February’s Division III championship still haunts the Delta Streets Academy soccer team.
“I’ve watched the game probably 30 times and it’s horrible,” second-year Lions coach Connor Altman said of their 2-1 loss to Laurel Christian. “I’ve never experienced anything like that.”
DSA star Danny Vargas says he’s probably watched the tape 50 times.
“To this day I still watch that game on replay,” Vargas said. “I know every call and everything.”
The missed opportunities serve as motivation for a Lions squad on a mission to finish the job this year.
“Last year was a really big bummer, but there’s nothing we can do about it besides move on and get better,” said Vargas, who scored 22 goals as a freshman last year. “We’re looking forward to each game one by one to get back to the state championship. We have a really good squad — I’m confident.”
DSA is focused on building reliable pieces around Vargas after the offense struggled in the state title game when the playmaker left with an injury for a chunk of the match. After taking a year off, Gabby Cordova is back for his senior year to bolster the back line. He’s joined by Chris Zuniga, an emerging sophomore who can be moved around the field strategically.
“On the ball, physically, he’s really good,” Altman said. “His passing is fantastic so he helps link up top with Danny (Vargas) and Fabrisio (Barrera).”
Now that the Lions boast a 20-man roster, they won’t need to borrow football players to avoid a forfeit like they did last year against Bayou.
DSA got off to a good start with a season-opening 9-2 victory over Riverside on Nov. 4. Vargas tallied five goals and an assist while Daniel Lara, Elian Ortiz and Joseph Zuniga also found the back of the net for DSA (1-0). The quartet of goal scorers plays together on the same Delta Red Bulls club team. Chris Zuniga and Ortiz each had three assists.
The Lions host St. Augustine Saturday at 2 p.m.at Mississippi Valley State for their home opener.
- Pillow Academy — The Mustangs found themselves on the wrong end of a season-opening blowout Monday night when they suffered an 8-0 loss at Jackson Prep. It will take time for PA to replace the lost production of graduated seniors Richard McQueen and Christian Belk, but sixth-year head coach Serafin Simon sees potential in this year’s group.
“Those guys are irreplaceable,” Simon said of McQueen and Belk. “It’s hard whenever you have two athletes like that.
“We’re a little bit younger than last year,” he added. “The thing about this year and the next few years, we don’t just have athletes — we have soccer players, which is a big difference. We have ninth graders starting on our varsity team and it makes a huge difference when they know what to do and the knowledge of soccer.”
Standout junior Lawson Harvey is in agreement. The Mustangs’ leading goal scorer as a sophomore, Harvey is determined to break his brother Logan’s program record for goals scored this season.
“We’re a lot more technical than people think,” Harvey said. “It’s more of a team of soccer players now than it was athletes before. There’s a bunch of young kids with us, so the more they grow, the better we’ll get. It’s a matter of time.”
PA (0-1) returns to action Nov. 30 at Starkville Academy.
“I’m looking for Lawson to be that leader,” Simon said. “He’s a big role model for these young guys.”
- Contact Riley Overend at 662-581-7237 or roverend@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow @OverendOut on Twitter.
