Islanders Recover After Hoover Loss (CHS Boys Soccer)

By: Vanessa Silvas The Coronado HS boys varsity squad broke an even 1-1 record at the end of their first week of league games after falling, 3-0, to Hoover this past Friday, Jan. 8. Coach Brian Hiatt-Aleu’s squad saw themselves down, 2-0, at the half as Hoover maintained the majority of possession to connect passes around the Islanders. Junior forward Jacob Lujan and senior Eddie Vita saw opportunities in front of a Hoover goal within the first ten minutes of the second half but failed to find the back of the net. “If we had scored one of those four opportunities in the second half, it maybe could have changed the game,” Hiatt-Aleu said. “Unfortunately our technical abilities let us down a bit so we struggled and the scoreboard is relative to what happened out here today.” Despite the loss, goalkeeper Patrick Toomey (Nado Select) held his own in the box to keep hope alive for his teammates. Toomey collected Hoover crosses from the deep outside pocket in the first half while he dived mid-air, full-stretch to block shots from outside the 18 in the second half. “Even though we had a lot of scoring opportunities, we missed the target a lot and [Hoover] hit their target a lot,” Hiatt-Aleu said. “I know 3-0 might look bad, but Patrick really kept us in the game.” Friday’s match against Hoover reversed Coronado’s role on the pitch as they defeated Madison earlier in the week, Wednesday, Jan. 6. Lujan and Vita capitalized on their shots on goal as they each finished with a goal a piece for a, 2-0, victory. Hiatt-Aleu said his players performed well in front of a home crowd and played comfortably on their own field. Last season Hiatt-Aleu’s squad advanced to the Division III semifinals against Cathedral Catholic, but fell 2-1. Along with the playoffs defeat, the Islanders lost several key senior players. “We’ve been very strong for the last five years in the semifinals and finals at CIF so it’s a little bit of a different season for us because we’re building,” Hiatt-Aleu said. “We lost a lot of players who could win a game for us at any moment, but at the same time we have a lot of players who should be performing a little better right now.” Before Friday’s match Coronado held an overall 8-1 record. In earlier non-league games, the Islanders came back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat San Dieguito Academy, 2-1, and hold El Capitan to a close 1-0 victory. With Friday’s loss against Hoover behind them, the Islanders will maintain their focus on winning the Central league. “When you go into league, your non-league record doesn’t matter and everyone plays you tough because everybody knows each other so there are a lot of rivalries,” Hiatt-Aleu said. “Hopefully this will be a wake up call for the boys and we’ll be ready to play next week and hopefully we’ll have a better performance going into the rest of season.” Coronado will play at home this upcoming Wednesday night, Jan. 13, against Lincoln HS and away against Clairemont HS this Friday, Jan. 15, at 3pm. Source: XKSanDiego.com