Mexico boys soccer wants the team from Thursday’s first half in districts Saturday.

Mexico vs Helias Photo Gallery

The Bulldogs held Class 3 Helias Catholic to a 2-0 lead at halftime in the regular season finale at Chris Hotop Field in Mexico but then allowed four second-half goals in a 6-1 loss. Mexico has lost a season-high nine straight games as it heads into the Class 2 District 4 tournament at 3 p.m. today against North Central Missouri Conference rival Fulton.

Head coach Bill Gleeson said Mexico (6-15-2) needs to play a complete game on Saturday against Fulton (11-10) because the defense fell off in the second half against Helias (9-13). The Crusaders scored three goals in the final 11 minutes and had Coen Loethen and Gavin Wilson each record two goals.

“Things weren’t clicking like they did in that first half,” Gleeson said. “We weren’t hustling as fast to get to the ball, putting pressure on them. We were giving them a little more time to make those passes and things like that that we shut down in that first half. I was trying to tell them at halftime, ‘We’ve got to come out with the same energy we ended the half with,’” Gleeson said. “When you get a break, sometimes that flow stops.”

The Bulldogs had already celebrated Senior Night against Moberly, but their seniors had one more chance to shine on their home field. Sebastian Mena scored on a long range goal in the 54th minute that was just out of reach of the diving Helias goalie Max Huntley. On defense, goalkeeper Emille Scanavino made 14 saves, Jibran Rodriguez executed several sliding tackles, as did other Bulldogs, to disrupt the Helias offense, and the Crusaders were called offsides four times in the first half as Mexico has run an offsides trap this season.

Gleeson said Rodriguez had the defense “locked down” and had strong support from sophomores Grant Walker and Jace DeVault. Jaylen Johnson’s senior year ended prematurely after fracturing his leg several games ago, so Gleeson said it was nice to see these defenders stand out.

“That’s been a struggle trying to adjust to that because he’s a key defender, is a senior with experience and is quick,” Gleeson said. 

Scanavino has had several busy games this season as the Mexico goalkeeper as he countered a relentless Helias attack that recorded 36 shots. He ended the night with 14 saves, including three where he made athletic dives, and was maintaining an aggressive level of play by charging at the ball when near the edge of the box.

“We just said we’ve got to lay it all out (Thursday night) because this is our last regular season game,” Gleeson said. “Give it your all. I think he did.”

Gleeson said this “give-it-your-all” style of play extended to the aforementioned players and to the defense but this needs to extend to the full-length of Mexico's next game to open the one-and-done scenario of districts.

The Bulldogs will face Fulton for the third time this year after losing 8-2 and 9-1 to the Hornets, making it eight straight losses against their conference rival. Gleeson said it will basically be the same game plan against Fulton and containing all-state player Christian Mahoro is at the center of the Bulldogs’ concerns.

“You’ve got to limit Christian Mahoro’s touches on the ball, and you’ve got to watch Jayden (Ayers’) cut-throughs, or runs in the middle,” Gleeson said. “Ultimately, what it really boils down to, is limiting Christian’s touches because he’s such a key component to their offense that if you can limit his touches, then they can’t get anything going. That’s always been the game plan, but execution is key and he’s a high-quality player.”