Dos Pueblos’ Tim Heiduk motions towards the home crowd after scoring the game’s first goal on Thursday. (Presidio Sports Photos)
The Jessie Jimenez to Tim Heiduk connection was clicking for Dos Pueblos’ soccer team on Thursday as the Chargers held off visiting Chino Hills in a first-round CIF match.
Two second-half goals by Heiduk lifted the Chargers past the Huskies 2-1, sending Dos Pueblos into the second round on Tuesday.
“We’ve worked too hard all season long that we didn’t want it to end today,” said Heiduk, a captain for Dos Pueblos. “I’m super proud of the team for the effort they gave.”
Jimenez fed Heiduk on both scores. Each shared some similarities coming off set pieces with Heiduk converting the goals off his head.
“Anytime we feel like we can get Tim in the air, it’s a win for us. They won’t always go in, but that’s what we try to get,” explained Dos Pueblos head coach Matt York.
Jimenez connected with Heiduk first in the 47th minute on a line-drive corner kick. Eight minutes later, Jimenez found Heiduk again in front of the goal on a free kick from about 40-yards out.
“Jessie just works on it from all over the field at practice and he’s gotten real good at it. He’s got a good rapport with a lot of his aerial strikers,” York said.
York also had rave reviews for senior Tucker Snider, who organized the defensive backline and was in the mix on offensive set pieces. York called him DP’s “emotional leader” that can pick up the team’s energy when needed.
“As a coach, shoot, I love guys like that.”
The goals were Heiduk’s team-leading 10th and 11th of the season.
Dos Pueblos’ Julio Rubio tries to maintain possession despite the efforts of Chino Hills defenders Ryan Matthews, left, and Brett Franchino, right.
After Dos Pueblos took a 2-0 lead, Chino Hills’ Jaime Marquez ended the shutout by scoring in the 65th minute.
“It got a little sketchy definitely,” Heiduk said. “Credit Chino Hills, they kept fighting and putting pressure on us.”
The Huskies finish their season at 6-10-4. Marquez, a sophomore, and a majority of the starting lineup will be back next year for Chino Hills.
“Honestly, I think we’re a little soft on natural terrain,” said head coach Doug Connell. “We’re used to playing on turf, and that kind of threw us off a little bit. It’s a great grass field but adaptability has been one of our weak points this year.”
Connell thought his team played better in the second half despite giving up the two goals.
“We just turned it on too late.”
Dos Pueblos (17-3-3) extends its unbeaten streak to nine games. The Chargers will play at Palos Verdes in the next round on Tuesday. PV defeated Capistrano Valley 3-2 on Thursday.
“We wanted to make sure we weren’t one and done,” Heiduk said. “We want to take this one game at a time. We took that first step today and hopefully we can keep it going.”
