A year ago at this time, there was a lot of pressure on the MountCarmel soccer team to live up to the preseason hype.
With a number of talented Division I players sprinkled throughoutthe Caravan's lineup, there were some who believed Mount Carmel wouldbe making its first trip to the Class AA state finals.
This year, however, expectations aren't quite as high outside ofthe Caravan camp, but that doesn't mean there aren't some who believethis team will make some noise this fall.
That's exactly what it did Saturday in Chicago, as the Caravancruised to a 8-0 victory over Class A power Parker in the MountCarmel Invitational.
"Everyone was watching us last year, and we really didn't live upto expectations," said Mount Carmel's Cody Stanley, whose teamfinished 19-5-1 and won the Catholic League in 2005. "But this year,I think we're going to be able to surprise a lot of people becausewe're sort of flying under the radar so far."
If there's one player who is popping up on the radar screen ofcollege coaches, it's junior David Martinez. The forward scored threetimes and is coming off a 26-goal, 10-assist campaign.
"Last year's team is a tough act to follow, but we're very good upfront and on the backline," Mount Carmel coach Adrian Calleros said."If our midfield steps up, we're going to be tough."
Stanley and Tony Aguliar added two goals, and Victor Gomez hadone.
"We've dominated each one of our games so far," said Stanley,whose team improved to 3-0. "We still have a lot of talent on thisteam, but the difference is that our bench is actually stronger thisyear than it was last year. I really think we're going to surprisesome people in the Pepsi Showdown next week."
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