Sports
Benicia Boys Soccer Preview: Panthers Aim For Another SCAC Title
After falling to the section champions last year in the second round of the playoffs, expectations remain high.
Benicia High boys soccer coach Javier Martinez knows his team team can do better than its second-round finish in the 2009 San Joaquin Section playoffs.
With most of the same squad returning and a pair of experienced captains to lead the group, Martinez thinks his team is set for success.
The Panthers lost to eventual section champions Rio Americano 2-0, but Martinez saw that as a tough match which his team ended up being on the wrong side of.
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"It was a good experience for some of these boys to go up to Sacramento and play with the talent level there," Martinez said. "We're not that far behind here though."
With the captains he has leading the way, the Panthers probably aren't that far from being an elite squad.
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Martinez's son, Armando, is in his fourth year playing varsity soccer. He earned co-MVP honors in the Solano County Athletic Conference in 2009. His play helped propel Benicia to the SCAC title by one game over Vallejo.
Martinez knows how to use his son to the best of his ability, having coached him since he was a young child.
"He's a very good all around player. He can play anywhere on the field, any position," the elder Martinez said. "He's been one of the better players in the city."
Martinez led the team in assists with 12 and finished with nine goals, recording 55 shots-on-goal.
The Panthers other captain, Brandon Hatfield, is just returning to the pitch after a slight detour in his high school soccer career.
According to coach Martinez, Hatfield played during his freshman year but took two seasons off to concentrate and focus on playing club soccer. Hatfield recorded a pair of goals the year he played, but Martinez has different plans for him now.
"Brandon is our defensive leader," said Martinez, who has known Hatfield since the senior since he was nine years old.
The big match-up they're looking forward the most is their first game against Vallejo on Sept. 20. It's the potential series of matches against their fellow southern Solano County rival that could decide the league title.
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