How living the life of a pro soccer player has Modesto’s Luna leading his team atop CCAL
It’s been quite a start to the season for the Modesto High boys soccer team.
The Panthers are undefeated at 10-0-1, in first place in the Central California Athletic League, and ranked fifth in the Sac-Joaquin Section, according to MaxPreps.
A big reason for that hot start is junior Alexis Luna, whose 18 goals are among the top in the area, according to MaxPreps.
The forward has just half a season of varsity soccer experience, but don’t be fooled, he’s gotten his reps elsewhere.
Last season, Luna trained under the umbrella of a professional team in Mexico, Club Santos Laguna in the Liga MX.
Luna wasn’t paid, which is why he was able to come back and compete in high school athletics.
“It’s an academy, basically,” Luna said. “You practice with the academy, but the first team and everyone practices there too, so you can get bumped up at any moment. Sometimes I’d train with under 20s.”
Minus the pay, Luna was living the life of a professional soccer player, training with different age groups affiliated with the professional club.
“You live over there,” Luna said about life at the academy. “You wake up and basically they give you food and then you go practice, you come back, you rest and you go to the gym, and then you practice again. Everything is basically focused on soccer, to make you a professional soccer player.”
Luna scored twice in Modesto’s 4-1 win over second-place Gregori on Tuesday, and both goals were impressive.
He attacked to the right, dribbling between four Gregori defenders and fired off shots with his right foot.
“You can just tell how the ball sticks to his foot in those tight spaces,” Modesto coach Frank Marques said. It’s kind of a special thing to see someone like that. And he is a very hard worker and team-oriented player.”
Seniors Adrian Silva and Jordan Hill scored the Panthers’ other two goals off corner kicks as Modesto took a 4-0 halftime lead.
“We were coming to this and we knew and how strong they are,” Marques said. “In that first half, I was just like, ‘Wow.’
“You certainly cannot expect that. This team has such good leadership and that for me, I’m just a spectator some of the time, their effort is really good.”
Modesto is off to its best start since the 2015-2016 season, when the Panthers went 18-1-4 and reached the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I quarterfinals.
Gregori (7-3-1, 2-1) scored its only goal on Tuesday on a second-half penalty kick courtesy of Jose Cuevas. The Jaguars remain in second place in the CCAL.
The Jaguars play on the road at Pitman at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, while Modesto hosts Turlock at 3:30 p.m.
This story was originally published January 12, 2022 at 10:34 AM.
