Sea Kings’ playoffs end in sudden death

FULLERTON — Dusk was rapidly encroaching on a wild-card game at Sunny Hills High Wednesday, but Alex Burtea effectively killed whatever threat it posed.

Burtea, a junior forward for Sunny Hills, kicked the game-winning goal in sudden-death overtime, shutting out Corona del Mar after 64 minutes of play. The Lancers advanced to the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs, while the Sea Kings’ season ended at 5-9-3.

As the game’s second overtime expired, parents on the sideline started to murmur about what would happen if no one scored and it was too dark to play, since the Lancers have no lights.

The Lancers had a throw-in, and Corona del Mar freshman Brian Ford headed the ball out. It went to Sunny Hills senior Jose Aguilera, who sent the ball back into the box, where it bounced around several players before Burtea sent a ground ball to the left side of the goal for the score.

Only a few minutes before, Burtea had been laying on the pitch inside the Lancers’ 18-yard box with blood spurting from his nose.

Corona del Mar senior forward Paolo Iaccarino was given a yellow card for incidental contact after his head collided with Burtea’s nose as they were pursuing possession on what most call a 50-50 ball. They both had a chance for the ball and each went for a header.

The game clock was stopped, but while a circle was standing around Burtea, Sea Kings Coach Pat Callaghan called, “Ref!”

He motioned for the team to hurry up since the available daylight was waning, and the overcast sky wasn’t helping.

But a couple minutes later, having effectively staunched the bleeding, Burtea returned and scored.

Several Corona del Mar players sat on the field, while the Lancers rushed Burtea in celebration, and one by one, the Sea Kings all peeled themselves off the pitch except for senior Mitchell Williams.

Williams, who had a chance to score with a late first-half penalty kick, lay on his back, knees up, until Lancers junior goalkeeper A.J. Arenas came over to shake the hand of junior Zak Maurer-Erickson, the Corona del Mar goalkeeper.

He then offered his hand to Williams, and pulled him off the ground.

“It’s senior year,” Williams said. “It’s our last game. We’re done now. It’s kind of weird.”

In the 40th minute, Williams took a penalty kick after Arenas was charged with a foul for tackling his younger brother, Reed Williams, as he came up to the box.

It was the Sea Kings’ first penalty kick opportunity of the year, and Mitchell Williams kicked straight toward the middle. Arenas made a flawless read for the save.

The penalty kick wasn’t CdM’s only chance to score — the Sea Kings outshot the Lancers, 7-5, in the second half, and 2-1 in the first overtime — but it was probably its best.

“If I would have made it, we would have won,” Mitchell Williams said.

Most of the game was a stalemate. The Lancers had more and longer possessions, particularly in the first half, but couldn’t convert the control into any scores because of the Sea Kings’ defense.

“The whole game was just sloppy,” Mitchell Williams said. “Neither of the teams really moved it that well, and it was just bouncing around trying to get lucky. I guess they got luckier.”

The Sea Kings, who lost to Saddleback in the Division III quarterfinals last year, had a rocky season before league play began, and later, had somewhat of a hapless season in the Pacific Coast League. The team recorded its first win Dec. 19, against Costa Mesa, eight games into the season. The Sea Kings’ wild-card fate was determined by a coin flip. CdM lost and became the third-place representative after battling and defeating University in the last game of the regular season. The Sea Kings tied for second place with Irvine — both teams were 4-3-1 — in the PCL.

Wednesday, CdM was staring down a wild-card game on the road, on a field with a large crown in its middle.

“We know that field like the back of our hands,” Burtea said. “But, if you can play soccer, you can play soccer.”

The Sea Kings’ lack of home-field advantage or a flat field played to the Lancers’ advantage, and Callaghan was the first to admit it.

“On a crown field, the ball rolls off very easily,” Callaghan said. “I think we struggled to settle into our style of play and didn’t do a good job of possessing the ball and controlling and passing the ball. We defended very well, obviously, but we didn’t really put passes together. We put ourselves under pressure. We didn’t get into a rhythm or a flow until later. But we had chances and you just have to convert against good teams.”

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at [email protected].