Costa Taken Down by Top Seed in CIF Semifinals

It was pretty simple. Mira Costa High got beat by a better team.

Top-seeded Laguna Beach used three second-quarter goals by Tyler Mancuso and a swarming defense that limited the Mustangs to little offensively in a 5-2 victory on Wednesday in the CIF Division 3 semifinals at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center in Irvine.

The Breakers advance to the championship match Saturday, where they will face the winner of the semifinal between Palos Verdes and La Verne Damien.

Offense was a problem again for Mira Costa. Just as in its quarterfinal win over La Canada on Friday, the Mustangs struggled to score. Though they managed a rally to edge La Canada, they had no such luck against Laguna Beach.

"I thought we came out and played a good game," Mira Costa Coach Jon Reichardt said. "We held them to five goals. That was a positive. I thought we competed the whole game. I thought everyone played well.

"We just couldn't find the net today and that was the story of the game. We just didn't put it in. It was as simple as that. Not a good offensive day for us. They put enough (goals) in to win."

Julian Monk's goal with 6:24 remaining in the first quarter gave Mira Costa a 1-0 lead, but the Mustangs hit a major drought, failing to score again until the game's final minute. By then it didn't matter as the Breakers knocked them around and ended their shot for a CIF title.

Reichardt said his club did what it could, but it wasn't enough.

"Holding a team to five goals in a semifinal game, I think, is good, especially with (Nolan McConnell) scoring only one goal and he averages about four or five goals a game," Reichardt said. "I thought we did what we had to do. A few errors here and there and they put the ball in. You can't do that on this level."

Mira Costa held the Breakers scoreless in the first quarter, but that changed quickly in the second. Mancuso tied the score with 5:33 remaining in the quarter, then struck again to put Laguna Beach ahead less than one minute later. He added a goal, which turned out to be the game-winner, with 1:43 to play in the half, giving Laguna Beach a 3-1 lead at intermission.

Defense dictated in the third period and neither team scored. But it was clear the Mustangs' frustrations were enhanced when they failed to take advantage of scoring opportunities.

Their biggest miss came with 4:06 remaining in the third, when Breaker goalie Erik Henderson blocked Jake Miller's penalty shot. Mira Costa also failed to convert when it had a man advantage late in the period as Henderson stuffed an attempt by Joe Siltanen.

In the fourth, the Mustangs' offensive woes continued. Though their defense kept Laguna Beach (26-6) off the board until Spencer Dodson scored with 3:41 to play, their ineffectiveness on offense cost them. McConnell scored the final goal for the Breakers with 2:54 remaining. Trevor Tarte finally scored for Mira Costa with 52 seconds remaining, but it was practically a consolation prize.

Reichardt, though, praised his players. "I thought we played a great game overall," he said. "I'm pretty happy. We just didn't put the ball in the net."