Boys’ Soccer: Kim wins it for Sage

Sage Hill School boys’ soccer coach Luis Cruz met with his three team captains prior to the Lightning’s CIF Southern Section Division 6 first-round playoff match on Friday evening.

The Lightning had an issue to address, namely whether sophomore forward Nelson Kim would play in the home game against Woodcrest Christian of Riverside. Kim had missed multiple practices this week.

“His excuses were questionable,” said senior Nikolai Sadeghi, a team captain along with senior center back Gordon Strelow and senior left back Anthony Gil. “We didn’t really know what was up. [Cruz] basically said that he usually doesn’t play a player that has missed that much practice. We basically [decided] that he won’t start but we’re probably going to need him. He’s a dangerous player. He’s definitely useful, and that definitely paid off today. But he was a game-time decision, so it was a little bit sketchy.”

The decision to play Kim paid off. It was a big reason why the Lightning are moving on.

Kim scored in the 53rd minute off an assist from senior Dino Romeo and it held up, as Sage posted a 1-0 victory.

Sage Hill (13-9), the Academy League champion, will play Covina in the second round Wednesday. Covina defeated Hawthorne MSA, 6-0, in another first-round game. The location of Wednesday’s game will be determined via coin flip.

The Lightning, who won their first league title since 2007 this season, hopes to get past the second round after losing there the last two years. Cruz, in his first year as coach, believes his squad will have to play better after dominating scoring chances against Woodcrest Christian but producing just a single goal.

“We didn’t play well at all,” Cruz said. “We worked hard, that’s a given. Our team always works hard. That’s a compliment to our seniors; they make our boys work. But soccer-wise, we were off … as the [CIF] rounds go by, you’re going to get a third of those chances, if that. You have to be more clinical around the goal.”

Woodcrest Christian (11-9-4), the fourth-place team from the Ambassador League, stayed in the game behind the play of junior goalie Trevor Berl (eight saves). Berl made several aggressive plays, coming way out of the cage to make a couple of stops. But Kim still made sure the Lightning struck in the second half.

Senior Juan Rodriguez played the ball ahead to Romeo, who crossed it in from the right. Kim, who also had a highlight move later in the half by weaving through several defenders, put away the goal.

The Lightning used Sadeghi, their leading scorer, in more of a facilitator role in the midfield. Defensively, they were stellar as they have been all season behind the play of junior goalie Robbie Rosoff (four saves), Strelow, Gil, Romeo, Zach Burns and Gabriel Gamboa.

Sage gave up just two goals in league play. They were able to dodge some tense moments late in Thursday’s game, mostly coming off a pair of corner kicks by Woodcrest’s Mitchell Maberry.

“The keeper [Rosoff] is a big reason why our defense is so good,” Cruz said. “He’s a very good communicator and leader, and he’s only a junior. He’s a very, very integral part of the team.”

The players also give credit to their first-year coach, who moved Burns from wing to center back and Gil from attacking midfielder to the back lane. Sage has gotten a lot tougher since a brutal preseason, in which it didn’t win a single game.

“Coach Cruz has made so many changes that I never would have guessed,” Sadeghi said. “[Burns and Gil] have both been spectacular.”

The Lightning will need more spectacular play to beat Covina, which won the Valle Vista League and ended the regular season ranked No. 5 in Division 6. But Rosoff believes the squad is capable.

“We just need to calm down in general and go back to what we know best, and that’s playing through the middle and playing with possession,” Rosoff said. “Once we get back to that, we’re not touchable. We’ve proven that the whole year, going undefeated in league. No one can touch us once we play our style.”