BY NATHANIEL MATA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
MISSION — The easiest way for Sharyland Pioneer to qualify for playoffs is to win out. The team started on the right foot Monday with a 5-1 win over Laredo Martin.
The win sets up a win-and-get-in situation for the Diamondbacks in their final game Thursday on the road against Roma.
Offense came early and often for Pioneer in a virtually must-win game. The Diamondbacks won in blowout fashion, scoring four first-half goals to put the game away long before the final whistle.
Sammy Garcia, who notched a hat trick, said that has team improved as the season has gone on.
“We know we shouldn’t be barely getting in, because we have a real good team,” Garcia said. “We were slacking at first. Then, we started thinking about playoffs, and we got our heads into playoff mode.”
After the first round of District 31-5A games, the Diamondbacks were 3-5 with 11 points. Now they sit at 23 points and control their playoff scenario, inching to the front of a clump of four teams fighting for two playoff spots. Those four teams entered the day separated by four points.
“The extra motivation comes from us needing a win in order to make the playoffs,” coach Alex Lopez said after the win. “These guys have been working really hard toward that all season. Obviously that’s the best of the scenarios when you’re fighting for fourth place. I feel fortunate that it’s going to be in our hands. I feel confident moving forward to the next game.”
Garcia deposited Pioneer’s first two goals of the match.
His first came via the counterattack after forcing a Martin turnover. Pioneer was off to the races on a 2-on-1, and Rodrigo de la Rosa found Garcia in open space with a pass. Garcia easily beat the goalkeeper. His score turned out to be foreshadowing for the rest of the match.
With 16:03 to play, Pioneer doubled its lead. Garcia scored again, this time off a give-and-go with midfielder Axel Monroy. Martin’s goalie got a glove on the ball but not enough to keep the shot out.
Pioneer played well with the lead in the first half. The Diamondbacks’ defensive strategy stemmed around keeping the ball away from Laredo and keeping the pressure up.
With 10 minutes to play, junior Leonardo Aguilar got in on the goal scoring. He converted on a long pass, tipping the ball past Martin’s keeper.
On the prettiest goal of the afternoon, Garcia was the distributor. He chipped a pass from the corner that somehow found Aguilar in a crowd. He sent home his second goal just a few minutes after his first.
“All season long, we’ve been struggling to bond together, but now our team chemistry is getting better and better,” Aguilar said. “We’re going to have more confidence.”
In the second half, the only drama left was if one of the two-goal scorers could record a hat trick and if keeper Jose Perez could keep a clean sheet.
In the early minutes, of the second half, Garcia laced his third goal of the match, extending the lead to 5-0.
Laredo Martin did get on the board, however, with a goal in the final two minutes of the game.
Pioneer will look to get revenge for a season ago, when Roma secured the fourth and final playoff spot by one point, leaving the Diamondbacks as the last team out.
“We’re not going to take them easy,” Aguilar said. “Last year, it was a hard year for us. We could have made playoffs. The seniors were destroyed. This year, we’re going to do it for the seniors, beat them and make playoffs.”