The Sports Pulse of Laredo Sports Texas Lrd Sports Wire News Network
DANNY PEREZ The Soccer Guru Soccer Analyst "GAME DE DIA"
DANNY PEREZ The Soccer Guru Soccer Analyst "GAME DE DIA"
The other United versus Martin match-up happened on Saturday afternoon
in Shirley Field at 1pm but in the boys division. The time difference from
night games to day games is a big difference as the world famous Laredo
high temperatures would affect play. But all that heat could not be any
greater than the heated passion and school pride between two of the city's
and district's best teams. They finished 1st and 2nd last year with Martin
winning their second straight district title. Every time these two teams meet
on the soccer field, sparks of emotions and great soccer always happen to
the delight of the soccer community.
in Shirley Field at 1pm but in the boys division. The time difference from
night games to day games is a big difference as the world famous Laredo
high temperatures would affect play. But all that heat could not be any
greater than the heated passion and school pride between two of the city's
and district's best teams. They finished 1st and 2nd last year with Martin
winning their second straight district title. Every time these two teams meet
on the soccer field, sparks of emotions and great soccer always happen to
the delight of the soccer community.
The game had a good crowd on hand for both sides as the stands were
modestly filled by soccer aficionados. Those same soccer fans asked and
commented about the soccer guru's soccer annual team previews.
Some fans from United were asking who were some of the Martin soccer
players like Rafael Barba and Christian Arana while some of the fans from
the Martin side were asking who why I chose an unknown Arturo Villalba as
the breakout player for United and also who was this Rolando Flores who
they never heard of.
The soccer guru said that both these teams were stacked with talent and
that this game was the "CLASICO" of Laredo or the "SUPERBOWL OF
SOCCER" of Laredo. Both teams had members of their girls team, former
soccer alumni/players and they also had administrators from their school
supporting their school team. The United team even brought their "Goalie
Girls" cheerleaders to the game and they provided extra spirit on the United
side.
The Martin side had several soccer-crazed fans with posters and chants to
raise their spirit level as well. The Martin side also had in it's fan midst their
district leading boys basketball team supporting their soccer team along with
the soccer guru's good friend Martin Basketball Coach Hecky Noyola.
It was impressive also to see that all the other local high school soccer
coaches were in attendance to not only scout both opponents but see a
great game as also. So the atmosphere was set all that was left was for the
game to start.
The center referee started the game and both teams went to work. Martin
started by touching the ball towards the sides to use their superior speed on
the wings by Jorge Flores and Christian Arana. United not to be outdone
countered by having their own speedy players like Fernando Flores and
Jorge Barroso match-up well with their counterparts. The Tigers were forced
to pass the ball in the middle where the strength of the Longhorn team
defense is.
Martin's Armando Pedrote had a big challenge as United's Ruben Vallejo
and Cesar Guerrero slowed the Martin offense. The Martin defense led by
Erick Arana and Jerry Gaytan also held in check United's scoring duo of
Aaron Zuniga and Rolando Flores. United defense of Robbie Ramos, Oscar
Perez and Rodrigo Zuniga was also effectively shutting down the Martin
offense of Rafael Barba and Ricky Delgado.
Both goalkeepers in Martin's Aldair Gonzalez and United's Frank Rojas
made several routine saves as most shots were too far away or not strong
enough to challenge both keepers. So the start of the game already had
both teams neutralizing their best options and also their team's game plan.
This shows great work ethic by the both coaching staffs and their players as
all are too familiar with each others strong points and weak points. Both
teams were equally prepared for this all too important opening district game.
All this makes for some entertaining soccer.
The game was at a good pace with the teams starting to rev up their
offensive engines. The Martin Tigers had a golden opportunity to get on the
board first as Jorge Flores sent a pass into the box that caught the United
defense unaware. Three Martin players missed that pass to the dismay of
the Martin fans. The United goalkeeper Frank Rojas just watched as all the
players whiffed on that ball. On the other side, United had two corner kicks
that Rolando Flores headed off target and the other stopped cold by Martin
goalkeeper Aldair Gonzalez. So both teams fired their opening salvos with
no damage done to one another.
