By Eric Poe/sports editor
April 7 saw the second and final round of games in the run-up to the SE intramural soccer tournament starting April 14.
A clear favorite emerged in Tejas FC while other teams showed they will be merely fodder in the single-elimination tournament if their Saturday performances aren’t drastically improved upon.
Tejas FC and SE FC started the day off with Tejas FC winning 12-1. The game was over by halftime when Tejas FC led 5-0. The team dominated possession and the scoreline despite being down one player.
The second half was much of the same as Tejas FC closed down every attacking avenue for SE FC. On the offensive end, Tejas FC started to pull out all of its tricks with Franky Figueroa leading most of the attacks while switching flanks constantly and dribbling past defenders at will.
SE FC goalie Omar Navarro was not to blame for the lopsided scoreline as he did everything in his power to keep Tejas FC in single digits, but to no avail.
Navarro said team chemistry had a lot to do with his team going down to defeat.
“They knew each other obviously,” he said. “We just got together in free agency. But today was pretty rough.”
Tejas FC captain Figueroa is confident his team will win the tournament championship.
“Next week will be the same as today,” he said. “We come to play, not to joke around. We don’t care about the trophy. We just want to win.”
The second game featured Azteca and Latin FC, and Azteca ran out 8-3 winners.
The game started out well for Latin FC as it drew a penalty kick five minutes in. The advantage was short-lived, however, as one of its players received a red card for cursing at the referee. Latin FC scored the penalty, but being down a player, it promised to be a long game.
Azteca was down 2-1 at halftime but turned up the offense in the second half. Forward Geovanni Aguilera scored a hat trick in the last 25 minutes to clinch the comeback win for his team.
Aguilera said being a man up made it easier for his team.
“Having that extra player helps out a lot,” he said. “So now, we have our eye on the trophy.”
Latin FC goalie David Hernandez said the result would have been different if his teammate hadn’t been sent off.
“If we have a full team, we win that game,” he said. “It [the red card] brought us down. It demoralized the whole team.”
Rambo took on Smashmouth in the third game of the day. The game wasn’t the best in terms of quality, but it was hotly contested throughout. Rambo overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit to come away 5-1 winners and gather some momentum going into the tournament.
Rambo forward Tobi Adalumo, who scored one goal and assisted two others, said his team stepped it up in the second half.
“They showed understanding with what they were doing, and they attacked at the right time,” he said. “We also showed good teamwork.”
