Odessa High boys soccer coach Eliseo Ortiz wants his players to focus on what they can control heading into their Class 6A bi-district round playoff match against El Paso Franklin.
The Bronchos are scheduled to face the Cougars at 6 p.m. Friday at Franklin High School.
Keeping their focus directed inward helped the Bronchos through much of the 2021-22 regular season, finishing third in District 2-6A with a 9-7-5 overall record.
“We’ve learned that we play best whenever we worry about ourselves, not so much about others,” Ortiz said. “I don’t think we ever addressed a game like that where we worry about the opponent.
“We always just worry about ourselves.”
Ortiz believes his strong senior class has helped keep the team in line, with Ethan Wagner, JJ Muela and Noah Lopez showcasing their leadership abilities.
The head coach depended on the trio to provide a strong example for their younger teammates, knowing that the veteran players consistently put in maximum effort.
Wagner said exhibiting strong leadership matters the most when a team is entering a postseason setting.
“A lot of them haven’t been in the environment, they haven’t played a playoff game,” Wagner said. “It’s very important to prepare them and teach them what they need to know before the game.”
Through his time as a Broncho, Wagner has seen how intense things can get in win-or-go-home situations.
In El Paso Franklin, Odessa High will face a team that is driven and works to create consistent shots on goal.
Wagner is expecting the Cougars to deploy physical forwards who make the most of opportunities that start with long passes from the midfield.
The defender is prepared to be aggressive in the air to ensure El Paso Franklin doesn’t get any easy looks in open space.
While Wagner helped Odessa High becomes a solid defensive team, Muela has made an impact on the attacking side.
Against district opponents, Muela said he and his teammates learned about the amount of effort that needs to be put in to achieve better results.
He believes that the Bronchos could have helped themselves by putting in consistent energy through the campaign.
“Effort was really the main part of the place we got, we probably could have gotten an easier opponent but it is what it is,” Muela said. “Effort really is what we learned from this season.”
The attacker has enjoyed taking on his role as a team captain, knowing that younger teammates look to him for advice.
Before suffering a 3-2 in a playoff warmup against San Elizario on March 19, Odessa High went on a five-match unbeaten streak.
The Bronchos recorded two wins and three draws, rebounding from back-to-back losses.
When Odessa High advanced to last year’s Class 6A playoffs, the team ran into a tough challenge from El Paso Eastlake and suffered a 5-0 loss in the first round.
Ortiz is anticipating a closer matchup against this year’s opponent.
“Last year we played probably one of the best teams that I had seen in the past five, 10 years so it was a different situation,” Ortiz said. “We’re now a two and a three seed, so we’re closer to each other as far as skill level and the ability of both teams.”
El Paso Franklin enters the contest with a 13-7-1 record, closing out the regular season on a four-match winning streak.
The late push helped the Cougars finish second in District 1-6A behind El Paso Eastlake.
“At the end of the day the kids are going to have to decide, ours or theirs, who should win this type of game,” Ortiz said.
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