TIJUANA.- Next Sunday, Xoloitzcuintles will try to earn their pass to the playoffs of the mexican soccer league when they welcome UNAM's Pumas at noon in the Caliente Stadium.
Tijuana will be back at the timing that was their usual spot but hasn't been good for results, at least in this league.
Under the sun of noon, Xolos haven't been able to win on their stadium and since getting into the highest league; they have been defeated twice, and gained five ties.
On this tournament, Tijuana has had two encounters at this time of day, one with Santos with a final score of 3-1 in the fourth date and a tie when they faced Cruz Azul on the sixth date.
Even with that in mind, the players are calmed, that's what they showed at the practice of last Tuesday at the Centro de Iniciación Xoloiztcuintle CIX (their school of soccer).
Joe Corona , the red and black mid fielder mentioned that for now, making a good game on the match with Pumas was the first thing on his mind because even if the other team couldn't get into the payoffs anymore, they were going to try to win.
The National City resident doesn't know what's wrong with the hour, "The heat, the field, the physical challenge could be involved but I have faith in my teammates, we are going to win this Sunday, we have good rhythm, we want to leave everything on the field".
Also, the defense Joshua Ábrego considers the team has to take the advantage on being home.
"We are doing our biggest effort, it's going to be sunny, the heat will be for both sides, but we are used to it, I hope we can get advantage" he added.
Along with Atlas, Xolos have the best defense of the tournament and they only allowed 10 goals on 16 dates, something that makes Ábrego happy even do he thinks is part of the team's work.
On the positive side, by the day and time of the game, Xolos will know the scores od Jaguares and
Pachuca, the teams that could steal the last spot on the payoffs.
Depending on what those other two teams do, Xoloitzcuintles could be in the playoffs before the game, if that's not the case, they just need a tie to classify.
This morning, the club's directors announced on their official twitter account an open practice on Friday for every person that has a seasonal pass, the Xolopass.
It will begin at four in the afternoon and they expect a good response from the fans of both sides of the border. Since the beginning of this tournament, 90% of the available seats were bought with the Xolopass.
Tijuana stands on the sixth position of the tournament with seven victories, six ties and three defeats with a total of 27 points.
alexandra.mendoza@sandiegored.com
Original Text : Alexandra Mendoza
Translation: Brenda Colón
