Redondo boys soccer drops regional final against Torrey Pines
The Sea Hawks were unable to get their attack on track and lost to Torrey Pines
REDONDO BEACH >> The aim all along for the Redondo boys soccer team was to capture the school’s first CIF Southern Section championship in the sport, an achievement reached a week earlier, so if Saturday night’s defeat in the Southern California Regional title game stung, it hardly defined the Sea Hawks’ greatest campaign.
San Diego powerhouse Torrey Pines dictated every phase of play en route to a 2-0 road triumph, its second title in four regional appearances the past five seasons and in eight tournaments since the competition debuted in 2008.
Andrew Mitchell fired the Falcons (24-2-3) ahead after a ball bounded to him on the left eight minutes into the second half, and Elijah Zelkind’s free kick from the left flank 20 yards out sneaked through a crowd in the box and inside the right post nine minutes later, and their swarming defense did the rest in a comprehensive victory.
“Outstanding team. Easily the best team we’ve faced this year,” Redondo coach Mark Hodson said. “They have real high-quality players, but they also work super hard, and they didn’t let us breathe at all. They did a really good job of containing us, and then when they attack, they attack with numbers and quality. …
“They were the better team tonight and thoroughly deserved to win.”
The Sea Hawks (15-6-4) managed just three decent chances, and only one of them, a Tyler Busse header from Ryan Doyle’s cross four minutes into the second half, resulted in a shot. Torrey Pines, which lost on penalties to champion Coronado in the San Diego Section Open Division semifinals as the No. 1 seed, permitted few forays into its defensive third, using its pace and tenacity in the middle of the field to quickly recover balls after Redondo gained possession.
Grant Berman’s ball over the top for Daniel Vorndron in the 33rd minute was pushed by the wind into Falcons goalkeeper Elijah Mineiro’s arms and Vorndron’s feed through the box from the right in the 68th was just beyond Beau Yantz’s reach. That was pretty much it for Redondo.
“Credit to the players,” Torrey Pines assistant coach Joel Kosakoff, running the team in coach Andrew Hargreaves’ absence. “Total team effort and not letting the other team have any time on the ball and just trying to suffocate them, which takes a lot of energy and effort mentally and physically. These guys really deserved it.”
The Falcons were without two starters, Tye Barton and Charlie Kosakoff, Joel’s son, who left the team for trials with the San Diego Loyal, a pro team that Landon Donovan coaches in the second-tier United Soccer League.
The defeat takes no luster from Redondo’s run to capture the Southern Section Division 2 title.
“We set out with the goal to win CIF at the start of the season and I wouldn’t say we played our best today, but we worked really hard,” midfielder Jaden Hancock said. “Obviously, hate to lose, but we had a helluva season. (Regionals are the) cherry on top, but the cake would have tasted so much sweeter if we had the cherry. We won CIF, and that was the main thing, I guess. But we would have loved to win regionals, too.”
Sectional titles have generally meant more to soccer teams than regional crowns.
“(Winning CIF) was a wonderful fairy tale,” Hodson said. “The regionals were a great add-on to keep the group together, give our seniors extra games, and don’t get me wrong, we would have loved to win tonight. But we’re happy for a really wonderful season and lots of lifelong memories for these kids.
“They’ll forever be in the history books as the first male team to win (CIF) here at Redondo, so we can’t ask for more than that.”