A big day for Mariner
The Mariner Tritons boys soccer team remained undefeated after taking down a talented Gulf Coast (3-3-3) squad 3-0 Wednesday night in Cape Coral.
Senior Jason Arias, junior Nicco Gerke and senior stand-out Leo Perez all netted goals for Mariner (9-0) on their way to a victory.
Perez now has 23 goals in nine games. He has scored in every match and is averaging over 2.5 goals per game.
In addition to the win, it was a special night for the Tritons, as head coach Martin Cardenas was honored before the game for amassing 400 career wins at the helm of the Mariner soccer team. Cardenas got No. 400 on Monday against Barron Collier and Wednesday was win 401 for the longest tenured high school soccer coach in the county.
“It means a lot,” Cardenas said. “I was very surprised. I’m glad they did something — and if they didn’t, I wouldn’t have noticed and it wouldn’t have bothered me — but I’m glad that they took the time for it, especially because my wife was able to keep it from me. It was very special.”
Cardenas said he wasn’t aware of his milestone victory until the team and Athletic Director Steve Larsen presented him with a plaque celebrating his accomplishment.
“I don’t keep track of those things, it’s not my style,” Cardenas said. “I like to focus on today, I like to focus on tomorrow, that’s it. I don’t look back and see how many wins I’ve had or whatever. To me, it’s just another day and we’ve got to go to work and get better.”
Despite his in-the-now perspective, Cardenas was honored to be recognized for his achievement and said he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but Mariner.
“It’s my home,” Cardenas said. “Both of my kids graduated from Mariner. If I can’t teach here and coach here, then I don’t want to do it anywhere else.
“When I first came here, the principal (Michael McNerney) that opened up the school was my principal when I was in high school at Immokalee, and he always said, ‘We bleed black and silver,’ and that’s all I know. I’m a creature of habit and I love getting up in the morning — I’ve missed four days in 27 years — and that’s the way I like it. I hope I can do it for a long time.”
Larsen said Cardenas has been a key piece of the puzzle at Mariner, both for the athletic department and the school.
“It’s not just the program, it’s the whole school,” Larsen said of Cardenas’ importance. “He’s probably one of the most integral cogs in the entire machine here. He’s coached multiple sports — and I know he’s most noted for coaching soccer — but without people like Martin, who are loyal servants to the school, we’re not where we are today as a school, as an athletic program.”
Cardenas has been the head coach of the boys soccer from ’95-’97 and from 2000 until now. He also coaches boys golf in the fall and girls tennis in the spring. A jack of all trades, Cardenas has also, at one time or another, coached bowling, football and baseball.
“I just think he is so straight forward with the kids in what he expects,” Larsen said of what makes Cardenas so successful. “There’s never any question about what he wants to get done. He works the kids pretty much all summer — anyone that wants to be here. He just expects them to work anytime he shows up.”
Cardenas said that he hopes to continue at Mariner for the foreseeable future, and Larsen and the rest of the school have no problem with that.
“He knows he’s welcome,” Larsen said. “The kids love him, the administration, everybody here, is in full support.”
When it was time to go to work on the pitch, Cardenas had his boys ready to go against a tough Gulf Coast team with just one day of rest after a victory against another formidable foe in Barron Collier.
The Tritons wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, as Arias struck the ball beautifully just outside of the goalie box and around the wall of Shark defenders on a free kick in the fifth minute.
Perez would score the second Mariner goal in the second half, when a throw in from Esteban Orjuela was headed towards the goal by Caden Sandrus. Perez then used his left foot to flick the ball over the goalie’s head, off the crossbar and into the net to extend the Triton lead in the 57th minute.
Gerke would add the third Mariner goal in the final minute of the game to cement the victory.
It was a physical match from the get to, and Cardenas was pleased with his teams resolve.
“A lot of grit,” Cardenas said of what he saw. “They put us against our back a couple times just with their toughness and physicality. They tested our grit. The boys did a really good job staying composed, not letting anything get into their heads. I’m proud of them for that.”
The head coach said he enjoys playing teams of a higher caliber, that it tests them and prepares them for future match-ups.
“We want to test ourselves,” Cardenas said. “We don’t want to get cheap wins. We’re always up for a challenge. If you call us, we’ll go. We never turn anybody down.”
