After missing the first three games of the season due to lacking the required units needed, LBCC men’s sophomore soccer player Jesus Moreno would put in the effort to ensure he could show up for his team and guarantee that his presence would be known.
Due to a low grade in one of his classes Moreno was told to put in an early withdrawal form which was recommended by his counselor.
This ended up taking the units that he needed away. Moreno contacted his professor to get the grade put into the system and was able to bring his units back up to the eligible amount needed to play.
Moreno’s impact would be shown as soon as he started his first game against Antelope Valley College during the pre-season, scoring a goal and an assist that led the Vikings to a 2-0 win.
During his time playing at Millikan High School, Moreno was moved up into the varsity team as a sophomore, playing three years in the starting eleven and winning one Moore League title.
LBCC men’s soccer head coach Jorge Reyes would soon notice him through his connections with the coaches at Millikan.
Most of Moreno’s standout performances were heavily influenced by coach Jorge Reyes who was a substantial motive for Moreno choosing to attend Long Beach City College over Golden West College.
“I came to LBCC, because of the head coach. I was going to go to Golden West but I ended up talking to him for an hour and he was telling me about the players he was bringing in who were big for the team,” said Moreno.
Moreno’s first year playing at LBCC consisted of him scoring seven goals and getting six assists in 19 games and saw the Vikings beat Cerritos and Mt. SAC in the season but were knocked out early in the playoffs for the conference title.
This season the Vikings have a talented and hungry group of players eager to win the conference and state titles with Moreno playing an important role.
“Nene (Moreno) is an important player for the team and has shown it this season with him scoring goals when we needed them most and setting up for others. He runs a lot, works hard, and brings a lot to the team,” said coach Reyes.
The Vikings this season have an overall record of 6-3-4, scoring 25 goals and conceding 14 goals, with Moreno scoring four of these goals with five games started.
“It’s all up to the whole team, we obviously have guys who are more talented than others but the goal for the team is we make it for us to bind together and work hard as a team. You know top teams, individuals don’t win games, don’t win titles. It comes down to the team coming together and working hard as one in order to compete,” said Moreno.
For the last 2 years coach Reyes has had an impact on his overall game and the team’s. As claimed by Moreno, he is one of his favorite coaches because of the knowledge and experience he has that contributes to Moreno’s improvement on the field and picking out the small details that he does not notice to work on.
“He has so much knowledge and we learn from it which is big learning from a coach like that. It adds stuff to our game that we never thought we had,” said Moreno on the importance of coach Reyes. “He has taught me a lot and sees stuff on the field that I’ve never noticed and he brings it up to me.”
As motivating as this season has been, Moreno and the team have endured obstacles amongst the squad with their egos playing a significant role but the team made sure the problem did not go unnoticed.
“Sometimes our egos get in the way but we talked about it. When we had that 2-2 tie against L.A. Mission, we talked in the locker room for about an hour and figured stuff out,” said Moreno.
Since their game against L.A. Mission, the Vikings have won three of five games.
The Vikings’ next conference game is at home against L.A. Harbor on Oct. 21 at 4 p.m.