LYNN — It didn’t take Eric Moreno long to gear the Tech boys soccer team in the right direction. The Tigers finished the 2018 regular season at 10-6-2. As the No. 8 seed in the Division 4 North state tournament, Tech defeated No. 9 Manchester (4-3 on PK’s) in the opening round before falling to No. 1 Mystic Valley in the quarterfinal. Tech also qualified for Vocational Tournament and reached the semifinal.
“Overall it was a good year,” Moreno said. “We won a lot of games. We made both tournaments. That hasn’t happened at Tech in the last few years.”
Moreno hopes the Tigers can carry some of the momentum they built last fall into the 2019 season. The Tigers graduated seven seniors from last year’s roster but things have looked good in the preseason as new faces step into open roles.
“So far, so good,” Moreno said. “Our preseason has been good. I’m very excited. We had a total of 45 kids from JV and varsity. I can choose eighth graders this year as well. That’s exciting for me.
“We started the first few days with working on conditioning and fitness. We saw where the kids were there. Then we moved on to focusing on playing and skills. We’re still working on fitness too.”
Tech returns seven juniors with varsity experience. This year’s captains are juniors Bibek Gurung (striker/outside midfielder), Frismant Macario (defender) and Ashby Murphy (striker/outside midfielder).
Moreno likes what he has seen from his captains thus far.
“I feel great because they’ve worked hard,” Moreno said. “They have the leadership I’m looking for. They were very involved with the preseason and captain’s practices. They were there day in and day out, trying to better themselves.”
In net, Tech returns seniors Junior Ramirez and Jeisson Lalcon. Senior defender Chris Herrera projects to lead the defense.
“I feel confident,” Moreno said. “I think all those guys are very experienced. Some of those guys play club soccer. They’ve all been there, working hard in the preseason. I feel confident that they’re going to play the best they can during the season.
“I also think my younger players will help the team. Even though they’re younger, I think these guys have a lot of potential as well.”
With no shortage of speed on the field, Moreno feels Tech’s offense won’t struggle with scoring.
“We’re going to be very fast in the midfield,” Moreno said. “We have a lot of young kids that are hungry. If they adapt to our program, the way we play and the way we believe, I think we’ll have a very good midfield and offense.”
Joining Moreno on the coaching staff are his daughter, Briana Moreno, as the varsity assistant and Joel Russo as the JV coach. Former Tigers assistant coach Pedro Blas is now the head coach at Everett.
“My coaches have a lot of experience,” Moreno said. “They both have knowledge and experience from the college level. They’re going to bring a lot of experience and knowledge to the program.”
Tech opens the season Tuesday (4) at Presentation of Mary Academy. The Tigers return home to Manning Field Wednesday (5) to play English in the opening round of the Lynn City Tournament.
