Sam Jackson, Guest Contributor
Coach Sean Dowlatshahi has been at the helm of the J.J. Pearce Mustangs boys’ soccer team for the past 14 years, and this season marks his 11th foray into the postseason.
Pearce (12-7-1) will open the bi-district round of the playoffs Friday against Sachse (16-4-1), the ninth-ranked team in the Dallas Morning News’ 6A area poll. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Tom Kimbrough Stadium in Murphy. As much as he expects success from his program, the postseason experience is far from monotonous for Dowlatshahi.
“(Making the playoffs) never gets old,” he said last week “It’s a different group every year, a different team each time you make it. It’s a different feeling every time you reach the playoffs.”
Coming out of a district that featured the defending state champs and top-ranked area team in Coppell plus a perennial playoff powerhouse in Jesuit, the Mustangs shouldn’t lack for game-hardened experience. Pearce went 1-3 in the four matchups with the Cowboys and Rangers, but each game was close. Even the deceptively lopsided 3-1 loss in the first contest at Coppell was a battle as Pearce scored the opening goal. All season the Mustangs have shown they can play with—and defeat—anyone.
Dowlatshahi said one of this squad’s greatest strengths is its team-oriented approach. After adapting a more aggressive mentality early in the campaign, Pearce has excelled by spreading the wealth offensively.
“We decided early on we needed to be aggressive, not flaky, but not let the opponents dictate the game,” Dowlatshahi said. “We were much more consistent when we figured that out. I really like that we don’t just rely on one or two players. We had more players with assists than anyone in the district with 14. Coppell scored more goals than we did (46-28) but they only had eight players with assists. I like that about this team.”
Aside from the team-first mentality, the Pearce coach lauded the way his squad needed no time to become a cohesive unit. He said the senior core of Sam Young, Sam Corrigan and Perdro Solis—along with returning juniors such as Kent Malloy, Connor Jones and Clay Servin—set the tone early for what was expected. Sprinkle in several first-time varsity seniors and juniors who bought into the approach and the foundation was set for Pearce to do big things.
“This year has been exhilarating,” said Young, a three-year letterman as a defender. “It’s been great getting to know the guys and essentially forming a family. We’ve had our ups and downs but overall I’m very pleased with the way the team has performed.”
Solis echoed those sentiments.
“The biggest difference from last year to this year is team chemistry,” Solis, a midfielder, said. “It’s similar to what we had three years ago when I was on JV. We play well together; this team has really bonded.”
But the final piece—belief—came in two distinctly different second halves. Dowlatshahi said the way the Mustangs stood up to W.T. White’s physicality in the first round of district en route to a 2-1 win and the gutty but unsuccessful comeback bid in a 2-1 home loss to Coppell showed him how good Pearce could be. Those efforts paved the way to a 1-0 victory over Jesuit, which at the time hadn’t lost in district and was the area’s top-ranked team, and ultimately a third-place finish in 9-6A.
Sachse will present a true challenge for Pearce. Forward Giovanni Castillo led the District 10-6A runner-up with 14 goals, followed by Hugo Mora and Angel Rodriguez with six each. Keeper Junior Gutierrez and defender Joannel Loyola anchor a back line that has blanked 13 of their 21 opponents. Sachse split its two games with Jesuit (sixth in the area) and two games with 10-6A champs Naaman Forest (seventh).