Following a loss to Waterford High School, Denair High School boys soccer rallied for a 2-0 win against Gustine High School Tuesday evening at Jack W. Lytton Stadium.
Denair improves to 6-6-3 overall and 4-1-1 in Southern League play as they’ve won four of the last five games. This is also their fifth shutout of the season.
Jose Antonio Padilla, one of the two assistant coaches on the team, believes that the team is starting to hit their stride especially since they were winless in their first five games of the season.
“I feel like [at] this part of the season, they’re finally coming together and it’s just adjusting little by little,” Antonio Padilla said.
Denair’s center defensive midfielder Goliath Padilla scored the first goal of the match within the opening minute as he was able to get near Gustine’s goalbox and struck the ball on the left side of the goalpost.
Following the goal, both teams displayed aggressive defenses with physicality between players ensuing as no fouls or flags were being called. Physical defense and missed opportunities became the central themes in the match.
As both teams couldn’t convert a goal for the remainder of the first half, Denair entered halftime with a 1-0 lead. Despite them leading, it was still anyone’s game at that point.
In the first four minutes of the second half, Padilla’s shot attempt went over the Reds’ goalpost as the Coyotes looked to break away.
The scoring drought continued throughout the second half as players missed their attempts at goal while colliding with one another.
Denair extended its lead 2-0 with the help of sophomore Jose Saldana. Saldana scored the goal after a lofted pass drew the attention of multiple Gustine defenders and junior goalkeeper Baylor Bloom, who left his goalbox open for Saldana to score. That was the final goal of the game.
As the team has five games remaining in their schedule, Padilla believes that this recent stretch for Denair has shown that the team has been playing their best offensively and is a reminder of how they should’ve performed to start the season.
“It was a wake-up call. We started the season very bad … we’re here right now,” Padilla said.
With another win under their belts, Denair will have to shift their focus to Friday’s match when they host Delhi High School at 5 p.m.
Delhi is currently in second place in the Southern League standings with a record of 4-0-2 and have won four straight games. In their all-time head-to-head matchups, Delhi is 31-13-3 and has won two consecutive games against the Coyotes dating back to November 2024.
