Bo knows scoring goals

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COSTA MESA — Bo St. Geme ran all around the field Wednesday at the Daily Pilot Cup, and Andersen Elementary Coach Jon Johnston didn’t raise an eyebrow.

“He can run forever,” Johnston said. “It goes in his family.”

On a soccer field, you’re not usually running in a circle like track and field, but St. Geme does boast a pair of decorated track family members in mother Ceci St. Geme and older sister Annie St. Geme, formerly a Corona del Mar High standout and now at Stanford.

But soccer success is not measured in split times. It’s measured in goals, and Bo St. Geme delivered in that aspect Wednesday in the boys’ fifth-and sixth-grade Gold Division game at the Farm Sports Complex. He scored the only one of the game in Andersen A’s 1-0 victory over Pegasus School.

And, after his team’s first game of the tournament, St. Geme wasn’t shy in expressing his confidence.

“I think we have a pretty good chance of winning it,” he said of the tournament in its ninth year.

Of course, St. Geme had reason for the optimism. Andersen boasts a deep team, many of the same members who were around in 2006 when the team won the boys’ third-and fourth-grade Gold Division title. Many of the Andersen players also play for the Newport-Beach based Slammers FC club team, so the team is plenty familiar with each other.

“We probably have every kid but two or three that play club,” Johnston said. “It’s about half fifth [graders] and half sixth. They’re having a blast. This is a year where a lot of the kids have played together growing up. Some of the kids right now are probably going to switch to football or continue with baseball, so this is fun. They’re having a good time.”

The game against Pegasus was tight throughout, but St. Geme scored the only goal in the 13th minute, when he took a precise pass from teammate Joey Martino and bolted up the left side of the field.

St. Geme’s shot angled back into the right corner of the net. He nearly scored again three minutes later, when he took a long free kick from Ben Humphreys, but the shot was just wide.

Pegasus, based in Huntington Beach but with most of its students living in Costa Mesa, had its own standouts. Goalie Cole Friedman, playing in goal for the first time this season, was kept busy and finished with 10 saves. Also standing out defensively for Pegasus were Liam Stimson, Blake Flamson, Adam Ellingson and Patrick Angelo.

“The team played really well defensively,” said Pegasus Coach Alex Francini, whose team lost its second straight tough game after a 3-2 loss Tuesday to Mariners A. “We knew Andersen was a strong offensive club.”

But Andersen was also effective defensively, with Jack Molnar, Charlie Griffin, Hoyt Crance and Jeff Johnston leading the way. Humphreys and Martino, who Jon Johnston called the team’s fastest players, also alternated between defense and offense with god results.

“We sort of stacked our back line a little bit,” Jon Johnston said. “We had a lot of speed in the back.”

Goalies Charlie Coffman and Austin Percy also helped produce the shutout.

Andersen ‘A’ will play Mariners ‘A’ today at 6:30 p.m. at Farm field No. 1. The winner will win Pool B in the boys’ fifth-and sixth-grade Gold Division, although both teams have already clinched spots in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].