Soccer season is underway in Mineola. The Yellowjackets won their home opener in convincing fashion with a 3-1 score over the Brownsboro Bears last Friday.

Mineola employed continual attacking pressure, excellent activity in the midfield, and timely sweeping to dominate long periods of action. 

The match was scoreless at the half, but it wasn’t for a lack of shots-on-goal by the Jackets.  Only a rare counterattack by Brownsboro busied the Mineola defense. Most of the action in the first half was in the Jackets’ offensive zone. 

The first shot came off the right foot of striker Eduardo Zavala in the second minute of play. It was saved, but the tenor of the game was set in those first two minutes. Mineola forced a handful of saves by the Brownsboro keeper in the first half.

The best scoring opportunities came in back-to-back sequences in the 20th and 23rd minutes. 

The first came when Heriberto Lucas accelerated up the right side and sent a sizzling shot – hard and low – on goal. Only a solid save, with no spill, prevented a score. 

Moments later, an attack took shape when Andres Martinez headed a pass to Jankarlo Ybarra off a deep throw-in. Martinez’s shot froze the keeper, but sailed just wide. Both Zavala and Lucas were also involved in that sequence.

The Mineola side took note of the Brownsboro goalkeeper’s tendency to call for, and play, balls just entering the penalty area. They would exploit that tendency in the second half. 

In the 49th minute, Zavala and Lucas teamed up for the Jackets’ first goal. Zavala changed direction three times while attacking through the middle. He earned enough space to get a shot off, which was on target. The keeper spilled the shot, and Lucas closed quickly from the right side to send the rebound into the back of the net. 

The Jackets added a goal in the 50th minute, when Cristian Ledesma beat the goalkeeper to a ball as it rolled into the penalty area. He easily maneuvered around the keeper and slotted the goal home. 

Nine minutes later, Martinez wrestled a ball away in the midfield and found himself with one defender between himself and the goal. Martinez shouldered the defender away, and placed a clean shot past the keeper. 

The remaining twenty minutes of play was a bit of a feeding frenzy. The Jackets almost etched a fourth goal when Brayan Torres sent a rocket shot, which deflected off the goalkeeper’s shoulder. 

As the final seconds ticked down, Brownsboro mustered one last attack. A shot from 15 meters was saved, but spilled, and Brownsboro avoided the shut-out.  The goal came in the final second of play.

The Yellowjackets promise some exciting soccer this season. They dropped their district opener to 4A Bullard in overtime, and put on an excellent home opening performance with the win over Brownsboro. 

The team is capable of competing in goal, at the back, in midfield and on the attack. As a team, they are confident on the ball, and dissect the pitch geometrically to generate attacking opportunities. 

Whether it’s the physical presence of sweeper Sebastian Klodnicki, the quickness of Alex Cortez or the finishing of Zavala, the Jackets are ready to stage a solid district run. 

Mineola faces Cumberland on Friday at Meredith Memorial Field. Match time is 6 p.m.