"Not scared": Tanner soccer ready for the final four
May 10—The Tanner Rattlers are headed to the final four in soccer after dominating their area and region all season long.
They play Westminster School on Friday at 11 a.m. at Field 1 at the John Hunt Soccer Complex in Huntsville. The team beat Susan Moore in the elite eight (4-0) and Geraldine before that (9-0).
Before the playoffs, the boys bleached their hair. Now, they said they are ready to play — and to win — this week. The News Courier sat down with head coach Matt Smith, senior Moises Parra, junior Christian Cruz, and junior Oliver Gonzalez to talk about the season.
"It was like a team bonding thing," Gonzalez said.
Smith said if they win state, then he'll dye his hair, too. For now, he's just proud of how much work his team puts in, even if there are still games to play, he knows how far they've come.
"We played probably some of the biggest teams that we've played in program history," Smith said. "It's been the most wins we've had against the larger schools."
The team was undefeated 10-0 in area play, and the Rattlers' goalie, Cruz, only gave up three points in the area games. Smith said Cruz stepped up to be goalie this year, having not played the position since he was young.
"He took the job and embraced it and has taken ownership of it," Smith said.
Overall on the season, Cruz has only given up 23 goals, and the team has won 20 matches with 15 clean sheets out of the 25 total they played. Cruz has also had 2 penalty kick saves this season.
"A majority of the goals came from the bigger schools, too," Cruz said. "In our area we were, like, 78 goals to 3."
He's been named to the Alabama North/South All-Star game in Montgomery. Smith said Cruz was the only one selected from Limestone County.
Smith said center back Gonzalez and his counterpart Christian Vicente are two of the fastest on the team.
The high scorers on the team are Randy Cortes, who has 41 goals and 13 assists, and Justin Moreno, who has 36 goals and 15 assists. Parra is next with 13 goals.
Seniors Junior Diaz and Moises Parra were selected for the the East-West All-Star match. The East Team is made up of the best 24 players from Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.
Former Tanner player Jose Moreno helps out as an assistant coach, which Smith and the team agree helps them out because he's been in their shoes in the playoffs before.
"He's experienced, and he helps us and talks to us and gives us advice and stuff," Gonzalez said.
Smith said practices leading up to the final four have been good so far.
"Everybody's been dialed in, locked in, so I feel good about Friday," Smith said. "I think we've got a good game plan going into it, and we've got enough seniors that I believe can get the job done."
He said there's a good mix of older and younger guys on the team so that the team throughout the game is fresh. He said they've all been experienced and played since seventh or eighth grade, at least.
"On paper, it's probably one of the best teams to ever come through here," Coach Smith said. "Now they just have to go out and prove it to everybody else."
"We're not scared," Parra said.
