By Allan Jamail
Deer Park, TX. – Tuesday, March 28, 2023 –The North Shore (Houston, TX) varsity soccer team won Tuesday’s neutral playoff game at Abshier Stadium against Houston’s Strake Jesuit by a score of 1-0. This game was a part of the 2023 UIL Texas Boys Soccer State Championship – 2023 Boys Soccer 6A Reg. 3 & 4 tournament.
Richard A Hurtado, Mustangs Head Soccer Coach, and his assistants lead the team to an outstanding season. Because of their good winning season record, they entered the playoffs. Their season ended in the quarter-final round, two games away from the state championship.
Their first playoff game they defeated the Pasadena Eagles, 3-1. Their next playoff game was against the Strake Jesuit Crusaders, it was a defensive battle.
Playing the Crusaders with three minutes on the game clock and both teams scoreless after 77 minutes in regulation play #8 Aldrin Soto brought the ball in from the end sideline. #9 Junior Ahmed Pecero intercepted Soto’s ball and then made the winning goal. The Mustang’s defense stepped up and shut-out the Crusaders for the final minutes to win the game 1-0.
“Ahmed Pecero set a new program scoring record, he’s scored 35 goals this season. He is a tireless worker and a leader by example. And Emiliano Lopez – he has been our difference-maker all season. He is a leader on the field as well as a standout player,” Coach Hurtado said of both players.
“Diego Loya, Aldrin Mariaca-Soto, and Alan Huerta hold down the middle of the field and allow us to get the ball to our playmakers,” Hurtado said.
The Mustangs were eliminated in their next playoff game in another defensive battle with League City’s Clear Creek Chargers. Neither the Chargers nor the Mustangs could make a goal in the 80 minutes of regulation play. The game went into an overtime period and again they were scoreless. In a heartbreaking loss in sudden-death, the Chargers were able to defeat the Mustangs.
Linda Jamail, Statistician