Boys’ Soccer: Mustangs bring back two familiar faces

ANAHEIM — Two familiar names are back with the Costa Mesa High boys’ soccer team. One is a former assistant with the Mustangs and the other is a former player with the Mustangs.

Chris Sullivan is in his first season in charge of Costa Mesa. His top assistant is Franco Ramirez, who used to play for Sullivan four years ago.

The two had to wait to make their debuts in their new positions on Tuesday. The delay had nothing to do with them.

One of the two referees for the Mustangs’ scrimmage at Savanna showed up 17 minutes late for the 3 o’clock start. Three minutes later, Sullivan and Ramirez roamed the Costa Mesa sideline and instructed their players.

The Mustangs made quite a bold statement, more because of their new neon yellow jerseys and socks. The uniforms are quite different from the ones Ramirez wore during his playing days at his alma mater.

“I’m not going to say [the color is] bad, but [the jerseys are] different. They are definitely different. They are out there,” said Ramirez, who when he played for Costa Mesa from 2009-13, the uniforms were made up the school colors, green, white and black. “If we have those jerseys, then we have to represent by scoring a lot of goals, making sure that we’re known [for more than our bright jerseys].”

The Mustangs scored enough goals to come back and earn a 2-1 win against Savanna. Alexis Garcia and Reis McMann each scored a goal for Costa Mesa.

Sullivan liked what he saw from his team. The Mustangs settled down after Michael Blanco gave Savanna a 1-0 lead by heading in a goal in the 17th minute.

Goalkeeper Samuel Mitchell blanked the Rebels for the rest of the first half, and Axel Morales-Bravo played the second half. Estevan Bahena, a center back, helped keep Savanna scoreless in the final 63 minutes.

Sullivan said he’s going to count on Bahena and Mitchell this season. Mitchell is a new face, having said he moved into the area from South Korea, where his father worked for the U.S. foreign service.

“I’m very excited,” said Mitchell, a 6-foot senior, of playing for the Mustangs for the first time. “We have a very good chance at making it to the playoffs. I really like the boys. We have a solid team.”

Sullivan takes over a Costa Mesa program that went 4-10-2 overall and 2-7-1 in the Orange Coast League, good for fifth place. Fifth is where the Mustangs have finished in league in each of the last four seasons, failing to reach the CIF Southern Section playoffs during the stretch.

The Mustangs’ last postseason appearance came in 2010-11, when Sullivan served as an assistant under then-Coach Alex Cordoba. Sullivan and Cordoba coached together for three seasons, from 2008-11, and in their final one, they guided Costa Mesa to its first playoff appearance in nine years. At the time, Cordoba said he stepped down to spend more time with family.

Since Cordoba and Sullivan left, the Mustangs have gone through two coaches, Juan Becerra and Amos Hernandez. Becerra lasted one season and Hernandez three.

“I think they just decided to go in a different direction,” Sullivan said, when asked what happened to Hernandez.

Sullivan said that Cordoba, a teacher at Costa Mesa, is the one who told him about the Costa Mesa opening in the spring.

“It’s something that we’ve always talked about, coming back to coach together, or to work together again,” said Sullivan, adding that Cordoba is in his first season as Costa Mesa’s director of soccer. “[Cordoba will] be at some of the games, but right now his position is more on the administration side, as far as scheduling things and also just making sure the program is heading in the right direction.”

Ramirez said he believes the Mustangs are in a great situation with Sullivan in charge. Sullivan and Cordoba recruited Ramirez to join the staff during the summer.

“They actually came to my house,” said Ramirez, who is 20 years old and studying kinesiology at Cal State Fullerton. “We had a conversation, and they asked me to come out, and I said ‘Yes’ in less than half a second. I came back simply because of them.

“We’re excited to be back in the program. We’re ready to start the season [at Kennedy on Dec. 2].”