Orange County Prep Soccer : Marina Wins Sunset Title by Beating Edison

When it was discovered that Marina High School’s soccer team was playing with an ineligible player last month, Coach Dave McLeish said he was glad the mistake was found early in Sunset League play.

Marina had to forfeit its first two league victories, but that didn’t stop the Vikings from winning the league championship.

Darin Fishman scored two goals in a 15-minute span Friday night and the Vikings defeated Edison, 2-0, to win the league title at Westminster High.

No. 3 Marina (8-2, 8-18) finished tied with No. 6 Edison (8-2, 17-3-1) but was named the champion because it had defeated the Chargers twice. The first victory, however, was nullified because Marina had used a player who was living in the Huntington Beach district.

But Friday night in the rain, Marina was too much for the Chargers.

Fishman’s first score came at the 65-minute mark after Marina midfielder Chad Hustad kicked the ball into a mass of players in front of Edison’s goal. Fishman was the first to get to it, and his quick shot went past goalie Tim Klein.

“It bounced off someone else before I got it,” said Fishman, who has 19 goals and 10 assists this season. “Then I kicked it and it hit off one of their fullbacks and went in. I was at the right place at the right time.”

Fishman’s second goal came at the 80-minute mark on an assist by Ben LeFrancois, who had made a steal to gain possession.

“That’s what makes the great players,” McLeish said. “They put themselves in the right place.”

It was McLeish’s first Sunset League title since he left Edison three years ago, where he won six in 10 years.