GREENSBORO — In Jordan-Matthews’ boys’ soccer season opener against Northwest Guilford Thursday, the score didn’t matter as much as the experience.
The 2A Jets took a tough 8-0 loss to the 4A Vikings in the Beyond Sports Fusion Showcase, which was the Jets’ first time being shut out by more than five goals since losing to Northwood, 7-0, in 2019.
For coach Paul Cuadros, who has been through all of the ups and downs of the program’s history, this year’s team is different than those of recent memory. After losing plenty of seniors from last year’s roster, Jordan-Matthews is fielding a much younger squad, and Thursday’s game was just one of many opportunities to improve.
“This is a rebuilding season for us,” Cuadros said. “We’re looking to grow from this. We’re looking to get better from this.”
Against a Northwest Guilford team that finished second in the Metro 4A conference last year, Jordan-Matthews made it a competitive game for the first 25 minutes. The Jets were able to possess for some time, although not as much as the Vikings, and they played their toughest defense of the night by limiting their opponent’s opportunities at the goal.
With just under 15 minutes left in the first half, Northwest Guilford’s Keller Nash broke the ice and scored the first goal of the game. His teammate Andrew LaChusia knocked in another score right before the half to put the Vikings up 2-0 going into the break.
Yet, LaChusia’s third goal early in the second half was when the Jets lost total control of the game. The Vikings, utilizing their speed and physicality, constantly worked around Jordan-Matthews defenders for a plethora of scoring opportunities as the second half went on.
Northwest Guilford ended up scoring five more goals from four different players toward the end of the game. Enzo Ribeiro joined LaChusia as the only other Viking with two goals.
Jordan-Matthews was able to possess the ball a bit more in the second half, but it just couldn’t get anything going offensively.
“We did some nice things in the beginning of the game,” Cuadros said. “We built out the back. We possessed a little bit. I think we definitely need to work on communication, coordination and really cooperating with one another to put the plays together to be able to move the ball up.”
Cuadros also cited fatigue as an issue in the season-opening loss.
“We got tired at various points, so fitness is an issue,” Cuadros said. “We’re hopeful that’s going to come with time.”
With a long season still ahead of them, time is on the Jets’ side when it comes to working out some kinks and getting the young players up to speed.
After losing many key players from last year’s team, including Johnathan Campos, Giancarlo Aguila and Mario Figueroa, the Jets only have three returning senior starters: Francisco Ibarra, Angelo Vera and Emir Vargas-Zarate. Other seniors and many underclassmen don’t have as much varsity game time under their belts.
“These are the games where we can let the underclassmen on the team really participate, get experience, and put them to the trial,” Cuadros said.
As the three returning senior starters step into larger leadership roles, Cuadros mentioned Cristian Avalos Diego, Jeremey Alvarado, and Elvis Niño as some players who could also step up and emerge as key pieces for the Jets this year.
“There’s some promise here for the future,” Cuadros said. “You’ve just got to coach them up.”
And, even though the Jets have “turned the page,” the expectations are still the same: win the conference, go into the playoffs with a high seed and do well in postseason.
Fortunately for Jordan-Matthews, its first conference game isn’t until Wednesday when it goes to Cummings. Cummings has historically been one of the weaker teams in the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A conference, giving the Jets an opportunity to get a good start on its journey toward another conference title.
