By Ed Piper, Jr.
The 2016-17 schedule for La Jolla's boys soccer team newly posted by Coach Marcos Gonzales over the Thanksgiving break bears out the pattern seen in girls soccer as well: The Vikings are going to play a lot of home games this season, because construction on the Edwards Field complex finally allows it.
Last year Gonzales' squad made like wandering waifs following the tune blown by the Pied Piper, playing every game on the road. It was exciting in some ways, but taxing--in gas and travel time--in others.
Adversity bred toughness, and the voyaging Vikes came away with the CIF Division IV title. The spectacular win in the playoffs was La Jolla's semifinal victory at Serra in the penalty phase, after regulation and after overtime. Goalie Tai Nguyen, who just enjoyed his first season kicking a football for Matt Morrison's team, stopped the seventh penalty kick for the win.
Nguyen, bigger and stronger, with another year of maturity under his belt, returns in goal this year. Meanwhile, the Vikings play 10 of their 16 regular season games at home, on the new surface at Edwards.
In the Western League, Gonzales' contingent will face four opponents: University City, Henry, Lincoln, and San Diego High. Leagues are now configured according to power rankings of recent past performance, with the goal that they will be updated every two years.
La Jolla doesn't open league play against the Centurions until Tuesday, Jan. 17, the day after the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.
Some familiar non-league opponents from last year include King-Chavez and Clairemont. King-Chavez played host to the Vikings during the Christmas break in 2015, so several starters were missing and junior varsity players filled their spots. The game was played on an uneven field off-campus near downtown, lit by mobile floodlights powered by generators.
The result was as could be expected: The Vikes got their heads handed to them, as a talented King-Chavez squad, powered by cumbia music booming from the sidelines, waxed the visitors by a decisive score.
Clairemont, however, took it on the chin on its home field as La Jolla's offense was too quick and too agile for the Chieftains.
This time around, both opponents will travel to La Jolla, as home-and-away agreements give Gonzales the home game this season.
The Viking soccer program has benefitted greatly from the continuity Gonzales has provided over the last three years. Prior to that, La Jolla saw a new coach every year or every other year. The players were talented, but they needed to learn and operate under one system, and to keep it that way for successive seasons.
No comments:
Post a Comment