Putting his body on the line has been well worth it for Howard’s high school soccer captain, Cristian Garcia.
Not scared of collision, Garcia charged right into the jaws of the East Ridge defense.
Garcia’s deflected shot from the top right of the 18-yard box landed perfectly at the feet of teammate Yefri Mendes-Baltazar, who then scored the lone goal of the District 8-AA championship match at UTC’s intramural sports complex.
The goal came in the 17th minute of Thursday’s game.
“Cristian is one of the shortest guys on the field every match, but one of the toughest,” said Howard coach Jose Otero, whose team is 12-3-2. “He always wins headers, and he plays with heart. He got kicked in the face twice today because he is fearless and puts his head to the ball.”
After making it to the first round of the Class AA state tournament last year, Howard also has received good leadership from Mendes-Baltazar. His three goals in the tournament earned him the MVP honor, and the talented striker nearly connected with fellow senior Neyder Gonzalez in the closing minutes with a beautiful chip over the right side of the defense.
“We have become more patient and disciplined this season,” said Mendes-Baltazar, who at the age of 12 was playing in Guatemala with 15- to 19-year-olds training for nationals. “I am proud of this team, and we continue to grow together. Neyder really helps me out a lot, along with our midfielders.”
East Ridge sophomore keeper Calel Tzun Tranquilino, who had 10 saves against Red Bank and 15 against Arts & Sciences this season, covered up numerous crosses and denied quality chances.
In the 52nd minute Tranquilino read a cross from Aldieri Escalante to Mendes-Baltazar and dived to his left to deflect the shot.
The Pioneers (5-10) nearly connected on a 50-yard free kick in the second half that bounced off the keeper’s hands just wide right.
“Our guys are peaking at the right time,” Pioneers coach Jeremy McIntyre said after claiming the program’s 11th district runner-up plaque in his 15th season. “Howard is a top-notch team, and we fought with them until the end. I am excited about our chances going forward.”
Howard will begin its defense of its Region 4-AA championship by hosting East Hamilton (10-6-2) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at UTC’s complex beside Engel Stadium.
The Hustlin’ Tigers tied the Hurricanes, 4-4, on April 23.
“We will continue and fight to the end,” Otero said. “It’s been nice to see Yefri and our guys step up together. Yefri has become a leader in practice, training and in games. None of our guys look for the spotlight. They just want to win and go all the way.”
East Ridge will travel to face Sequoyah (7-2-1) and look to Zhubin Salih and others to spark the attack.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.