He did have a little friendly gamesmanship towards Gulf Coast, who has two state championships under its belt (2013, 2018).
“We’ve asked them to play us year, after year, after year, yet they don’t want to play us. And the year that they decide (to) we beat them 3-0, so, I’ll take that. I’ll take that as a compliment any day,” Cardenas said.
Another milestone for the Tritons took place last week, as Perez became the all-time goal scorer in Mariner history.
The all-time mark was 103, which Perez surpassed against Desoto County last Wednesday.
“It means a lot, especially coming from freshman year (to now),” Perez said of the record. “When I was a freshman, I didn’t think any of this would happen. I just kept working hard. I never thought I was going to be the all-time leading scorer for Mariner, and now that I am, it makes me want to push for everything else. The biggest accomplishment that I want to achieve is to win states with this team. That’s all I care about at this point. That’s what I want to do.”
The Tritons certainly took a step in the right direction on Wednesday with their win against what Perez described as a physical opponent.
“They’re a physical team — aggressive,” Perez said. “But I’m really proud of our team. They stayed in it in the second half, they kept their composure, our defense settled in, we maintained our defensive positions and we ended up playing well. We put the chances that had to away and that’s what gave us the win.”
Perez said he enjoys playing against tough opponents.
“I love it,” Perez said. “It makes sure we know what we’re going up against. So when we do go into the playoffs and play those tough teams, we know what we could go up against and it just helps.”
The Navy commit shared some words about his coach and the impact he’s had on his career, as well as a congratulations on his 400th win.
“He’s one of the best coaches I’ve had,” Perez said. “Not only just because of the coaching side, but because he’s also a friend. He’s also a mentor. He’s always had my back. He’s always helping me out. I’m not going to lie, one of the reasons I’m playing Division I soccer (next year) is obviously my ability, but I owe a lot to him because he did help me out. He’s like family to me, I really owe everything to him. I owe everything to my family as well, and everyone who supports me, but he’s been a big part of these four years.”
Mariner will play Cape Coral High School Friday night at 7:30 in a rivalry game between two of the most talented soccer teams in the city.
-Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad_cj
A big day for Mariner
The Mariner Tritons boys soccer team remained undefeated after taking down a talented Gulf Coast (3-3-3) squad 3-0 Wednesday night in Cape Coral.
Senior Jason Arias, junior Nicco Gerke and senior stand-out Leo Perez all netted goals for Mariner (9-0) on their way to a victory.
Perez now has 23 goals in nine games. He has scored in every match and is averaging over 2.5 goals per game.
In addition to the win, it was a special night for the Tritons, as head coach Martin Cardenas was honored before the game for amassing 400 career wins at the helm of the Mariner soccer team. Cardenas got No. 400 on Monday against Barron Collier and Wednesday was win 401 for the longest tenured high school soccer coach in the county.
“It means a lot,” Cardenas said. “I was very surprised. I’m glad they did something — and if they didn’t, I wouldn’t have noticed and it wouldn’t have bothered me — but I’m glad that they took the time for it, especially because my wife was able to keep it from me. It was very special.”
Cardenas said he wasn’t aware of his milestone victory until the team and Athletic Director Steve Larsen presented him with a plaque celebrating his accomplishment.
“I don’t keep track of those things, it’s not my style,” Cardenas said. “I like to focus on today, I like to focus on tomorrow, that’s it. I don’t look back and see how many wins I’ve had or whatever. To me, it’s just another day and we’ve got to go to work and get better.”
Despite his in-the-now perspective, Cardenas was honored to be recognized for his achievement and said he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but Mariner.
“It’s my home,” Cardenas said. “Both of my kids graduated from Mariner. If I can’t teach here and coach here, then I don’t want to do it anywhere else.
“When I first came here, the principal (Michael McNerney) that opened up the school was my principal when I was in high school at Immokalee, and he always said, ‘We bleed black and silver,’ and that’s all I know. I’m a creature of habit and I love getting up in the morning — I’ve missed four days in 27 years — and that’s the way I like it. I hope I can do it for a long time.”
Larsen said Cardenas has been a key piece of the puzzle at Mariner, both for the athletic department and the school.
