Islander Boys Soccer Advances to CIF Open Final

Often in sports, it is the moments when things are at their most challenging that you find what you are truly made of. And on Tuesday night in their CIF Semi-Final match, in the home stadium of the No. 1 seed in the county, in a downpour, the Islander boys soccer team yet again showed what makes them so unique in their overtime victory against Torrey Pines. 

For the Islanders, things could not have gotten off to a better start as in the 4th minute of the contest, Dylan Groeneveld made a run down the near sideline and crossed a ball into the box where senior Jack Hunt was waiting and laced a shot into the back of the net—giving Coronado the early 1-0 advantage. 

However, as the No. 1 seed, you had to know Torrey Pines would have an answer. Over the next 11 minutes, the Falcons responded with two goals of their own to retake the lead with 25 minutes to play in the first half. 

With the rampant scoring in the first 15 minutes, many got the sense that we could be in for a shoot-out, but those thoughts of a high-scoring affair would soon fade. 

Defensively both teams adjusted quite nicely. Nick Lorr, Ethan Hickey and Dylan Noble all did a fine job settling in and playing with controlled aggression. The Islanders did a much better job fending off cross from Torrey Pines and corralling their wing attacks that were so successful early on. 

With the Islanders’ backline settling in, the same could not be said for the Islanders midfield and attack. While Connor Buckley, Garrett Sauter, Groeneveld, and Hunt would all have a few opportunities at shots in the first half, none besides the early goal posed a real threat to Torrey. As a result, the teams found themselves locked at 2-1 heading into halftime. 

In the second half, there would be some noticeable changes. To start, it was clear to see the Islanders begin to attack more along their wings than the middle of the field. As a result, Hunt, Sauter, and Buckley all fired off shots on goal early in the second half. 

And with more shots on goal coming, it felt it would only be a matter of time before one would find the back of the net. And that moment came in the 74th minute. Following a foul on Hunt, the senior quickly lined up a free-kick and launched a top-class long ball into the box that was headed home by Groeneveld to tie the game at 2-2 and be good enough to send the game to overtime. 

Both teams would have a handful of looks at goal in the OT period, but none better than Groeneveld. The junior got behind the defense and had a one on one with the keeper and looked to have the game-winner. But due to the wet conditions, his final touch slipped a tad far and didn’t allow him to get the perfect shot. So with no goals in the 15 minutes of OT, we headed to penalty kickss. 

In the first set of PKs, both teams found the goal. Sauter netted one for the Islanders in the second set, but on Torrey Pines, Islander PK keeper Tony Miley made a diving save to give Coronado the 2-1 advantage. 

Groeneveld laced one home in the following set, and yet again, Torrey Pines missed their PK, giving Coronado the 3-1 PK lead. Next, Buckley would set up the opportunity to send the Islanders to the CIF Final. The senior stepped up and drilled one into the bottom left of the net, handing the Islanders the victory. 

After the final whistle, Islander Jack Hunt removed his jersey during the celebration and was given a red card. As a result, he could potentially miss the championship game this Friday. 

This win was a huge accomplishment and another example of how talented and unique this entire Islanders squad is. Coronado will now prepare for their championship game this Friday at 7:30 at Hilltop High School vs. No. 2 seed San Pasqual High School. Tickets can be purchased here.