As January winds down, both Mission Bay High soccer teams have their eyes on the prize, a trip to the CIF playoffs. Girls soccer On the girls side, head coach Jorge Palacios had his team entering play this week with a record of 14-2-1, something he noted was a really great start for a young team. “We have five seniors, two juniors, three sophomores, and nine freshmen on the varsity team,” Palacios commented. “Our goals are to win our league title and a CIF title, represent our school well, learn and grow as players, people, and teammates, and have a lot of fun.” According to Palacios, Diana Suarez is a standout senior as the team’s starting central midfielder and one of its captains. The Bucs have two other strong senior captains in Lindsey Price and Kylie Kroeger, who are both three-sport athletes. Palacios noted the team has been bolstered by the addition of a number of talented freshmen including Jeryn Young, Malaya Sharpe, Andrea Clemente, and Lina Rodriguez, who leads the team in goals scored. “We had a strong start to our City League season with an exciting last-second win over Mira Mesa 4-3 (earlier this month),” Palacios added. Boys soccer On the boys side, head coach Joe Panian’s team came into the week with a mark of 3-6 (1-0 in league play). According to Panian, senior Efrain Senties has been controlling the midfield, sophomore Enrique Moreno is the team’s playmaker, while senior Luis Rosas and freshman Alec Plotegher are the goal scorers, respectively. “The team has shown an ability to be explosive and score goals during the season,” Panian commented. “If the team finds consistency with their defensive play and balance between offense and defense, we will have a successful team by the end of the season.” Panian added that his goals for the team still stand at his pre-season outlook, which is win the league and make it deep into the CIF finals.