The MacArthur High School Generals soccer team had a playoff run for the ages this season.
The Generals, who finished second in District 14- 6A, won four straight playoff games and were one game away from qualifying for the Class 6A State Soccer Tournament when their historic run was cut short with a 2- 1 loss to The Woodlands in the Region II Finals on April 9 in Austin.
The Generals opened the postseason with a bi-district win over College Park, then defeated Tomball in the area round, Klein in the third round, and No. 10-ranked Duncanville in the Region II Semifinals before dropping a hard-fought contest to The Woodlands.
The 2022 Generals made history by going further in the playoffs than any previous MacArthur soccer team. While head coach Salvador Fernández was sad to see the season end, he was incredibly proud of how his young team performed in the postseason and is excited about the future.
“I am very proud of the team,” Fernández said. “We overcame a lot of adversity together. The team fought hard in every game this season and became a solid unit.”
With 16 lettermen returning next year, including eight of 11 starters, the Generals’ future is bright.
“I am very excited (about next season),” Fernández said. “We have 16 out of 23 varsity players returning. We also have a real good freshman class and a solid JV (junior varsity) team. We will reload and continue our quest for state.”
Fernández said the experience the team gained with its deep playoff run should be a considerable factor heading into next season.
“I think we gained a lot of confidence, and the expectations will be even higher for players, coaches, and program as a whole heading into next year,” he said. “We need to work even harder to be better. We played a tough preseason schedule, and we played the best teams in our city, which also contributed to our success. We want to thank our school, our athletic department, our district, and our community for all of their support.”
The Generals finished 17-5-4 for the season.
The team consisted of goalkeeper Juan Ruiz, midfielder Kevin García, midfielder Edgar Vázquez, defender Alexis Sánchez, defender César Barrientos, defender Walter Aguilar, forward Jay Hernández, midfielder Emiliano Pineda, midfielder Ariel Lomas, defender Alan Sánchez, midfielder Zavier Toscana, midfielder Aldo Hernández, midfielder José González, defender Benjamín Fajardo, forward David Rivera, forward Jair Robles, midfielder David Anaya, midfielder Jacob Reyes, defender Bryan González, midfielder Josué Santos, defender Abeiro San Juan, goalkeeper Francisco Patiño, and goalkeeper Ricardo Cerdá.
Assisting Fernández were junior varsity coach Sean Doyle and ninth-grade coach Jesús Zamora.