In the 17th minute, Martin had a chance on their offensive end but their
forwards could not connect on the pass. United freshman defender Rodrigo
Zuniga took advantage and made a run with the ball up the sideline. He sent
a nice lob pass to his brother Aaron Zuniga who outran his defensive marker
and caught the rest of the Martin defense flat-footed. Aaron Zuniga touched
the ball perfectly in stride to keep that small space advantage and shot a
kick to the far post past Martin's Aldair Gonzalez for the 1-0 lead by the
Longhorns. United celebrated but they would not celebrate for long.
In the 25th minute, Martin's team captain Armando Pedrote took charge
and started to have some success in midfield. One of those successful times
was when he recovered a pass and sent a nice perfectly placed the ball
between the United defense. Martin's Rafael Barba outran United's Robbie
Ramos to the ball and got inside the box. Once inside the goal area, Barba
did a nifty move to spin away from Ramos and Barba was taken down by
Ramos.
The center referee whistled penalty kick to a great joy from the Martin side.
Martin center defender Erick Arana was elected to take the penalty kick and
sent a hard kick past United's Frank Rojas for the 1-1 tied game. Rojas
guessed right on his goalie dive but Arana's shot had too much power and
definitely too much speed. That is the way halftime ended with both teams
knotted at 1-1.
The second half started out much like the first with both teams trying to
get the upper hand but with the other counteracting perfectly to stymie any
advantage for either other. United Coach Mario Gonzalez made some
adjustments at midfield that got their offensive muscle rolling. The inclusion
of United's sophomore midfielder Arturo Villalba created problems for the
Martin midfield. Villalba's runs and moves on the right sideline tipped the
scales into United's favor. Villalba was taken down past midfield and got a
free kick. Off that free kick, Aaron Zuniga sent a nice high pass towards
Fernando Flores who headed the ball into the air in the goal area where
United's team leader Rolando Flores headed goal past Aldair Gonzalez for
the 2-1 lead. Flores' height and physique were key as Martin had no answer
in the air for Flores.
The Martin team reacted by securing possession and going on the attack.
Once again the midfield play of Jorge Flores and Gabriel Cervantes on the
wings were sending passes galore inside the Longhorn goal area. The
United defense held its own and United goalkeeper Rojas made several key
saves to keep their slim lead. United settled down and then United's Vallejo,
Barroso and Guerrero started to maintain possession and slow down the
Martin attack. United also started to use some subs to get fresh legs onto
the pitch as the sun was zapping the energy from the legs of both teams.
United got some key minutes from forwards Oscar Garibay and Daniel Marin
as well as midfield help from Carlos Naisir and Peter Martinez. The defense
got a breather as Cosme Ordonez came in and used some of that senior
leadership to steady the young United defense. United did not look to miss a
beat when these subs checked in and looked even faster.
The United subs did their job and got a corner kick out of all the efforts.
Aaron Zuniga took the corner kick and send a perfectly placed cross into the
box where once again United's Rolando Flores headed in the ball in for the
score and a 3-1 lead with 15 minutes left in the game. The United fans
cheered wildly while the Martin side lost some of that spirit. But like all the
champions they dug deep and regrouped. The Martin Tigers gave their all in
their efforts to get on the scoreboard one again. The United team defense
held their own and slowed the game down to their advantage. Martin tried to
quicken the pace but United started to manage the clock effectively. Martin
did get some shots on goal but United's Rojas made great saves to preserve
that lead they had. The game ended 3-1 with the United Longhorns coming
out on top in this opening district game.
modestly filled by soccer aficionados. Those same soccer fans asked and
commented about the soccer guru's soccer annual team previews.
Some fans from United were asking who were some of the Martin soccer
players like Rafael Barba and Christian Arana while some of the fans from
the Martin side were asking who why I chose an unknown Arturo Villalba as
the breakout player for United and also who was this Rolando Flores who
they never heard of.
