The Madera South Stallions boys soccer team continued its march to the postseason with a 2-1 County/Metro Athletic Conference victory over the Edison-Fresno Tigers on senior night at Lee DaSilva Field in Memorial Stadium.
Behind goals from Kevin Osuna and Christian Garcia and a starting lineup of all seniors, the Stallions bounced back after a disappointing CMAC loss versus Bullard-Fresno Jan. 30.
Thursday’s match was a different story. With the postseason inching closer, every match is a must win and with the Edison-Fresno Tigers sitting above Madera South in the table, this match had added importance.
“Our first goal came from senior Kevin Osuna,” Madera South head coach Enrique Garcia said. “There were three defenders in front of him, but that didn’t stop him from beating them to the goal, then sliding a brilliant ball past their keeper. Minutes after, we subbed Christian Garcia in, he made a quick impact and scored off a counter. It was a strong team effort and strong performance in the first half.”
Madera South controlled the game before Osuna took on the Tigers’ defense before dispatching the ball for the early lead.
With an all-senior lineup, the Stallions had many options on the bench, and after the Stallions’ opening goal, underclassmen Garcia entered the field.
It didn’t take long for Garcia to get on the scoresheet. Garcia capitalized on the Tigers’ lack of positioning and finished off a Stallion counter with the eventual game-winning goal.
The Stallions entered halftime leading 2-0 and controlled the rest of the game after the break. The Tigers got on the scoreboard in the second half, however they couldn’t dig out of the hole they put themselves in.
With their chance at the top seed in the division gone, the Stallions’ focus continues to be the next opponent.
“We came into this game knowing we had lost our chance to end up on top of the table after we lost to Bullard on Tuesday night,” Garcia said. “Our goal now is to finish the season healthy and get ready for playoffs. We knew we had a strong Edison team coming up, so it was a huge win.
“Next week we have a Madera High team that has a lot of fight in them, so we are not taking them lightly.”