Nico Mackie notched seven saves and turned in a strong performance at goalkeeper in Dos Pueblos’ 3-0 boys soccer victory over Buena in the Chargers’ Channel League opener on Friday at home.
Oscar Ferreira won a 50-50 ball with Buena’s keeper and stayed composed enough to find the net to open the scoring for the Chargers. Later in the first half, Jorge Gomez sent a corner to the face of the goal and defender Mark Sotelo got a clean header on it to give Dos Pueblos a 2-0 halftime lead.
The Chargers (5-4-2, 1-0-0) rounded out the day’s scoring in the second half when Nate Lang sent a ball through to Matt Carlson who put it in the net.
Head coach Matt York praised the play of Mackie after the game, saying, “His performance had a bit of everything: absorbing hard contact, playing smart balls out of the back, skying to grab loose balls in the air, and quick saves to preserve the shutout.”
Dos Pueblos takes on rival San Marcos away on Tuesday.
— Noozhawk sports reporter Christian Eckert can be reached at ceckert@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports and @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.