way through traffic and into the net to tie the game up 2-2.
The loss dropped the Griffins to 7-9-1 overall and 0-1-1 in Surf League play. Corona del Mar is 1-1-0 in Surf League and 4-4-4 overall. Griffin Head Coach Donovan Martinez said the deciding factor seemed to be that the Sea Kings simply played with more energy at key points.
“It just seemed like we weren’t decisive enough going forward and it stalled our attack a little bit, it seemed like our attack was a little slow,” Head Coach Donovan Martinez said. “They were able to get people back and defend really, really well.”
The Griffins had some early pressure, notably a solid shot from Jack Nishimoto from the top of the goal box that glanced just high off the crossbar.
The Sea Kings began to take control of the game flow, putting pressure of their own on the Griffin defense. They too, had some quality attacks, including a nice crossing pass and shot back against the grain that went just wide of the goal.
The game remained 0-0 at halftime, but the Sea Kings struck first in the second half. A sliding defensive steal attempt by the Griffins resulted in a penalty kick for the Sea Kings, which was converted for a 1-0 lead. But a few minutes later, the Griffins were on the attack and Corona del Mar was called for a hand ball penalty in the goal box.
Los Alamitos was awarded a penalty kick of their own and Nishimoto converted the shot to tie the game, 1-1. Around the 58th minute, the Sea Kings again took the lead, this time on a crossing pass that was headed back to the far corner for a 2-1 lead.
After the Griffins sent the game to overtime, the Sea Kings ended the contest when a shot from top of the box, in front of the right post, went across the goal and slipped inside the left post. The Griffins find themselves tied for third with Edison. Corona del Mar is second behind Newport Harbor, which is 2-0.
The Griffins hosted Newport Harbor on Wednesday and will play a conference crossover game at home against Fountain Valley on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
