It’s going to take a lot of personal sacrifice and a team-first attitude for Jordan girls’ soccer to be successful this season. Fourth-year coach Sergio Villasenor has had to move players around in order to fill team needs.
“We just need to put girls in the right position to help us because if they’re not playing in their norm they can’t adjust,” he said. “It’s still soccer.”
Senior Melanie Moreno is a great example of that sacrifice as she’s moved back to playing defense, and she’ll need to step in as a leader back there with freshman Savanah Hernandez stepping in to be goalkeeper. Sophomore Leslie Chavarria will also spend time in goal when she’s not playing attacking midfield.
Junior Grecia Pavon is the only Panthers player to make first-team All-Moore League last season, and she’s back playing sweeper once again.
“This team has got a lot of talent because they’re young, so I just need to keep them together and let them know that we’re a team and not individuals,” Villasenor said.
Sophomores Ariana Rendon and Leslie Martinez will also be key to Jordan success. Rendon can play forward or outside midfield, and Martinez can play in the back line or up top with her strong left foot.
Junior Katelyn Juarez will also be a scoring threat alongside Rendon, and junior Alexa Altamirano will be a spark plug on the outside.
“It’s about beating the teams we need to beat in Compton and Cabrillo and then try to get past Lakewood and into that fourth seed to try and get into a playoff spot,” Villasenor said of his program goals.
Jordan has never won the league title, and starts the league schedule on Dec. 7 against Compton.