The soccer guru said that both these teams were stacked with talent and
that this game was the "CLASICO" of Laredo or the "SUPERBOWL OF
SOCCER" of Laredo. Both teams had members of their girls team, former
soccer alumni/players and they also had administrators from their school
supporting their school team. The United team even brought their "Goalie
Girls" cheerleaders to the game and they provided extra spirit on the United
side.
The Martin side had several soccer-crazed fans with posters and chants to
raise their spirit level as well. The Martin side also had in it's fan midst their
district leading boys basketball team supporting their soccer team along with
the soccer guru's good friend Martin Basketball Coach Hecky Noyola.
It was impressive also to see that all the other local high school soccer
coaches were in attendance to not only scout both opponents but see a
great game as also. So the atmosphere was set all that was left was for the
game to start.
The center referee started the game and both teams went to work. Martin
started by touching the ball towards the sides to use their superior speed on
the wings by Jorge Flores and Christian Arana. United not to be outdone
countered by having their own speedy players like Fernando Flores and
Jorge Barroso match-up well with their counterparts. The Tigers were forced
to pass the ball in the middle where the strength of the Longhorn team
defense is.
Martin's Armando Pedrote had a big challenge as United's Ruben Vallejo
and Cesar Guerrero slowed the Martin offense. The Martin defense led by
Erick Arana and Jerry Gaytan also held in check United's scoring duo of
Aaron Zuniga and Rolando Flores. United defense of Robbie Ramos, Oscar
Perez and Rodrigo Zuniga was also effectively shutting down the Martin
offense of Rafael Barba and Ricky Delgado.
Both goalkeepers in Martin's Aldair Gonzalez and United's Frank Rojas
made several routine saves as most shots were too far away or not strong
enough to challenge both keepers. So the start of the game already had
both teams neutralizing their best options and also their team's game plan.
This shows great work ethic by the both coaching staffs and their players as
all are too familiar with each others strong points and weak points. Both
teams were equally prepared for this all too important opening district game.
All this makes for some entertaining soccer.
The game was at a good pace with the teams starting to rev up their
offensive engines. The Martin Tigers had a golden opportunity to get on the
board first as Jorge Flores sent a pass into the box that caught the United
defense unaware. Three Martin players missed that pass to the dismay of
the Martin fans. The United goalkeeper Frank Rojas just watched as all the
players whiffed on that ball. On the other side, United had two corner kicks
that Rolando Flores headed off target and the other stopped cold by Martin
goalkeeper Aldair Gonzalez. So both teams fired their opening salvos with
no damage done to one another.
In the 17th minute, Martin had a chance on their offensive end but their
forwards could not connect on the pass. United freshman defender Rodrigo
Zuniga took advantage and made a run with the ball up the sideline. He sent
a nice lob pass to his brother Aaron Zuniga who outran his defensive marker
and caught the rest of the Martin defense flat-footed. Aaron Zuniga touched
the ball perfectly in stride to keep that small space advantage and shot a
kick to the far post past Martin's Aldair Gonzalez for the 1-0 lead by the
Longhorns. United celebrated but they would not celebrate for long.
In the 25th minute, Martin's team captain Armando Pedrote took charge
and started to have some success in midfield. One of those successful times
was when he recovered a pass and sent a nice perfectly placed the ball
between the United defense. Martin's Rafael Barba outran United's Robbie
Ramos to the ball and got inside the box. Once inside the goal area, Barba
did a nifty move to spin away from Ramos and Barba was taken down by
Ramos.
The center referee whistled penalty kick to a great joy from the Martin side.
Martin center defender Erick Arana was elected to take the penalty kick and
sent a hard kick past United's Frank Rojas for the 1-1 tied game. Rojas
guessed right on his goalie dive but Arana's shot had too much power and
definitely too much speed. That is the way halftime ended with both teams
knotted at 1-1.
