Boys’ Soccer: Chargers advance to quarterfinals
MISSION VIEJO — The first time Sam Kemper heard cheering, he believed it was because he was unable to head out a ball in time before it crossed the goal line.
Kemper first looked toward the home crowd at Mission Viejo High. When the noise was not coming from there, he turned to those fans supporting him and the Edison boys’ soccer team on Wednesday.
Thirteen minutes in, Kemper saved the Chargers from falling behind in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.
The next time Edison’s faithful erupted, Kemper knew why. The midfielder broke a scoreless tie in the 56th minute, on an assist from Dominic Bair.
Kemper and Zac Ingalls each scored, helping the Chargers defeat the Diablos, 2-0, and advance to the quarterfinals.
The trip to the quarterfinals is Edison’s third in four seasons. The Chargers play host to No. 2-seeded Redlands East Valley on Saturday.
To get to the semifinals for the second time in three seasons, the Chargers (20-4-1) will have to become the first team to beat Redlands East Valley this season. The Wildcats beat Redondo Union, 1-0, on Wednesday, improving to 21-0-1.
“I know they’re [unbeaten], but they haven’t played any Orange County teams,” Edison Coach Charlie Breneman said of the Wildcats, who won the Division 3 title last season. “I’m not going to take them lightly, but I like the draw, I like that we’re at home. I’m sure it’s going to be a heck of a game. I know they return a lot of guys. But I’m not too scared about it because I think our guys will be up for it.”
It took the first 20 minutes for the Chargers to settle down defensively at Mission Viejo. The Diablos (9-8-5) were close to taking the lead twice during a two-minute span.
Edison defender Jared Velazaquez and Kemper used their heads to ensure that two shots didn’t find the back of the net. Velazquez and Kemper were in position to do so, as the ball was heading toward the far post, to a wide-open net, before they jumped to clear it out of danger.
“It was kind of a sigh of relief seeing the ball out,” Kemper said.
To Mission Viejo Coach Roger Castle, at least one of those balls appeared to cross the goal line before Velazquez and Kemper got to it.
“I’ve learned with [soccer], you can never control the score, you can only control your performance, and sometimes you rely on referees to call it,” Castle said. “But having said that, I think they kept plugging away. They’re very solid. They got that boy [Bair] up front that can kill you. I think that we tried to chase the game, and they caught us in the back.”
The contest turned to Edison’s favor when Castle moved Cal State Fullerton commit Michael Oakson from the back to the midfield.
Almost a week had gone by since the Diablos’ 2-1 win in the first round at No. 8-ranked Santa Margarita.
No. 7 Edison shut Mission Viejo out, marking the first time the Diablos failed to score since Jan. 11, when they and San Clemente finished in a scoreless tie. The Chargers have blanked the Diablos twice this season, defeating them at Edison in a nonleague contest on Dec. 9.
Goalkeeper Mitchell Wilson made four saves for Edison. He wasn’t around the last time the Chargers faced the Diablos, Thiago Costa and Trevor Fried combined for the shutout back then.
Ingalls made it another 2-0 win for Edison over Mission Viejo. He scored in the 71st minute. Brian Piscopo had a long throw-in, and Jack Morrell flicked the ball to Ingalls.
Ingalls scored for the second time in as many rounds in the postseason.
“I think we calmed down,” said Breneman, referring to the second half. “I think we played our style, where we actually wanted to keep the ball a little more and then look to play people into space upfront. Our possession game was better. We were winning balls in the middle.”
