The Tracy High School Boys Soccer Program started their season strong with a 3-0 win against the Millennium Falcons. The downpour of rain proved difficult to work with, but the boys stayed resilient and managed to come out on top.
Coach JC Rodriguez was excited about the win and expressed his ambitions for the upcoming season.
“I think they did good but could’ve done better,” Rodriguez explained. “The first game is always the ugliest. We will, for sure, work on keeping possession of the ball. I feel we played a lot of kickball, so we need to get more organized.”
The game started with light rain and possession being held on Tracy’s offensive half. After a cold 12 minutes of play, senior Angel Quezada scored the Bulldog’s first goal, making the score 1-0. The energy was high.
“I think the first goal got us all motivated. I think we started playing a bit better after that,” senior Adan Sanchez added.
Just ten minutes later, one of the team captains, Hector Guzman, scored from a powerful run up the right side, leaving the score at 2-0 before the half.
With a few minutes of down-pouring rain in the second half, Millenium had a quick counter that traveled past the goalie. This would have been Millennium’s first goal until Sanchez made a dramatic sliding save at the last second.
With 19 minutes left, junior Victor Alcocer scored the Bulldogs’ final goal on a cross from senior Jaime Franco, making the score 3-0.
Soon after, Tracy High gave up a foul at the five-yard line that caused a frightening moment for the goalie Jonathan Hernandez.
“I had no grip because of the rain, these gloves were drenched. I still got the ball, so I’m grateful.” Hernandez shared.
The last few minutes remained intense, but the Bulldogs held strong. After the game, senior captain Josue Salguero shared his motivations for this year’s team.
“Last year we didn’t live up to our standards, but this year we’re ready to prove some people wrong,” Salguero continued. “I feel like with this new coach we’re playing harder, we’re working harder, we’re more of a team and there’s more chemistry.”
After this promising start, the boys continue to play preseason games until the official league season begins on Jan. 7 against St. Mary’s.
