He’s reaching a milestone that is very rarely attained in local high school boys’ soccer. But when he finds the net on his next goal, Dickinson’s brilliant senior Maxi Garcia will have scored the 100th goal of his high school career, quite an extraordinary feat.
There was a time in Garcia’s life where the thought of reaching such a historic milestone would have been merely a pipe dream.
Garcia began his high school days at North Bergen High School and he scored seven goals there as a freshman, but the family moved to Jersey City, so he had to enroll at Dickinson as a sophomore.
A native of Argentina who came to the United States at age 10, Garcia wondered if he was ever going to get the opportunity to be a standout soccer player.
“At first, it was hard for me to leave North Bergen,” Garcia said. “I didn’t know what to expect at Dickinson.”
But Garcia soon found out that the transfer to Dickinson was perhaps a god-send.
“I really got into the soccer team at Dickinson,” Garcia said. “Everything became better for me. It was what I always hoped for.”
For the last three seasons, Garcia has been a dominant force for the Rams, scoring at will. After all, he was named as The Hudson Reporter Offensive Player of the Year a year ago, tallying a county-best 28 goals and dishing off for 12 assists.
But this season, Garcia has taken his game to an entirely new dimension, becoming a complete offensive powerhouse, scoring goals at will. His play has also elevated the Rams to new heights, as the hottest team in Hudson County soccer, winning eight straight contests.
Over that stretch, Garcia has been totally on fire. He has scored multiple goals against the best teams in the area. He had an astonishing four-goal outburst against Kearny, ranked No. 9 in the state at the time. Garcia has also enjoyed three-goal hat trick performances against St. Peter’s Prep, Memorial and Union City. He had two goals against Memorial. The Rams keep on beating all the top teams and Garcia keeps on scoring.
For the season, Garcia has 25 goals in just 13 games, leading the Rams to a 10-3 mark, but more importantly, the eight-game winning streak.
For his efforts, Garcia has been selected as The Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week for the past week.
When asked how well his star player is doing, Dickinson head coach Rene Portillo had only one statement.
“Oh, my goodness,” Portillo exclaimed. “The things Maxi is doing, you just can’t coach. I don’t think we’ll ever see a player like this around here for the next 10, maybe 15 years. Maybe ever. He’s a natural talent. Other teams prepare to try to stop Maxi and he just keeps finding a way to get it done. At the end of the day, it’s just his incredible God-given talent.
Added Portillo, “Maxi is on the verge of making history and it’s so fitting for him, because he had a rough start. When he came here from North Bergen, he had ankle and knee injuries, but he just kept working. I just knew that he was a special talent. I knew he was going to be something truly special. He’s now matured into such a great player and taken everything to another level.”
What makes Garcia’s goal explosion even more remarkable is that he plays center midfield. Usually, when a player collects goals like one collects baseball cards, it comes from the striker position. Garcia is getting his goals from the middle of the field.
“We put him in the middle so he can have more room to play and control the pace more,” Portillo said. “But he’s good in the air and comes up to get his head on the ball. He also can score from long distance, some 25 or 30 yards. Some of his goals come that way. He also plays well without the ball and is able to capitalize and finish so well when he gets the ball. That’s what makes him so special.”
Garcia knew that he had to make a change after the Rams lost three straight games earlier this season.
“I knew that I had to push it up a little, get everyone going,” Garcia said. “We had some really tough matches against some big teams and we had to do something. I just knew good things were going to happen. We just keep trying our best, both in practice and in games. Then, when it comes to game time, we’re showing what we can do. We’re doing it all together.”
Garcia said that he’s not looking to score goals, just create more scoring chances.
“It doesn’t really matter if I’m the one getting the goals,” Garcia said. “I’m just working for my team. I’m not working for myself.”
Garcia tried to downplay the upcoming milestone.
“I know it’s big,” Garcia said. “I know no Dickinson player has ever reached 100 [goals]. As we were going home the other day, I mentioned to my coach and said, `Well, I guess it’s one more away.’ He said that I have more than just one more coming.”
“It’s just an incredible run,” Portillo said. “I’m amazed. He was coming off a great season, so I was expecting maybe the same. But he’s even better. What he’s doing is beyond what I could have imagined. We’re playing the tougher teams and he keeps going. We’re playing real well and that’s what makes it even more special.”
Portillo said that Garcia is an excellent student, with a B-average, so he would qualify to play college soccer right away.
“He understands that the academics have to come with the athletics,” Portillo said. “He knew he needed to have the good grades if he wanted to play at a big school.”
“Things are going so right for me right now,” Garcia said. “I know that if I did well in school, there was always going to be a way for me to play in college. That’s always been a goal, playing at the next level.”
And perhaps playing for a championship later this season.
“Soccer has always been such a big part of my life,” Garcia said. “I’m happy where I’m at right now.”
–Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.