Sports
Costa Scores Early, Often in Rout of Leuzinger
Senior D.J. Peper puts in a goal just 40 seconds into the match and the rout is on as Mira Costa High cruises to a 7-2 Bay League victory.
Mira Costa High senior D.J. Peper tapped in a deflection just 40 seconds into their match against Lawndale Leuzinger on Tuesday, and the Mustangs went on to a dominating 7-2 Bay League victory over the visiting Olympians.
After the quick goal, Peper and Charlie Pitts put in back-to-back goals about seven minutes in. Peper received a great cross from junior Andy Macedo, and he easily struck the ball into the left side of the goal.
Pitts, on the very next offensive possession, was able to beat the goalie and just tap the ball in.
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“We passed the ball very well on offense and our forwards did their job by scoring a lot of goals,” Peper said.
About halfway through the first half, Macedo was able to get a goal of his own. He emerged from the middle of the field alone, then put a shot past the goalie as the Mustangs raced to a 4-0 lead.
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“They were not really good defensively,’’ said Coach Gary Smith. “They were nowhere near as good as Redondo. We just kept getting the ball downfield, and we kept on scoring. It is as simple as that.’’
The Olympians were able to score one goal in the first half.
“We did not improve much on the defense. We were winning 3-0 and we gave up a goal in what was a similar situation as Redondo,’’ Smith said. “They beat us right up the middle to get a one-on-one with the goalie. That was really the same way we got scored on with Redondo.”
Macedo was able to put in another goal right before halftime to give the Mustangs a 5-1 lead going into the break, and Costa did not intend to slow down in the second half.
Pitts scored once again about a minute and a half into the second half off of a nice feed from senior Augie Diaz. Senior Shane Sisson was able to put in a goal, capping the Costa scoring.
“In the game against Redondo we couldn't really string anything together when we would get deep into their half so we would turn it over, but I think today we came forward with a lot more confidence and we were able to finish a lot of our chances,” Pitts said.
“I am not really worried about giving up those goals. It was a mistake by only one defensive player,” Smith said. “Those are easy things to fix, and we are definitely going to work on defense in practice this week.”
The Mustangs improved to 9-1-3 with the victory. They will play at Peninsula on Friday.
