Sophomore veterans carry the weight of Mustangs varsity soccer

Members of the Bridgeport High School 2017 varsity boys’ soccer team include, back row, from left, Kevin Cervantes, Luis Mendoza, Carlos Mariles, Richie Torres, Hugo Santana, Rafael Martinez, Dustin Garcia (manager), Kevin Moreno, Freddy Valdovinos, Samuel Garcia, Juan Garcia, Fernando Garcia (manager), and Omar Ibarra. Pictured in the third row, from left, are: Alex Zarate, Osvaldo Orozco, Ramiro Espino, Diego Martinez, Daniel Valdovinos, Santiago Moreno, Luis Campos, Leonel Espinoza, and Gustavo Garcia. Second row, kneeling, from left, are: Sergio Penaloza, Jose Garcia, Tony Ruiz, Beto Dominguez (manager), Gustavo Galvez, Florentino Martinez, Edward Martinez, John Hernandez, Tommy Gutierrez, Raul Martinez, and Alexis Valdovinos. Reclining in front are Carlos Ruiz and Edgar Meza. Not pictured are Elvis Gomez, Kevin Torres, and Oscar Gomez.

Posted Thursday, March 16, 2017 11:21 am

Mike Maltais, Staff writer

BRIDGEPORT – The Mustangs varsity boys’ soccer team got their first taste of competition against 1A Chelan and 2B Manson at Chelan Falls last Monday, March 13.
Playing abbreviated 25-minute games against the Goats and Trojans, Bridgeport came up short, 2-0, in both matches, but coach Gabe Gonzalez said he was largely satisfied with his young team’s performance.
“We got four or five shots on goal against Manson, and a couple against Chelan” Gonzalez said.
Though 35 players turned out this year, only 18 are returning veterans but still young.
“Most of my team is made up of freshmen and sophomores,” Gonzalez said. “I have just one senior – Florentino Martinez - back this year.”
The team breakdown includes 22 sophomores, six freshmen, six juniors and one senior.
Of the limited number of juniors on the varsity squad this season, three have never played varsity soccer before, Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez, who has been coaching varsity boys and girls soccer at Bridgeport for 17 years, said he tried to focus more on his freshmen last season knowing that they would help provide a core of experience for the team this season.
“We had about a 50-50 record,” Gonzalez said of the 2016 Mustangs “and came within one point of making the post-season competition.”
The Mustangs were scheduled to be on the road at 2A Ephrata Thursday, March 16, to play the Tigers junior varsity.
Saturday, March 18, will find the Mustangs at Cashmere.
Bridgeport will play its first home game starting at 4:30 p.m. next Thursday, March 23, when the Mustangs host Liberty Bell.