LYNN — Eric Moreno Jr. followed his father’s footsteps on the soccer field. Through his playing days at Bishop Fenwick and Salem State, Moreno Jr. always relied on Eric Moreno Sr.’s guidance in improving his game.
“From when I was young, he was always playing with me,” Moreno Jr. said. “He’s instilled discipline in me in a certain way since I started. I played in high school and college, and he was always supportive at all my games.”
Saturday afternoon (3) at Manning Field, Moreno Jr. will coach against Moreno Sr. in the Lynn City Boys Soccer Tournament’s championship game for the second consecutive season. Moreno Jr. brings in a hungry Classical team looking to repeat after a 1-0 win over Moreno. Sr.’s Tech Tigers last year.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Moreno Jr. said. “It’s always a chess match. It always comes down to whoever converts on their opportunities. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to winning back-to-back city championships. I like it. It’s competitive.”
Moreno Sr. isn’t too worried about 2018’s loss. With a game-by-game approach, his Tigers don’t have revenge on their minds.
“This year’s game will be a totally different game with a totally different team,” Moreno Sr. said. “I’d say 75 percent of this team is brand new. We have kids that we’re still trying to develop with a few that came back from last season.”
A third member of the family will be added to Saturday’s reunion. Moreno Sr.’s daughter, Brianna, is an assistant coach on her father’s staff. Brianna played at English and continued her career at Worcester State.
“Soccer’s in the family,” Moreno Jr. said. “She has a couple championships under her belt from playing at Worcester. I have a few from playing at Salem State. We love giving back to players in this area. We love seeing players make the most of their talents and play at the next level.”
Moreno Sr. considers himself a proud father.
“It means a lot to me because I brought up both my kids in soccer,” Moreno Sr. said. “They followed that trend as coaches and being involved in the sport. I’m very proud because they allowed me to teach them when they were little. They took that with them through high school and college. They’re still involved in the community in Lynn, helping kids get better. It gives kids something to look forward to and I’m very proud of them for that.”
Moreno Jr. believes Classical and Tech were meant to meet again this year. Classical stormed past St. Mary’s in Thursday’s first-round tilt for a 7-0 win. The Tigers, on the other hand, were much more tested. It took Tech everything it had for a 2-1 win over English in penalty kicks.
“When I saw the seedings come out last year, I had a feeling,” Moreno Jr. said. “I kind of had the feeling when we came in, bringing our experience and competitiveness to the field. I felt the same way this year. Next year we’re going to probably play them in the first round so it’ll be three years in a row that we play one another in the City Tournament.”
Both Morenos expect a battle Saturday.
“We have to bring the same level of intensity and finish our chances just like we did Thursday,” Moreno Jr. said. “If we do all those things the same way, I think we’ll come out on top.”
“We’ll have to make zero mistakes,” Moreno Sr. said. “We have to be very physical on the field. We have the skill, no doubt. We have to be able to keep the mistakes at zero and run for the full 80 minutes.”
St. Mary’s and English will clash in the girls championship game at 1 p.m. The consolation games are Classical/Tech girls (9 a.m.) and English/St. Mary’s boys (10:45).
