Soccer: OHS seeks to extend run of good play

A span of five days revealed the gamut of what the Odessa High boys soccer team is capable of - good and bad.

Or in this case, really bad and then really good.

It also probably is a case of the really bad - last week's 5-1 loss to Permian - leading to the really good - Monday's 5-0 victory against Mansfield Legacy in a Class 5A bi-district playoff game.

"It was definitely a big confidence builder to be able to bounce back like that," OHS stopper Raymond Leal said. "Everything was going good for us. We were playing good as a team. Everybody was talking. To go in there, coming off a loss where the defense gave up five goals, it felt good to be able to stop a team."

Now the trick Odessa High (15-8-2) is producing such efforts consistently, which figures to be a must at noon CST today when they play at El Paso Bel Air (24-1) in a Class 5A area playoff game.

Bel Air is an experience-laden team coming off an appearance in the Region I-5A Tournament semifinals that was a little less than satisfying to those in the Highlanders program.

OHS heads into the hostile territory coming off its first playoff victory since the bi-district round in 2006 and also the greatest offensive production in its postseason history.

"I guess you could say we've got a good vibe going right now," OHS senior midfielder Carlos Sifuentes said. "We're practicing good, and I think if we just keep that up and go in with the same momentum, we're good to go. We can win this game, but we all have to be on, especially the people that have experience. We're going to have to play hard."

Mateo Vuelvas put away a through ball from Jose Anchondo just more than 10 minutes into the victory against Legacy, and Uli Guillen turned a pass from Anchondo into a breakaway from midfield that resulted in a 2-0 halftime lead. Hugo Corral scored early in the second half and Anchondo had two goals in the Bronchos victory.

Meanwhile, the OHS defense responded to giving up its highest goal total in recent memory by pulling off a shutout.

"I just had to make the best of my opportunity and finish it," Vuelvas said. "It picked up our team, and we played stronger. After that first goal, they started coming easier. We came out strong and wanted that win. We needed that win to continue playing and everybody stepped up. The seniors stepped up, knowing it was their last game possibly."

Today's game against Bel Air holds many oddities for the Bronchos.

It is their first game against an El Paso school in a playoff game since 2004. In fact, they haven't played a team from El Paso in any game since the first month of the 2006 regular season.

For that matter, no ECISD boys team ever has played a game in El Paso. The Permian girls played at Bel Air in 2000 and at Eastwood in 2001, though.

Also, Odessa High will be playing its first game of the season on a grass surface. The program's last game on grass was a victory against Midland High in the 2007 regular season at the Ratliff Soccer Complex.

"It's a different atmosphere, definitely," Vuelvas said. "We're just going to have to be able to change our game, and, if we do, that just shows we can be a stronger team."

Odessa High, which is making a District 3-5A record sixth consecutive playoff appearance, has not advanced past the area round since 2005. That year, they made the third of three consecutive trips to the Region I-5A Tournament.

To head back to the region tournament, OHS will have to beat a Bel Air team that will be backed by what is expected to be a raucous crowd on its home campus. Even without the home-field advantage, the Highlanders would be considered the favorite as the balance of power in the western half of Region I has shifted back to the El Paso area.

"To be honest, I'm not worried about how they play," OHS coach Noe Cerezo said. "I just want this team to play their game like they know how to do, and we'll be all right. Hopefully we'll play again with confidence, and I guess them knowing what's at stake, they'll play their hearts out."

ABOUT BEL AIR
>> Record: 24-1.

>> Mascot: Highlanders.

>> Head coach: Victor Delgado (sixth season as head coach).

>> Notes: Bel Air is making its third consecutive playoff appearance, all as the District 1-5A champion. ... Highlanders are led by senior sweeper Omar Tena and senior midfielder Mario Alvarez, who both have signed with Cal State-Fullerton. Delgado also is hopeful that a handful of his other players are headed for college, with a few getting close looks from West Texas A&M. ... "Getting kids into college is the biggest accomplishment you can have as a coach. It's not so much about winning games, but getting kids to college," Delgado said. ... Bel Air opened the playoffs with a 6-0 rout of Lubbock High, with starters playing for just the first half. ... Though many of the team's best players are seniors, Delgado said a strong sophomore class actually makes up the core of the program. ... So wondering about Bel Air's one loss? It was a 1-0 setback to El Paso Socorro on a penalty kick.