“It’s not just the program, it’s the whole school,” Larsen said of Cardenas’ importance. “He’s probably one of the most integral cogs in the entire machine here. He’s coached multiple sports — and I know he’s most noted for coaching soccer — but without people like Martin, who are loyal servants to the school, we’re not where we are today as a school, as an athletic program.”
Cardenas has been the head coach of the boys soccer from ’95-’97 and from 2000 until now. He also coaches boys golf in the fall and girls tennis in the spring. A jack of all trades, Cardenas has also, at one time or another, coached bowling, football and baseball.
“I just think he is so straight forward with the kids in what he expects,” Larsen said of what makes Cardenas so successful. “There’s never any question about what he wants to get done. He works the kids pretty much all summer — anyone that wants to be here. He just expects them to work anytime he shows up.”
Cardenas said that he hopes to continue at Mariner for the foreseeable future, and Larsen and the rest of the school have no problem with that.
“He knows he’s welcome,” Larsen said. “The kids love him, the administration, everybody here, is in full support.”
When it was time to go to work on the pitch, Cardenas had his boys ready to go against a tough Gulf Coast team with just one day of rest after a victory against another formidable foe in Barron Collier.
The Tritons wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, as Arias struck the ball beautifully just outside of the goalie box and around the wall of Shark defenders on a free kick in the fifth minute.
Perez would score the second Mariner goal in the second half, when a throw in from Esteban Orjuela was headed towards the goal by Caden Sandrus. Perez then used his left foot to flick the ball over the goalie’s head, off the crossbar and into the net to extend the Triton lead in the 57th minute.
Gerke would add the third Mariner goal in the final minute of the game to cement the victory.
It was a physical match from the get to, and Cardenas was pleased with his teams resolve.
“A lot of grit,” Cardenas said of what he saw. “They put us against our back a couple times just with their toughness and physicality. They tested our grit. The boys did a really good job staying composed, not letting anything get into their heads. I’m proud of them for that.”
The head coach said he enjoys playing teams of a higher caliber, that it tests them and prepares them for future match-ups.
“We want to test ourselves,” Cardenas said. “We don’t want to get cheap wins. We’re always up for a challenge. If you call us, we’ll go. We never turn anybody down.”
He did have a little friendly gamesmanship towards Gulf Coast, who has two state championships under its belt (2013, 2018).
“We’ve asked them to play us year, after year, after year, yet they don’t want to play us. And the year that they decide (to) we beat them 3-0, so, I’ll take that. I’ll take that as a compliment any day,” Cardenas said.
Another milestone for the Tritons took place last week, as Perez became the all-time goal scorer in Mariner history.
The all-time mark was 103, which Perez surpassed against Desoto County last Wednesday.
“It means a lot, especially coming from freshman year (to now),” Perez said of the record. “When I was a freshman, I didn’t think any of this would happen. I just kept working hard. I never thought I was going to be the all-time leading scorer for Mariner, and now that I am, it makes me want to push for everything else. The biggest accomplishment that I want to achieve is to win states with this team. That’s all I care about at this point. That’s what I want to do.”
The Tritons certainly took a step in the right direction on Wednesday with their win against what Perez described as a physical opponent.
“They’re a physical team — aggressive,” Perez said. “But I’m really proud of our team. They stayed in it in the second half, they kept their composure, our defense settled in, we maintained our defensive positions and we ended up playing well. We put the chances that had to away and that’s what gave us the win.”
Perez said he enjoys playing against tough opponents.
“I love it,” Perez said. “It makes sure we know what we’re going up against. So when we do go into the playoffs and play those tough teams, we know what we could go up against and it just helps.”
The Navy commit shared some words about his coach and the impact he’s had on his career, as well as a congratulations on his 400th win.
“He’s one of the best coaches I’ve had,” Perez said. “Not only just because of the coaching side, but because he’s also a friend. He’s also a mentor. He’s always had my back. He’s always helping me out. I’m not going to lie, one of the reasons I’m playing Division I soccer (next year) is obviously my ability, but I owe a lot to him because he did help me out. He’s like family to me, I really owe everything to him. I owe everything to my family as well, and everyone who supports me, but he’s been a big part of these four years.”
Mariner will play Cape Coral High School Friday night at 7:30 in a rivalry game between two of the most talented soccer teams in the city.
-Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad_cj