Unbeaten Mendota ready for postseason run

Trojans outscored opponents 120-4 in regular season

Mendota's Yahir Diaz (10) sprints ahead of Streator's Keaton Yedinak (13) to score a second-half goal Monday, Sept. 13, 2021, in Streator.

Over the summer, when Mendota boys soccer coach Nick Myers talked to his team about goals, a few players mentioned the state tournament.

At the time, Myers wasn’t sure about that.

“I thought, ‘I don’t think we need to be setting that as the goal quite yet. I don’t know if we’re ready for that,’” Myers said.

Now, he thinks differently.

With an experienced group full of three- and four-year starters “that really doesn’t have any weak link on the field,” the Trojans went 19-0 in the regular season and outscored opponents 120-4.

“Now, I think we have just as good a chance as anybody else to get to the state tournament,” Myers said.

The top-seeded Trojans open the postseason at 4 p.m. Tuesday against No. 6 Newark-Seneca in a Class 1A Serena Regional semifinal.

The regional final is at 4 p.m. Friday, with the winner advancing to the Illinois Valley Central Sectional.

“Winning the regional championship is our first goal and our No. 1 priority at the moment,” Myers said. “Obviously, it’s been a little hard not to look ahead being that Quincy Notre Dame will be in our sectional again (after beating MHS in a sectional semifinal in 2019). But at the same time, we’re keeping the same focus and motto we had all season, which is take it one game at a time.”

The Trojans learned that lesson in the spring with losses to Rockford Christian and Dixon, which helped improve their mindset.

“Sometimes losing a game can be the best thing for you,” Myers said. “You learn the most in a loss. I think those two (spring losses) were huge wakeup calls for us that you can’t overlook anybody and you have to come to every game prepared. That was a big focus for us in the summer.”

One way Mendota has stayed engaged for a full 80 minutes regardless of the score is an emphasis on recording shutouts.

The Trojans blanked 15 of their 19 opponents. The four teams that did score on MHS managed just one goal each.

Mendota has been so dominant on defense with a combination of maintaining possession – sometimes never allowing the opponent to cross midfield – and an experienced defensive unit.

Outside backs Alex Mandujano and Luis Garcia are four-year starters, while Myers calls center backs Rafa Romero and David Garcia “two of the most talented players on the team.”

Myers said Romero is a vocal leader of the defense, while David Garcia is a solid defender who has not been beaten one-on-one this season.

“The majority of games we’ve played we dominate possession, which makes it very difficult [for the opponent to score],” Myers said. “At the same time, when the other team does get an attack on us, it is very hard to score. Our back four are very talented. Our goalkeeper [Manny Trejo] hasn’t really been called into action all that much, but he’s probably one of the best keepers in the area.

“I always feel very confident with those four in the back along with Manny in goal. I know it’s going to be very hard for teams to score on us.”

While the Mendota defense has stifled opposing offenses, the Trojans have lit up the scoreboard.

Mendota averages 6.3 goals a game and has scored multiple goals in 18 of 19 games.

Senior Yahir Diaz, the reigning NewsTribune Boys Soccer Player of the Year, broke the school’s career scoring record in the season opener and has 41 goals and 20 assists, while Jasiel Watson has more than 20 goals.

“If you’re unfamiliar with us, it seems like the only player other teams care about is Yahir,” Myers said. “Don’t get me wrong, Yahir is one of the best players I’ve ever coached and/or seen, but we have other guys just as dangerous. I think that’s a big factor in why we score so many goals.

“Another thing that makes us really dangerous is our back four are probably four of our better ball strikers on the team. Even our defense is able to score, and we do. We push up our outside defenders a lot to get them in the attack.

“On top of that, we don’t have a single selfish player. Everybody shares the ball. At times, I’ve yelled at the team that we’re too unselfish. We’ve passed up goal scoring opportunities to make the extra pass when in reality it’s not needed.”

With experience, a stingy defense and a potent offense, the Trojans hope they have the formula needed to win their first sectional championship and reach the state tournament Oct. 29-30 at EastSide Centre in East Peoria.