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Friday, July 30, 2010 | Serving Del Rio and Val Verde County: Since 1929
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Rams set sights on playoffs
Published January 14, 2010
Del Rio’s Rams soccer team is still unbeaten and looks ready to make a run at the playoffs.
After defeating Uvalde 2-1 on Tuesday, Del Rio ran its record to 6-0 on the season with all six wins coming at home.
Junior forward Ethan Calderon scored both goals for the Rams including one on a breakaway and the second set up with an assist from Luis Hernandez.
“We controlled the action from the outset. We could have scored more but we had some of shots from in close hit the post. It was not as close as the score indicates. The midfield passed the ball accordingly and attacked the Uvalde defense, but our shots just did not hit their mark,” head coach Oscar Nuñez said.
“I used a lot of my backups, giving them playing minutes. I also rested some of the players who were hurting from the games in the recent Copa Frontera,” Nuñez added.
This year’s Rams team boasts 14 returning lettermen including seven starters from last year’s team. Two of those players, senior fullback Juan Buitron and senior forward Roger Alderete, were all-district selections last season.
Alderete is the team’s leading goal scorer thus far this season as he racked up five goals during the Copa Frontera soccer tournament.
Del Rio stayed in contention for a playoff spot late into the 2008-09 season but came up short in Nuñez’s second year as head coach for the Rams. It’s been three years since the Rams qualified for postseason play after being one of the more successful teams during Del Rio’s time playing against teams from San Antonio’s Northside ISD.
The Rams qualified for the playoffs six consecutive years during their time in San Antonio.
But judging by the way the team has performed thus far this season that playoff drought could end this season.
Joining Buitron and Alderete are returning seniors Gerardo Rodriguez, Ramiro Rivera, Hernandez, Danny Sanchez, Jose Zapata and Francisco Gallegos, juniors Juan Hernandez, Alfredo “Cuate” Lerma, Calderon, Jesus Vasquez, Alex Rivera and Thomas Barksdale.
Added to that mix are a talented group of newcomers that Nuñez said would log plenty of minutes and contribute to the Rams’ success throughout the season.
That group is led by freshman midfielder/forward Max Cruz whom Nuñez said could be one of the breakout stars for the Rams this season. Cruz has already shown he is capable of playing at the varsity level as he’s started every game thus far and scored twice during the Copa Frontera.
Cruz isn’t the only freshman on the Rams roster. He’s joined by Jesus Silva and Jose Jaramillo.
As for the other top newcomers, they include juniors Francisco Aguillon and Hector Pineda and sophomores Angel De La Cruz, Rolando Fernandez, Victor Ramon and Fabian Tarango.
Another newcomer projected to make an impact for the Rams is senior defender Alejandro Reyna.
Reyna, who was an honorable mention at linebacker during the football season, came to Del Rio from Eagle Pass C.C Winn. He was a second team all-district selection in soccer at Winn last season and saw limited action during the Copa Frontera.
“Alejandro adds depth to our pool of talented returners. If he recovers from his football injuries he’ll be add leadership and experience to this team. So far he has shown excellent glimpses in the few games he’s been called to action,” Nuñez said.
Del Rio will have two more tournaments and an alumni game to prepare for the district schedule that begins Jan. 26 against Laredo Alexander.
“Our goals are simple: win District 29-5A and go to the playoffs,” Nuñez said.
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