Laguna Beach boys’ soccer prevails in PKs for fourth CIF crown
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ORANGE — Max Garner took a deep drop, before running up to take his shot from the spot.
A spectator for nine action-packed attempts in a match-deciding penalty-kick shootout up to that point, Garner took the steps needed to compose himself.
It amounted to all of 10 seconds from the time he placed the ball down to the time he struck it, but it provided for the most dramatic moment in what ultimately became the fourth CIF Southern Section championship for the Laguna Beach boys’ soccer program.
Garner rolled his shot inside the right post, as Laguna Beach topped Yucaipa 3-2 on penalty kicks in the Division 4 final on Saturday at Fred Kelly Stadium.
“This is amazing,” Garner said. “I’m surprised I’m not crying right now. Look at all the people that came out. We got people coming from all over. It’s amazing. I’m just glad I could bring it home with the final goal.”
The senior striker was mobbed in front of the goal. He quickly found Cole Anderson, whose two saves in the shootout — on shots by Aiden Lopez Davis and Sergio Briseño — paved the way for the Breakers to prevail.
“We’re pretty much best friends,” Anderson said of sharing a hug with Garner after the win came to fruition. “That was the best way it could have ended, with him scoring.”
Anderson had his own methodology for approaching penalty kicks.
“You look at their eyes,” he said. “If they’re really looking somewhere, they’re going the other way. If they just glance over there as they’re walking up, that’s where they’re going to go. That works about 75% of the time, and then sometimes, you just guess right.”
Yucaipa (14-7-4) led after the first kicker for each side. Angel Romero scored for the Thunderbirds, and Julian Reichel was stopped by Quinlan Bowles, who had entered the net for penalty kicks after Brennen Little made five saves through extra time.
Laguna Beach (15-4-5) got even in the next round of the best-of-five tiebreaker. Anderson, who had gotten a piece of the Romero bid, made a diving stop to his left on Lopez Davis.
Nayan Martlin, who had the Breakers’ best scoring chance before the shootout when he was played in on a breakaway by Dylan Petrie-Norris in the second overtime period, made amends with a shot inside the right post.
It was a kick Martlin was eager to take after Little had come off his line to take time and space away from him on the opportunity from the run of play.
“I really feel like these boys, each and every one of us, wants this so bad,” Martlin said. “The difference between us and all these other teams — they might have more technical players — we have passion. We never stop, no matter what. Double overtime, I score [at San Bernardino Indian Springs in the second round]. Penalties, our goalie goes insane.
“It’s every game, and I’m just so proud of everybody, and I’m really happy I put that penalty [kick] away.”
Yucaipa’s Kenny Sandoval and Laguna Beach’s Jackson Arrasin exchanged goals as the third kickers. Then Noah De La Cruz missed wide left for the Thunderbirds, before Petrie-Norris drilled his attempt off the crossbar.
Anderson again dove to his left to stop Briseño, before Garner’s goal set off the celebration.
Laguna Beach won its first CIF title since 2002. The Breakers have appeared in five section finals, winning the last four — all with Andy Thomas serving as head coach. Thomas, who coached at Laguna Beach from 1997 to 2004, returned to the program in 2019.
“No, it still feels as sweet, though,” said Thomas when asked if he had ever waited for anything as long as the 23-year title drought for Laguna Beach. “With a group of boys that we’ve had in the club system, we’ve had them since they were very young, but it still feels as sweet. Hopefully, it won’t be another 23 years for the next one.”
Yucaipa, an at-large qualifier out of the Citrus Belt League, was seeking its first CIF title. The Thunderbirds made their only prior section final appearance in 1989.
A back line of Arrasin, the left back, Tom Schmidt and Luke Singer at center back, and right back John Tavey worked with Dakota Guzman dropping in the midfield to keep the Thunderbirds off the scoresheet.
Anderson made five saves before the penalty-kick shootout.
“The defending on either side was just phenomenal,” Thomas said. “Luke Singer, my center back, was … immense by the way he played. He’s had that all season. … He was by far the best player on the field today.
“Defense wins it, doesn’t it? Defense wins championships. We’ve not conceded very much. It was a great game.”
A true-north breeze made for a favorable end, with both sides seeing the better of their chances while playing with the wind. It was the Breakers’ turn in the second half, when they earned a bevy of set-piece looks.
The best came when Petrie-Norris played the ball short to Martlin, who dropped the ball back into the middle of the box. Singer charged into the area, but the ball evaded his feet.
Following Martlin’s breakaway in extra time, Briseño had an equally dangerous chance to end it. A corner kick to the back post was played into the center of the box by De La Cruz. Guzman got a touch on it, but the ball came to Briseño, who swung his left leg through with Reichel sliding in from behind the play. The close-range shot cleared the crossbar by inches.
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