Santa Ana High School Striker Saul Ortuno eludes the coverage of a Calvary Chapel defender. Ortuno scored a hat trick. All of his goals were in the first half. (Photos: Courtesy of Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone)
On the day of his 18th birthday and with a couple of key teammates out with injuries, senior Saul Ortuno found no better way to celebrate but with a first half hat trick that set the tone and carried the Santa Ana Saints to a 7-1 win over Calvary Chapel in an Orange Coast League game Friday at Dan Young Soccer Center.
To see the slide show, please click on the first photo
Santa Ana, undefeated in league play, took a 4-1 lead into the halftime break, and did not let down in the second half in spite of the second half substitutions by head coach Joe Peñaflor, who also collected his 299th career win. All of them have come with Santa Ana in a span of 18 years.
Ortuno scored early on and midway through the first half to get the Saints (14-3-1, 4-0) going offensively against league opponent Calvary Chapel (4-7, 1-3).
“It’s a special feeling. I wanted to score a hat trick. It’s my birthday and I wanted to make it special. I came out here and worked hard. I wanted to spend this day with my team, and I just gave it my all,” said Ortuno, who was satisfied with the result in spite of the injuries that have been plaguing the Saints. “It’s tough at times, but we’re all a team. There’s no bench players in this team, and we got to trust each other. That’s why the reserves are there so they can back us up.”
Meanwhile, teammates Angel Romero, Brian Mendez, Joel Espejo and Jonathan Pérez also got on the board for Santa Ana, while goalkeeper Eagles’ goalkeeper Eddie Padilla converted a penalty kick shot for the home team.
Calvary Chapel played physical in the second half, but Santa Ana controlled the possession of the ball, and limited the hosts to just counterattack long balls.
While the Eagles gambled to get more goals on the board, Santa Ana was far more accurate and convincing on taking changes.
“It’s been a great team effort from a number of guys who have been in and out of the lineup due to injuries and flu and all of those things,” said Coach Peñaflor. “We keep on getting guys who have been working hard and stepping up and doing a great job.
“Today Saul had a hat trick today, we needed a performance like that from him. One of our other top strikers (Paul Carrillo) was out today. He leads us in goals with 11. We needed a little more push on top and also number 19 (Bryan Jorge) didn’t score a goal today but he created a lot of openings for everybody else just by hustling. He hasn’t been getting a lot of playing time but today he was all over the place. That’s just kind of the effort we’ve been getting from a lot of the players.”
In terms of maintaining the focus and handling every game with focus, Peñaflor said that the mentality for this season is handling every game with concentration. “The lineup has been shifting in and out, and I think the guys have learned that if we keep our focus when we come in, and we do what we’re coached to do, we can compete with anybody,” said Peñaflor. “We’re not going to change our system, and our intensity no matter who we play. Anybody in this county is going to be tough to beat, and everybody in this league is going to be tough to beat. We’re going to respect all the teams, and we’re only going to be as good as our next game and we got to start preparing for that one.”
The Saints will play Costa Mesa next Wednesday at Santa Ana Stadium, where Peñaflor’s team will make the attempt to get him win No. 300. Calvary Chapel will play Estancia on the road.
-Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone
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