The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial.
After a pair of Moore League championships in 2020 and 2021, it’s been a few frustrating years of falling short for the Long Beach Poly boys’ soccer team. The Jackrabbits were 13-4-3 overall last year but finished second in the league to Millikan. This year they’re reloaded with a deep senior class that’s hungry to return to the league trophy to 1600 Atlantic.
“The goal every year is to compete for the league title, and we haven’t won it in a couple years,” said Poly coach Eric Leon. “The senior class this year is deep and we’re going to rely heavily on them. The goal is to compete for and win the league title and then go as far in the playoffs as we can.”
After winning the league title in back-to-back years the Jackrabbits reached the CIF-SS championship game, where they fell short. Leon said his team didn’t come away from that experience with all the right lessons.
“We created our own expectations by getting to that championship, but we haven’t lived up to that with humility,” he said. “We have talent–for us it’s about controlling our own expectations and having some humility.”
This year Poly returns four All-Moore League honorees and should have a strong defense. Their formation relies on two center backs, and both Logan Herrejon and Felix Rivera are returners in that position who’ve received all-league nods.
“They’ll be relied on heavily,” said Leon.
They’re joined on the back line by left back Daniel Silva, a junior all-league honoree who’s Poly’s top ECNL player and who has legitimate four-year scholarship aspirations and potential.
The biggest question mark for the Jackrabbits is the keeper behind that strong defense, after graduating both rotation goalies from last year. This year it’ll be another duo, with freshman Ramiro Cotero and sophomore Mekiah Twal.
In the midfield Poly features returning first-team All-Moore League honoree Roberto “Toto” Bermudez, one of the top players in the city. Bermudez will be with his ECNL squad through December, meaning Poly will have to go without him in some big nonleague contests as well as the beginning of the league schedule. Salvador Alfaro and Roger Juarez will help fill that gap and then play the wing positions, with senior Kaya Paz also in the midfield.
Up top, Damian Gonzalez has proven himself one of the best goalscorers around, and Alfaro and Juarez will also both get plenty of chances pushing forward on the wings.
Herrejon said that Poly knows its strength is its defense, as well as their senior leadership.
“We’re stronger than we were last year and we’re playing some big teams in preseason like Mater Dei,” said Herrejon. “We’ve got a good defense and we’ve got a lot of our key players back. I think we’re very strong this year.”
