NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR
MISSION — When the referee’s whistle blew to start the second half of Valley View’s regular-season finale against Mission Veterans on Friday, the match was still scoreless. The Patriots played a strong defensive first half to keep the high-powered Tigers from breaking through.
Enter Mario De Los Santos, Valley View’s star striker.
He was on the bench in the first half while reserve forwards had time on the field, but his impact as a second-half sub was instantaneous.
De Los Santos received the kickoff pass from Victor Ureña and prepared for the improbable. He took a step back in the midfield circle and shot the ball hard on goal.
The Vets goalkeeper was slightly off his line, but with the speed and trajectory of the shot, it might not have mattered. Just like that, the Tigers were back to a familiar position — in the lead. De Los Santos later added an insurance goal in the 3-1 win.
“Ever since I was 4 years old, I’ve always wanted to be a striker,” De Los Santos said through an interpreter. “I’ve been working on it, and I’m not going to stop working. My final goal is to hopefully become a pro, either over here or in Mexico — wherever I have the chance.”
The Valley View assistant coach who tallies scoring has De Los Santos at 57 goals on the season — somehow less than the 62 he tallied in 2017.
“I knew this year was going to be difficult, that teams were going to double and triple team,” De Los Santos said. “I work in practice on getting myself ready for the games and just scoring. That’s my role. That’s why I’m here.”
Even against tighter defense, the lanky No. 17 has been the same nightmare for opposing teams. After he was held off the scoring list in a 6-0 win against third-place Sharyland Pioneer Feb. 6, he put five in the net during a 9-4 win over Laredo Nixon.
The steady play of fellow forward Ureña, a freshman, has been a factor. De Los Santos stresses that passing and team play is the catalyst.
“The key is playing soccer, playing with each other and making good touches,” De Los Santos said. “The teams were a little harder than last year. Our goal is to keep on winning. We got the district, and the goal is to go and get the state championship.”
During practice before the season finale, the Valley View coaching staff said time on the ball is the best defense. Turnovers are more acceptable in the attacking third, where the opponent has a whole field to cover.
Ureña feels his tenacious midfielders deserve a lot of praise for making the forwards’ job easier.
“It’s not just about us two. The team puts the passes forward. We’re the finishers,” Ureña said through an interpreter. “I like to combine a lot with Mario to give to him so he can score more.”
The elephant in the room for Valley View is playoff performance. After consecutive state tournament appearances in 2013 and 2014, the Tigers have only advanced out of the first round once in the past three seasons — in 2016. Their last three playoff exits came at the hands of Brownsville Pace — twice in the bi-district round and in the 2016 regional quarterfinals.
This year it will be Donna North, not Pace, from 32-5A that will challenge Valley View in the bi-district round.
“We work with them mentally and psychologically to keep motivated, because sometimes after we’re winning by a few goals, you can see a lack of motivation,” Valley View coach Damian Magallan said through an interpreter. “So we try to remind them how we’ve struggled (in the playoffs) in past years, and we don’t want this to happen this year, as well, so we work a lot.”
Magallan is fine with the slower start and lower goal total for De Los Santos as a senior, as long as the goals come on must-win game days.
“Either way, it’s kind of good in a way, because hopefully, he has his goals in the playoffs,” Magallan said. “Last year, in the loss against Pace, we had a lot of chances, and we couldn’t score. Pace only had two chances, and they scored one.”
De Los Santos isn’t coming up with a new plan for postseason soccer. He’s just continuing the ride.
“We need to keep working, not rely on luck. It’s better to just play the game the way you’re playing,” De Los Santos said. “Keep practicing, and hopefully things will go the same (as) in the regular season.”