The Aubrey Chaparrals varsity soccer team is rounding into form, steamrolling the Sanger Indians 5-0 at Chaparral Memorial Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Chaps turned in a strong performance on both ends of the field, shutting out their opponent and finding the back of the net for 5 goals to secure their first win of the season.
“[I’m] very proud of how we played tonight,” head boys soccer coach James Dumond said. “They’ve worked hard. We still have some things to clean up going into district next week, especially with the district we’re in, but I’m proud of them. We had good chemistry, and it was a good senior night.”
Senior and team captain John Serrano broke the seal on the net, scoring Aubrey’s opening goal after poaching a steal from a Sanger defender to give the Chaps a 1-0 lead after the first half of play.
The Chaps poured on the points in the second half with back-to-back goals from senior Kevin Prado.
Serrano added his second goal a few minutes later, bouncing the ball past Sanger’s goalie and extending Aubrey’s lead to 4-0.
The highlight of the game came when senior Aidan Pearson broke away from the Sanger defenders and found Prado for his third goal, allowing Prado to complete his first hat trick in an Aubrey uniform.
“It’s senior night, and a bunch of my family is here, so it felt good to do that in front of them,” Prado said. “I’ve watched a lot of film and worked on my movement off the ball, [but] I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.”
Pearson emphasized how well the Chaps played as a unit in the second half of the win.
“It’s been a bit since we played our last game, but going into the second half, we locked in and really worked together,” he said. “It’s our chemistry. We’ve been together a while now, and we’re like a family.”
The Chaps had 11 upperclassmen— Serrano, Prado, Pearson, Jackson Goble, Zachery Eaton, Connor Gourd, Aaron Smith, Vladyslav Dryshliuk, Sebastian Soto-Colon, Donovan Rodriguez, Shukurani Kamungo; and team managers Alex Palencia and Diego Mora—recognized during senior night.
Dumond spoke highly of the Chaps’ crop of seniors.
“These guys have each other’s backs,” he said. “We don’t have bickering in-house, and we have a clean locker room. They’re setting a good example for the younger kids on how to work.”
Despite the big win, Dumond said the Chaps are focused on building consistency.
“It was a great performance, but we have to do it day in and day out, week in and week out,” he said. “… Going forward, we’re going to clean up our mistakes and continue to get better.”
Aubrey was scheduled to return to the field to face off against the 2-1 Mineral Wells Rams at 9 a.m. Thursday in the Burkburnett Tournament. Results were not available by press time.
