Looking to score

Looking to score

staff reports
March 11, 2010

Kurtis J. Wood/Post-Register

Rey Cabrera takes a shot during practice on Tuesday. The Jacks open with a non-league game against Wenatchee on Monday.

The Jackrabbit boys soccer squad enters the season with its eye on state.

It is a yearly goal, but this year the Jacks have kick-started their 2010 campaign with their main scoring threats, key distributors and solid defenders all the way to the keeper.

Juan Carlos Romero brings the heat, the type of heat one would find in a cartoon, where a character kicks a soccer ball so hard the goal keeper flies to the back of the net after attempting to make a save.

That might be a small exaggeration, but the senior midfielder still has a lot of punch in his kick. Of course, he is not the only character on the field. Manuel Hernandez has a bag full of trick kicks, as does Carlos Beltran.

But the Jacks tandem up front may be the key to their wins this season. Luis Sorto and Raul Serrano combined for 24 goals and 12 assists in 2009 and look to add to that grand total this season. They were also named to the CWAC all-league second team last year, along with Romero and goal keeper Cody Beaumont.

All that skill returns after an 8-5 league campaign and second-place finish in the CWAC-North. They also made the postseason, defeating North champion Othello 3-1 before falling in the state tournament to Prosser 3-1.

According to coach Tom Turner, his squad's success begins with Hernandez and Romero. The two will anchor the midfield and defense.

“We got Manuel coming back, he’s going to be the key player. He’s the quarterback,” Turner said. “(Romero) is going to be quarterbacking from the midfield and feeding the ball in.”

Before the wins can come, the Jacks need to jump on board with Turner’s plan. It is simple, but needs to be engrained in his players, starting with Hernandez and Romero.

“The thing that we're trying to get them to do is interchange, so that we can mix everybody up. There is no excuse for them not to be able to go forward and someone else not drop back and take their position,” Turner said.

The next step is finding the back of the net - an area which is a strength in the coach's eyes.

With two dozen goals between Sorto and Serrano in 2009, the expectations are high coming in to 2010.

“Luis is really going to have to deliver. Everybody in the league keys on him, so we need new players that can come in there and help,” Turner said.

This will leave Serrano with a bit more room, as well as Oscar Espinoza. This leaves Turner with one conclusion about his team's strength.

“Scoring!” he said. “I’m talking Juan Carlos. I’m talking Oscar. I’ve got Pickle (freshman Eduardo Perez) coming up - you will be seeing a lot of him.”

Another key to this year’s team is depth. With four all-leaguers in the lineup, a handful of seniors, juniors and sophomores returning, the team looks well rounded. But he also has a core of youngsters at his disposal.

“We have five freshmen that are standing out and two of three of them will start,” Turner said. “We’ve got a solid 20 players, which is helpful.”

One more factor has been the off-season training by up to 10 players. The Jacks played for CB United throughout last year and the first part of this year on a Premier-One soccer team coached by Christine Arnall.

The lineup for the Jacks' 3-2-2-3:

Keepers: Cody Beaumont and Alex Sanchez.

Defense: Rey Cabrera, Jacob Arnall and Beltran.

Midfielders: Jesus Diaz, Romero, Hernandez and Perez.

Forwards: Sorto and Serrano, TBD.