Despite 5-0 season-opening loss, San Benito looks for strong
season
Hollister – Another season is under way for the San Benito boys soccer team and the ‘Balers are hopeful this year can be their chance to shine.
Despite a 5-0 loss to Pajaro Valley on Wednesday, San Benito believes it’s prepared for a successful season.
With 12 seniors on the squad, coach Juan Carlos Martinez knows this is a crucial season because much of the team will be lost to graduation.
“This has to be the year,” Martinez said. “If not, we’re starting over from the bottom next year.”
In Wednesday’s season-opening loss, Martinez mixed up his lineup a bit to test out some players at certain positions.
“It’s good for me to try everybody,” Martinez said.
While the team was disappointed with the result, Martinez said it should be a good learning experience.
“We’ve got to learn from this. We’ve got to learn something from every game we play,” he said.
The ‘Balers return to action Friday against Sobrato and Martinez expects more consistency in the lineup and a better performance.
“For Friday, I’ll be expecting some more scoring,” he said.
San Benito finished fifth in the Tri-County Athletic League last season with a 3-8-1 record and went 4-10-1 overall. This year, the team is gunning to climb the standings and hopefully earn a Central Coast Section playoff berth.
“The expectations are to try to be in first or second place,” Martinez said. “That’s the expectations from the guys.”
Senior midfielder Christian Mercado looks to be one of the leaders for the ‘Balers this season.
“He was one of my leaders last year and hopefully he’s ready to be a leader again,” Martinez said.
Carlos Vargas, another senior, is expected to steady the San Benito defense.
“Definitely he’s the leader on the back,” Martinez said.
Senior Eddie Trujillo was moved from goalkeeper to playing a forward position, but has switched back to goalkeeping for the time being. Wherever he plays, he’ll be counted on as another player to produce for the Balers.
The team has confidence that it can break through this season and have a successful year.
“I’m very confident in these guys. We’re actually doing a lot better than we did last year,” Mercado said. “We have enough experience, this is the year. I don’t see why we can’t make it (to CCS) this year.”
But the players also realize what it’s going to take to achieve their goals.
“We have to play together,” Trujillo said. “We have to start understanding each other more.”