The second half started out much like the first with both teams trying to
get the upper hand but with the other counteracting perfectly to stymie any
advantage for either other. United Coach Mario Gonzalez made some
adjustments at midfield that got their offensive muscle rolling. The inclusion
of United's sophomore midfielder Arturo Villalba created problems for the
Martin midfield. Villalba's runs and moves on the right sideline tipped the
scales into United's favor. Villalba was taken down past midfield and got a
free kick. Off that free kick, Aaron Zuniga sent a nice high pass towards
Fernando Flores who headed the ball into the air in the goal area where
United's team leader Rolando Flores headed goal past Aldair Gonzalez for
the 2-1 lead. Flores' height and physique were key as Martin had no answer
in the air for Flores.
The Martin team reacted by securing possession and going on the attack.
Once again the midfield play of Jorge Flores and Gabriel Cervantes on the
wings were sending passes galore inside the Longhorn goal area. The
United defense held its own and United goalkeeper Rojas made several key
saves to keep their slim lead. United settled down and then United's Vallejo,
Barroso and Guerrero started to maintain possession and slow down the
Martin attack. United also started to use some subs to get fresh legs onto
the pitch as the sun was zapping the energy from the legs of both teams.
United got some key minutes from forwards Oscar Garibay and Daniel Marin
as well as midfield help from Carlos Naisir and Peter Martinez. The defense
got a breather as Cosme Ordonez came in and used some of that senior
leadership to steady the young United defense. United did not look to miss a
beat when these subs checked in and looked even faster.
The United subs did their job and got a corner kick out of all the efforts.
Aaron Zuniga took the corner kick and send a perfectly placed cross into the
box where once again United's Rolando Flores headed in the ball in for the
score and a 3-1 lead with 15 minutes left in the game. The United fans
cheered wildly while the Martin side lost some of that spirit. But like all the
champions they dug deep and regrouped. The Martin Tigers gave their all in
their efforts to get on the scoreboard one again. The United team defense
held their own and slowed the game down to their advantage. Martin tried to
quicken the pace but United started to manage the clock effectively. Martin
did get some shots on goal but United's Rojas made great saves to preserve
that lead they had. The game ended 3-1 with the United Longhorns coming
out on top in this opening district game.
The soccer guru spoke to Martin Head Coach Armando Garcia about his thoughts on the game, Coach Garcia
stated "it was a good game. We didn't play our best. We didn't play nowhere near where we should be. The kids
came out nervous as it was their first home game here at Shirley but there are no excuses we should've played
better. You have to give it to United, they played well". The soccer guru asked whether the team was still worn out
from their out-of-town tournament which was a very physical one, Coach Garcia said "not at all, the tournament had
nothing to do with it. We didn't execute,we didn't play smart and we didn't finish our chances we had on goal so
that's the way it goes". The guru asked him about his team performance which he said "everyone played hard but
there is always room for improvement. We just have to get back to the drawing board and get ready to work on the
practice field and get ready for our next opponent".
The soccer guru spoke to United Head Coach Mario Gonzalez and asked his thoughts about the game, he said "we
really wanted this game. We played a great game and we were more consistent in our play. This is the reason why
we work hard in the off-season and in the pre-season so we will be ready for games like this. We had a complete
team effort as we got important minutes and contributions from our bench as well. We played everyone today with
the exceptions of our two backup goalkeepers but we are all in this together".
The soccer guru asked Coach Mario Gonzalez about the performance of Rolando Flores, he said "Roli had been
injured for the last couple of weeks due to a football injury. We held him out from our scrimmages as we wanted him
ready for this game as we knew he would make a difference. He is a good kid who has always worked hard and is
one of our leaders on and off the field. Excellent goals he made for the team today".
The guru asked him about his team's overall performance, he said " we played good today but we need to continue
being more consistent. We will enjoy today but we know we still have 17 more games to go before we start
celebrating anything. We will get ready for our next game starting right now as United South will be another tough
test. The kids know that we need to take it one game at a time".
The soccer guru spoke with "Player of the Game" Rolando Flores about his performance in today's game. He said "it
was a very good game for both teams. We are happy we won but we know we have another game to get ready for".
The guru told him about how some of the Martin fans were asking about who he was when the guru put him on his
soccer preview, he smiled and said "I bet they know who I am now".
The overview of this game is that both these teams will be challenging for the district title along with LBJ. This game
showcased some of Laredo's best young talent and most versatile players. Both coaches had good game plans and
prepared accordingly for the magnitude for a game of this caliber.
