SILER CITY — About an hour before the Jordan-Matthews boys’ soccer team battled Lee County last Tuesday, the Jets warmed up with a dynamic passing drill.
Almost the entire team participated, as the players tried to complete passes to their adjacent teammates in the fast-paced exercise. Each member of the squad assembled to form four lines — everyone, that is, but No. 7 in Jet blue.
Senior forward Zander Ocampo stood 10 yards down the pitch doing stretches by himself. After he completed a series of static exercises, Ocampo worked on a few individual drills before eventually joining the rest of his team.
Even though he came in cold, every touch and pass made by Ocampo — who led the Jets with 39 goals last season — was nearly perfect. As was the array of skills he displayed in Jordan-Matthews’ 4-1 win over Lee County.
“(Ocampo’s) quick, he’s fast and great with the ball,” said Jets’ head coach Paul Cuadros. “He’s got great vision to get his head up and put the ball where he wants it to go.”
Despite starring on the Jets’ front line in 2021, Ocampo didn’t trot out when the Jets’ starting 11 took the field. And with its team leader on the bench, Jordan-Matthews looked off its game.
In the fifth minute, a defensive lapse by Jordan-Matthews left Lee County primed to score on a breakaway opportunity. But luckily for the Jets, senior goalkeeper Richardo Rocha leaked outside the box to thwart the Yellow Jackets’ first shot attempt.
With the early-game scare out of the way, the Jets devised a calculated counterattack. Senior forward Juan Hernandez Soto eventually found the ball at the end of the build up, and after splitting a pair of Yellow Jackets, he found the back of the net.
“I just kept my composure and had to do what I do, and finish (the goal),” Soto said.
Shortly after the game’s first goal, Ocampo entered the match.
From his first touch, he flashed his talent, dancing through Lee County’s defense to the outer edge of the 18-yard box. There, Ocampo sent a dangerous cross to the opposite post, where it found the head of Soto for Jordan-Matthews’ second goal.
The cross-pitch pass and subsequent header were flawless — a testament to the bond the two forwards have formed over the years.
“(Ocampo and I) have been playing since our freshman year and we’ve been connected ever since,” Hernandez said.
Jordan-Matthews’ second goal of the night opened up a comfortable lead over Lee County, the second straight 3A school faced by the Jets. Heading into the match, Cuadros knew it would be challenging, considering the Jets were fresh off their first loss of the year, a 2-1 loss to Asheboro on Aug. 18.
“To start off the season, we loaded up on some really good competition in the beginning to train us,” Cuadros said. “The loss against Asheboro doesn’t sting as much as losing to a 2A team.”
After the win over Lee County, Jordan-Matthews fell to North Raleigh Christian Academy and Pine Lake Prep on Friday and Saturday, respectively, by a combined score of 8-2. The Jets entered Tuesday night’s game at Providence Grove, which ended after press time, with a 2-3 overall record.
Though the ramp-up in competition didn’t come back to bite the Jets on the scoreboard against the Yellow Jackets, Lee County’s defense challenged Ocampo.
With 10 minutes remaining in the game, and Jordan-Matthews leading by two goals, Ocampo’s lethal left boot had been held silent. But the Yellow Jackets’ swarming back line would not deny the star forward for much longer.
After finding himself at the cusp of the box, Ocampo shifted directions toward an opening. With one swift kick, he twisted the ball into the top-left corner of the goal.
“It felt great to score,” Ocampo said. “In the first half I was frustrated, and in the second half too. When I got the goal I felt relieved.”
But despite their strong play, the Jets’ three-goal win over Lee County wasn’t just about the skills of Ocampo or the emergence of Hernandez, who finished the night with a hat trick.
Rather, the younger pieces on this year’s team — like juniors Paul Lujan, Anthony Rodriguez, Giancarlo Aguila and Jonathan Campos — are starting to find their rhythm as Jordan-Matthews nears conference play. And despite lacking the experience of last season, when they made it all the way to the 2A state quarterfinals, Ocampo knows the Jets have what it takes to make another deep playoff run.
“I just want to do better than last year and take the team farther,” he said. “This year we have a young bench, but I feel like they will fill in. Last year we had a lot of veterans who really wanted to win, but these young guys want it more.”