JSerra boys soccer routs Mater Dei to grab share of Trinity League title - OCRegister

JSerra boys soccer routs Mater Dei to grab share of Trinity League title - OCRegister

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SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — When the JSerra boys soccer team hit a rough patch during the middle of league play, they had to make a decision, Lions coach Erik Kirsch said.

JSerra could have easily given up on the season at that point, or it could rely on the team’s senior leadership to get back in the win column, the coach said.

The Lions chose the latter and put an exclamation point on their season with a 5-0 Trinity League victory over Mater Dei on Wednesday at JSerra High School. Senior captains Max Carvalho and Carson Kendall led the Lions with two goals each.

With the victory, the Lions (12-3-1, 6-3-1) earned a share of first place alongside the Monarchs (15-4-1, 6-3-1), who were looking to win the league title outright.

“We had two games (against) Santa Margarita and Mater Dei where they took it to us,” Kirsch said. “The team turned around at that point and had to choose between sticking together and fighting through it and getting to the next level, or just leaving the season and hanging up the boots.”

The league title is the first for Kirsch in his five years guiding the Lions.

JSerra had come close to scoring on several occasions in the opening minutes Wednesday and finally broke through in the 22nd minute, with Sean Metague throwing in to Carvalho, who dribbled past a defender and then scored from a wide angle to give the Lions the lead.

The Lions’ second goal came in the 34th minute and was also off of a throw in. This time it was Nicolai Dejbakhish throwing in to Creighton Braun, who scored to make it 2-0.

The Lions made it 3-0 before halftime on Kendall’s perfectly hit chip shot over the keeper and into the net.

Kendall added his second goal midway through the second half and Carvalho got his second off a free kick.

Mater Dei defeated the Lions in their first league meeting on Jan. 22. The Lions then lost to Santa Margarita before finishing the regular season with three victories and a tie.

“You could feel their energy the entire game,” Mater Dei coach Sean Ganey said. “The first time we played them it was 4-0 and they came for vengeance for sure. We came into the game knowing we were guaranteed a piece of the league championship. We weren’t going to take chancres with yellow cards or anything like that. We made sure we kept our lineup intact for next week.”

The CIF-SS playoff pairings will be released Saturday morning.

2020-02-06 06:46:00Z
https://www.ocregister.com/jserra-boys-soccer-routs-mater-dei-to-grab-share-of-trinity-league-title

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