The soccer guru is sure that their next encounter is going to be just as intense if not more than this one. Great goals
by Rolando Flores, Aaron Zuniga and Erick Arana. Both goalkeepers did an excellent job minding their goal areas.
The difference of the game boils down to three factors: versatility in your players as you have to move them around
so where their best athletic abilities favor your team, the contributions and effectiveness of your bench players and
the last thing which is the most important is finishing those golden opportunities when they come during the game.
SOCCER GURU'S TIP OF THE DAY:
The play of your bench will be a key factor during this long grueling 18 game district season. Your bench must be
prepared and ready to make a postive difference when called upon. That's why it is important to work just as hard
with them in the practice sessions just as hard as your starting 11. Giving them key playing time during intense
important times during a game helps them have experience but also gives them that feeling of being just as
important as the starting team. So play as many of the bench as you can...you might find a big time player just
waiting to show you he/she is ready to help you win.
stated "it was a good game. We didn't play our best. We didn't play nowhere near where we should be. The kids
came out nervous as it was their first home game here at Shirley but there are no excuses we should've played
better. You have to give it to United, they played well". The soccer guru asked whether the team was still worn out
from their out-of-town tournament which was a very physical one, Coach Garcia said "not at all, the tournament had
nothing to do with it. We didn't execute,we didn't play smart and we didn't finish our chances we had on goal so
that's the way it goes". The guru asked him about his team performance which he said "everyone played hard but
there is always room for improvement. We just have to get back to the drawing board and get ready to work on the
practice field and get ready for our next opponent".
The soccer guru spoke to United Head Coach Mario Gonzalez and asked his thoughts about the game, he said "we
really wanted this game. We played a great game and we were more consistent in our play. This is the reason why
we work hard in the off-season and in the pre-season so we will be ready for games like this. We had a complete
team effort as we got important minutes and contributions from our bench as well. We played everyone today with
the exceptions of our two backup goalkeepers but we are all in this together".
The soccer guru asked Coach Mario Gonzalez about the performance of Rolando Flores, he said "Roli had been
injured for the last couple of weeks due to a football injury. We held him out from our scrimmages as we wanted him
ready for this game as we knew he would make a difference. He is a good kid who has always worked hard and is
one of our leaders on and off the field. Excellent goals he made for the team today".
The guru asked him about his team's overall performance, he said " we played good today but we need to continue
being more consistent. We will enjoy today but we know we still have 17 more games to go before we start
celebrating anything. We will get ready for our next game starting right now as United South will be another tough
test. The kids know that we need to take it one game at a time".
The soccer guru spoke with "Player of the Game" Rolando Flores about his performance in today's game. He said "it
was a very good game for both teams. We are happy we won but we know we have another game to get ready for".
The guru told him about how some of the Martin fans were asking about who he was when the guru put him on his
soccer preview, he smiled and said "I bet they know who I am now".
The overview of this game is that both these teams will be challenging for the district title along with LBJ. This game
showcased some of Laredo's best young talent and most versatile players. Both coaches had good game plans and
prepared accordingly for the magnitude for a game of this caliber.
The soccer guru is sure that their next encounter is going to be just as intense if not more than this one. Great goals
by Rolando Flores, Aaron Zuniga and Erick Arana. Both goalkeepers did an excellent job minding their goal areas.
The difference of the game boils down to three factors: versatility in your players as you have to move them around
so where their best athletic abilities favor your team, the contributions and effectiveness of your bench players and
the last thing which is the most important is finishing those golden opportunities when they come during the game.
SOCCER GURU'S TIP OF THE DAY:
The play of your bench will be a key factor during this long grueling 18 game district season. Your bench must be
prepared and ready to make a postive difference when called upon. That's why it is important to work just as hard
with them in the practice sessions just as hard as your starting 11. Giving them key playing time during intense
important times during a game helps them have experience but also gives them that feeling of being just as
important as the starting team. So play as many of the bench as you can...you might find a big time player just
waiting to show you he/she is ready to help you win.