Standout senior striker Christian Laird scored 20 goals and assisted in scoring 15 others over four seasons on the Mineola High School soccer team, but those numbers aren’t what was most important to him about playing for the Mustangs.
“I wanted to win. The teams always came first,” Laird said. “The last two years we came out with a lot of wins.”
The Mustangs soccer squad had a 12-3 record in 2011 and went 10-3 the previous year. They made the playoffs, but fell short.
“It’s just that little missing piece,” said team captain Denis Lazo-Cruz, the team’s star defensive back. “We were shooting for that conference title and then the county title. It’s disappointing. We were trying to go far but that didn’t happen.”
Lazo-Cruz was recognized as an all-state player as a senior this year, and was selected all-county for three straight seasons. Laird was selected all-county this season for the second consecutive year.
Both agree that despite falling short of winning a championship, their four years playing on the team was a great ride.
“I’m happy with it,” Laird said. “Yes, we didn’t win a championship. But I enjoyed it. I can’t complain.”
Laird said his father, who had played soccer in his native Paraguay, encouraged him to play. He started at age six, but he recalled that he really didn’t playing for the first two years. But as his skills gradually improved, he found a comfort zone on the pitch.
“I got better at it. It made me relax,” Laird said.
Lazo-Cruz said winning with friends he’s been playing with since childhood was a particularly satisfying experience.
“Most of the guys I grew up with, and we bonded. It was just a great opportunity,” he said.
Lazo-Cruz said he didn’t fully appreciate the responsibilities of being team caption at first. But he became acutely conscious of the need for him to set an example for his teammates.
“I really took it seriously. They saw me practice, so they practiced as well,” he said.
Both student athletes said they took their studies just as seriously.
“Sports and school go together,” Lazo-Cruz said. “If I don’t do good in school, I don’t have the right to play.”
Over the last four seasons, Laird and Lazo-Cruz helped lead Mineola to an overall record of 37-19-10 including 30 shutouts and a league record of 26-13-9. In that span, the team qualified for post season play each year and notched double-digit victories three times.
Coach Paul Pereira guided the team and his two star players through those four seasons, and Lazo-Cruz credits his coach with helping him to stay focused.
“He pushes me to pay attention,” Lazo-Cruz said.
Lazo-Cruz was five years old when he started to play, coached by his father, who had player in his native El Salvador.
Pereira recalled that he saw the talent in both players when he first watched them play in the now defunct Mineola Middle School soccer program.
“These guys are special,” Pereira said. “I am as proud of them for their accomplishments on the field as I am for the good men they’ll become.”
For his work ethic, on and off the field, Laz-Cruz was awarded the Mike Dillon Memorial scholarship by the NCSCA
Both Laid and Lazo-Cruz are in conversations with several different colleges about scholarships to play for NCAA Division I soccer teams.
“Soccer’s going to open the door for them to success in life. As first-generation sons of immigrants, they’re taking advantage of their opportunities,” Pereira said.
Along with being good players and good students, Pereira said both players are good people.
“It’s nice to see kids who do the right thing all the time,” he said.
