by CYNDY SOLVAK-BARTON
When the Lehman girls soccer team travels to the McAllen Border Blast Tournament next week, they will be facing 5A teams that made the playoffs last year.
Lehman faces McAllen Memorial and Harlingen High School in their first two games.
That’s what Lehman girls head soccer coach Nauri Garcia is looking for.
“It will be a tough two games for us,” Garcia said. “The important part about this trip is the bonding our team will get to do. Our chemistry will be a little more intact and we will be a better team when we return.”
Garcia said that, although his team is young, he has confidence as they go into upcoming games.
During Monday’s game against Crockett, the team finally looked like it came alive in the last 10 minutes of the game, with the Lady Lobos winning 2-0.
Both goals were scored by junior forward Max Soto – the first at the 31-minute mark in the first half, and the second on a penalty kick with only 4:14 left in the game. Garcia is looking for his two forwards to come alive later in the season.
Soto, a 20-goal scorer from last season, will join with fellow junior Shayla Seeger, a 16-goal scorer last year, to bring on the pressure for the Lady Lobos. About Soto, Garcia said, “She has a cannon right foot,” while he describes Seeger as “a very explosive player.”
Garcia said he didn’t think the game against Crockett was up to his expectations.
“Crockett ... they’ve improved since last season,” he said. “It’s not the best game we’ve played but the defense did their job and kept the score to zero.”
“We won the match but I don’t think we are synchronized right now. Our attack was a bit off balance,” Garcia said. “We need to work on our wing play and finishing. It showed me how tough our defense is. Crockett played us very aggressive but our defense held their own and only allowed one shot on goal.”
The Lady Lobos have three senior keepers – Evelyn Martinez who played the first half against Crockett, Jessica Maffet, who started the second half, and Victoria Salinas, also a senior, who took over the goal position with 17 minutes left in the game.
The push by the Lady Lobos during the last 15 minutes of the game showed their true capabilities, as they seemed to congeal as a team. When Soto scored her second and final goal of the game as the clock his 4:14, bringing the score to 2-0, the team game alive, with numerous drives to the net. Shots on goal flew, but none were successful. The Lady Lobo forwards were pushing to the goal in the last few seconds of the game as the Crockett defenders and Lobos tangled around the Crockett keeper. Lehman held tough and the Cougars remained scoreless.
The Lady Lobos are looking to their captains, Anjelica Romero, Soto and Martinez, who Garcia said have “taken their jobs very seriously.”
Other Lady Lobo players to watch? Junior Mariah Tamayo, the anchor of Lehman’s game plan, defenders senior Romero, junior Madison Block, and sophomore Pressley Bailey.
District play begins Jan. 25 against Cedar Creek at Lehman High. Garcia said he expects Bastrop and Hays will be the teams to beat this year.
“We finished tied for second at the end of last season and lost the rubber match to Hays,” the coach said. “We had the best season in team history last year, but our Ladies are not satisfied with how we ended. We got rid of the bad habit of losing and we want to keep improving not just every year but every day.”
Lehman returns from McAllen to play Seguin Tuesday in Seguin.
