Eagles stun Mesa with tie

COSTA MESA — One starter was in a wheelchair with a broken leg. Another starter with a broken leg sat on the bench, with her crutches nearby. One was out with a broken nose.

That was before the Estancia High girls’ soccer team closed out its season against cross-town rival Costa Mesa Thursday.

Then two Estancia starters left the Orange Coast League match in the second half. One couldn’t breathe and the other couldn’t walk without hobbling.

Estancia Coach Steve Crenshaw couldn’t help but ask the home crowd, “Anyone willing to put on a jersey for me?”

Laughter broke out, but Estancia found a way to tie the league champ for the first time in league play in 10 years.

The Eagles held on for a 2-2 tie and rushed toward senior Avery Williams in her wheelchair to celebrate after shaking hands with Costa Mesa at midfield.

But before they cheered, Cori Chapin needed a lift. With a hurt foot, she couldn’t get to Williams in time. A couple of players went to her aid, allowing her to rejoice with the rest of the team.

“It’s exciting to be able to tie them [in league] for once,” said Estancia striker Jennifer Thomas, who early in the season helped her team beat Costa Mesa twice in nonleague matches in the Newport-Mesa Cup. “It’s really exciting because I played with most of [Costa Mesa’s players] my whole life.”

Thomas put on a show against the Mustangs (11-7-8, 5-1-3 in league), scoring two goals.

Each goal left Coach Dan Johnston shaking his head afterward. He wanted his Mustangs to enter the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs with a four-match winning streak and momentum.

A loss against a program that isn’t going to the playoffs wouldn’t help. Johnston struggled coming to grips with Estancia (8-9-5, 1-4-4) ending Costa Mesa’s league winning streak in the rivalry.

“If I could figure this team out, I would be a better coach than I am I guess,” Johnston said. “Effort in the first half was awful. [In] the second half we had better effort, but didn’t show any skills.

“We had maybe two passing sequences that I thought were up to par. The rest of it was just kickball.”

If that were the case, the longest blasts belonged to Estancia midfielder Stacy McDaniels.

The junior delivered a handful of precise passes to Thomas deep in the box. The first resulted in putting Estancia up, 1-0, in the seventh minute, when Thomas tapped in McDaniels’ direct free kick from 30-plus yards out.

Watching Thomas score early helped settle down Estancia, which started four freshmen, including two call-ups from frosh/soph.

Crenshaw said his team needed a boost with Williams and Abby Scheafer out at midfield with a broken leg and broken nose, respectively, and striker Allyson Wallace out with a broken leg.

“I was happy with that,” said Crenshaw of his team overcoming the injuries to the three starters, who hurt themselves last week. “[We] haven’t beaten them [in league play] in 10 years, and I don’t think [we’ve] even tied them in that length of time.”

Fully aware of the Mustangs’ dominance, Courtney Lindberg tried her best to continue it.

After Thomas gave Estancia a one-goal lead in the 45th minute, Lindberg responded four minutes later. She tied the match, 2-2, after booting in her own rebound. The goal was Lindberg’s first, and she almost recorded the game-winner in the final minute.

“[I’m] very happy. It’s not a win and it’s not a loss,” Lindberg said. “I just really wanted to make this game memorable because I’m a senior and it’s my last time playing Estancia. I wanted to get a goal, so I really tried hard.

“Whatever we bring to [the postseason will determine] how far we will go. This team is really wishy-washy.”

The same could be said about Estancia, but it managed to compete with two starters with broken legs and another with a broken nose out.