After earning only three wins during last year’s Tri-County Athletic League play – thus becoming the only team not to be listed in the Monterey Bay League’s Gabilan Division at San Benito High – boys soccer coach Tony Deras knew it was going to be a hard climb atop the league.
After two league games, the Balers (5-3-1, 1-0-1 in the MBL) are already in position to have a much better outcome this winter. Through the season’s first nine games, San Benito is already on its way to surpassing last year’s win total.
“They are more mature,” Deras said after the Balers’ 3-0 win over Christopher on Tuesday. “They are learning a lot more this year. Last year we only had three weeks and I guess they knew it was a hard feeling losing. It wasn’t the best feeling to know we had a good team but we were young. They have the drive to prove everyone wrong that we are the one good team.”
Against the Cougars, the Balers did just that. After a back and forth first half, where neither team could score despite constant pressure on both sides of the field, San Benito took control in the second half.
Behind senior Ricardo Roque, the Balers controlled the possession of the ball over first 20 minutes of the second half to race out to a 2-0 lead. Roque started the Baler scoring after San Benito forced a Christopher penalty inside the goalie’s box.
Roque hit the penalty kick through the diving Cougar keeper to give San Benito the lead. From there, San Benito dropped an extra defender and kept Christopher away from the net.
“That was the message at halftime,” Deras said. “It was a close game. It was 0-0. I told them it’s only going to take us to score one goal. Once we did that, it would changed the whole route of the game and that’s what happened.”
He continued: “I was glad it was us to score first because if they were the ones to score first it would have been a different story. We scored and we finished it.”
San Benito’s Ricardo Becerra added the Balers second goal 10 minutes later after a long crossing pass. After the second goal, Christopher put pressure on San Benito in the final 20 minutes of the game, but a breakaway goal by Roque put the game away.
“I guess we played all right but we could have played better,” Roque said after the win. “But the field kind of affected us. We did what we had to do and we played like we practiced. The team right now is all right. Every day we practice we have to get better and better. Things have to work out for us. We have to try better and improve.”
The win, though, took the “pressure” off the Balers as they seek the school’s first league title, Deras said.
“It takes the pressure off our shoulders,” he said. “We were like … I guess the kids were too anxious about it. Against North Salinas we played a good game but we didn’t finish. We tied in the last minute. I don’t want to feel that way again, knowing that we played better. But I told them, if we don’t score we can’t win.”
And that goal scoring falls on the shoulders of senior Roque and a bunch of junior forwards led by Becerra, Travis Selski and Steven Johst.
“The idea of my coaching and the philosophy of the team is that we don’t rely on players,” Deras said. “Ricardo is a good, good player but we also have as good of players as he is. The only difference is they are playing in different spots. They are all pieces to the puzzle.”
Roque, who has scored five goals and six assists in the season first nines games, only does what’s best for the collective team, he said. In the end, Roque wants a league championship.
“In my last year, I just want to do what’s best for the team,” he said. “I do my best so the team can win. If I can score for them, I will score for them. If I get a pass I’m happy with them. Whatever I can do. I try my best.”
After the team struggled to a four-win season a year ago, Roque wants to see his team succeed, he said.
“First of all, the league,” he said. “We have to win. After that we will see what happens. That’s our main goal. That’s my main goal. We want to try and get this team into the playoffs. Right now, yeah. We are getting there. We are trying.”
The boys soccer team hosts Alvarez on Thursday. Look online for an update.
