NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — In the 2018 playoffs, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln has enjoyed the clinical success of blowout victories and managed a come-from-behind win complete with a deciding goal in the final six minutes.
On all occasions, a talented freshman, Edson Fonseca, has put his name on the scoresheet to help lift the Huskies into familiar territory.
“He’s a really good striker,” senior Manuel Castrejon said. “He knows how to score the goals. I’m lucky to have him as a teammate, lucky to have on my side.
The defending regional champions return to San Antonio full of swagger, with a streak of high-scoring wins and plenty of confidence. The Huskies are laden with senior talent, entering a matchup against San Antonio Reagan at 7 tonight at the Blossom Athletic Center as a favorite looking to follow up on last year’s trip to the state tournament.
A central midfielder and last year’s All-Area Player of the Year, Castrejon said the team begins the fourth round of the postseason with the same attitude it had last season.
“The only difference is we got to experience this last year,” Castrejon said. “In a way, we know the type of games we’re going to be facing on Friday. We won the regional tournament, and we want to do the same this year, but we want to win it all.”
The Huskies enter Friday on the heels of an 8-2 win over Brownsville Hanna in the regional quarterfinals. Juarez-Lincoln opened the 2018 playoffs with a 7-0 beat down of Del Rio. The Huskies’ second-round game against Edinburg Economedes was the closest game they’ve played in months, but they ultimately slipped by with a 3-2 win.
Fonseca has scored seven goals so far during the Huskies’ playoff run, giving senior Gerardo Reyes the luxury of sharing the workload at the top of Juarez-Lincoln’s formation.
The taller Reyes has the long legs to chase down farther passes. He said the skills of Fonseca are a good complement to his abilities.
“Last year, it was me,” Reyes said. “This year, I have him. That helps me up in front to make the goals. He might not have as much speed, but his technique is amazing. He has so much technique.”
A native of Monterrey, Mexico, Fonseca said fitting into such a good group has been easy, and he is happy to make an immediate impact.
“It’s an honor to be playing with them,” Fonseca said through an interpreter. “I feel comfortable whenever I play with these kind of players, because they are very, very good soccer players.”
Juarez-Lincoln coach Victor Ramos said he has had fun watching his team click. He attributes the scoring boost to veteran know-how.
“You always work to have this kind of offense,” Ramos said. “Whenever you practice offense, you want to see every play to end on the goal. We’ve been very offensive the previous years, but it seems like this year, finally, maybe because of the experience, the kids are more patient when they’re in front of the goalkeeper.”
Ramos, who regularly schedules out-of-area tournaments to start the season, said major differences exist between the Mexican style of play that Valley teams implement and the tactics of teams from larger cities, like San Antonio.
“If you allow them to play, they’ll play,” Ramos said. “They have a lot of set plays. They know how to move the defense and make that space for the midfield coming in. It seems like all those teams work a lot on the books and the moves. And here, the Latino talent is quick, and they have someone there to pass and pass.”
With Juarez-Lincoln making lopsided games habit for most of this season, the defense and defensive midfielder might be overlooked. But the Huskies don’t undervalue the input of 6-foot-3 senior Leo Pruneda.
While watching the group scrimmage early this week, Ramos singled out the lengthy defender, noting his strength both on the ground and with headers in the air.
“He’s one of our machines on the field,” Castrejon said. “Without him, we wouldn’t function the way we do. He’s a good defensive player, and he knows how to make decisions at his position.”
Juarez-Lincoln’s roster has 11 seniors, and Ramos stressed that the powerful team wasn’t created overnight.
“The names don’t mean anything if you’re not playing on the field,” Ramos said. “We started with these kids since they were freshmen. We didn’t only have this year and last year’s team — we built a program. We’ve been working with them year in, year out.”
Reyes said he hopes the team’s play this weekend will be another example of the senior class making the school proud.
“It feels good playing for Juarez,” Reyes said. “For the second time in a row, we’re going to the regional tournament, and we’re hoping to represent Juarez in the best way.”