Modesto High boys soccer looks to make school history in first section title game Thursday
Modesto High is the oldest school in the city and has had its share of athletic success in the past.
It has sent teams to section title games in boys and girls basketball, sent runners to cross country races and has had individual winners in girls golf. The Panthers have seen postseason success in a variety of sports. But never soccer.
That changed this season when the Panthers beat Davis 1-0 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I semifinals, advancing to Thursday’s section championship at Heart Health Park in Sacramento.
The Panthers shut out Folsom 3-0 in the first round, beat Tokay 2-1 in the quarterfinals and on Feb. 17 won their third playoff game, upsetting the first overall seed Blue Devils.
It started with an undefeated regular season. They went 15-0-3 in their 18-game regular season that included an 8-0-2 Central California Athletic League record.
This is the best recorded finish in school history. Matt Mendes, who is in his second stint as Modesto High head coach, took the team to the playoffs in the past, but they were bounced early on.
“They got to the second round of playoffs and they lost,” said team captain and center back Jordan Hill. “During our second playoff game, he (Mendes) told us if we win, we’ve already made history and to go to the finals makes it better. For how long the school has been here and no one’s gotten that far, to be the kids that got that far? It’s very special.”
Consistency is key
Nothing changed for the Panthers throughout the season.
Mendes felt it was important to keep the routine the same in preparation for nonleague, league and postseason games.
“During the regular season, we really were like, ‘Hey, we want to be undefeated,’” Mendes said. “These guys played like pressure games just because they wanted to keep that streak going. But I think we wanted to make sure that come playoffs, we didn’t feel like we had to step up the intensity as if what we had been doing wasn’t good enough.”
When the playoffs came, all they did was “fine-tune” some things to make sure there wasn’t too much pressure surrounding the moment. Each practice and game had the feel of the one before it.
The team bought into the “you practice how you play” approach, so the players practiced hard. It didn’t matter if they had turf burns from the game before or a little bit of soreness here and there — if they showed up on the field, they competed with a gamelike intensity.
“If we’re getting it done (in practice), it should show on the field (in games), but we can’t come out here and expect a completely different performance during games,” Mendes said. “So it’s hopefully just eliminating stress and, you know, potential pressure.”
It’s a team effort
Junior Alexis Luna leads the team with 30 goals and 21 assists. Everyone knows he’s a threat to score when he has the ball at his feet but the CCAL MVP is quick to point out that Modesto is far from a one-man show.
“It’s not an individual thing, it’s a team thing,” Luna said after their first-round win against Folsom. “So whoever scores a goal, whether it’s me or another person, it’s the same thing. It’s for one goal, to win.”
Led by Luna, the Panthers produced a top 10 goal-scoring offense in the section, according to MaxPreps. They are, however, more than just their offensive attack. Mendes says they have standout players at all levels.
“With Luna, it’s like having a pitcher that’s gonna come out and give you a shutout almost every time,” Mendes said. “There’s talented players in our league, but when you’ve got Jordan in the back, the keeper of the year, the defender of the year, the most valuable player ... you have strong players at each level and you have guys who have good attitudes and who work hard and it just made it really easy on on us.”
Modesto’s defense is stout. It has allowed just 15 goals in 21 games, including nine shutouts.
“We sometimes have our mistakes, but these guys are usually perfect,” said Hill. “It all comes into one and when you have four guys that can do what we can, it’s hard to get scored on. And then a goalie behind us that can do what he does, it’s great.”
With a consistent game plan and versatility in all areas of the field, Mendes hopes his team can bring home a blue banner.
Even though they have already made history, they’re here, so why not win it all?
