Edison boys’ soccer shocks top-seeded Moorpark
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The flu was swirling, players hobbling and Charlie Breneman was “concerned” by what he saw as his Edison boys’ soccer team warmed up ahead of Saturday evening’s CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoff showdown against the No. 1 seed.
Then the Chargers put together their finest 20 minutes — their best full half — of the season, overwhelming visiting Moorpark with three quick goals built upon utter dominance in midfield and rolling to a 4-1 triumph that sent them to the quarterfinals for the first time since a semifinal and Southern California regional run six years ago.
The Musketeers (12-2-4) could not handle Edison’s pace, certainly not on the vast expanse of the Chargers’ 75-yard-wide field, nor their foe’s relentless defensive approach that cut off passing lanes, stripped the ball from feet and seemingly won every second ball, at least until halftime.
The heroes were many: strikers Micah Novak, among those consumed with the bug, and Luke White, each scoring two goals and assisting another. Holding midfielder Esa Ashraf, limited by a foot injury sustained in Edison’s first-round win, negating the Musketeers’ most dangerous attacker and providing a foundation for all the brilliance in front of him. And Wyatt Halbmaier, stepping into midfield for flu-stricken Adam Kirkorn with a galvanizing performance at the center of the conquest.
“We knew this was the best team we were going to play all year, so we came out, and that was the best 20 minutes we’ve played,” said Novak, who hadn’t practiced for more than a week, struggled at times to breathe, and vomited during sideline breaks. “They just couldn’t handle us.”
The Chargers (14-4-1) were ahead in the eighth minute, when Novak finished playmaker Dylan Petruolo’s feed from a counterattack. They doubled their advantage in the 17th minute on Novak’s 13th goal of the campaign, a nudge off a White pass that slipped past Moorpark goalkeeper Leon Chavez. It was 3-0 two minutes later, White depositing a ball from Novak, encroaching from the right, inside the left post.
“I was a little shocked, because I didn’t see that in our warmup,” said Breneman, whose team will take on Anaheim Canyon (13-6-3) on Wednesday at El Modena High‘s Fred Kelly Stadium. “Our warmup was OK, but it wasn’t, like, locked-in, fast, hard, everyone’s hyped. I want us to be, like, everyone’s pushing each other and all our energy’s kind of collectively gaining, and warmups was kind of mellow and subdued. I was concerned that we’d come out flat, and it’s so important to start quickly.
“Just a tribute to those guys, especially those guys with so much pace. They were just so hard to handle.”
Wednesday’s first-round trip to Lancaster, for a 1-0 victory over Eastside, worsened Novak’s condition.
“I have the flu. I’ve been going through it all week,” he said. “But I have to be out here for my boys. And could be the last game, every game [could be], so gotta do it. ... It was really hard, but I went out there and gave it my all, did the best that I could and scored two goals. Now we have until next Wednesday, so I’ll be good. Lots of fluids, some IVs. I’ll be ready by Wednesday.”
Ben Hickman, too, was pivotal in the middle as Edison penned the Musketeers closer to their net for lengthy spans of the first 40 minutes. And Nathan Theoret set a tone at the back soon after the first goal with a superb tackle on 17-goal Moorpark striker Mattheo Sipaque.
“It was a whole team effort in the midfield, just covering for each other, stepping [to the ball] really hard,” Halbmaier said. “Just making sure they don’t get the ball through. Winning the ball in their half, I feel like that’s our game. And really, like, winning the ball, playing it out wide, and then [creating chances inside], that’s kind of the bread and butter for Edison.”
Halbmaier won balls all over the field and benefited the attack as a skilled flank outlet.
“Wyatt’s that type of kid. He’s super passionate,” Breneman said. “Here’s the thing: He’s annoying in practice because defensively, he does that. He’s not the biggest guy, but he works so hard, he has the biggest heart and he closes people so quickly, it’s annoying to play against him. He annoys people by how much he closes and defends.”
Moorpark found its game after the break as Breneman subbed freely and the Chargers took a more protective stance. They found several chances in the last 10 minutes; Austin Nickels tallied in the 71st minute and came close again four minutes later, testing goalkeeper Marcel Bilger at the left post. White’s second goal, from freshman Thiago Feller’s assist, restored the margin in the 77th minute.
The Sunset League champions, who had dropped second-round home games the previous two seasons, know it’s too early to talk about a CIF title, but they’re certainly capable.
“We want to have deep runs,” Breneman said. “You need a little luck, you need a good team, you need to be deep, you need to be healthy, and so there’s a lot of factors that go into it, but it feels good. I’m feeling confident about the group and whatever lays ahead. We’ll take it one game at a time. ...
“That would be amazing [to win the title], and that’s always the ultimate goal. I hate to get ahead of myself, but this team could be that team. We’ll see.”
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