JON ARNOLD — Playing in the first Primera Division match in club history, Club Tijuana was on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline after 13 minutes, searching for their first goal.
That goal would come just before the halftime break when Joe Corona, a 21-year-old American winger, knocked the ball past Monarcas keeper Federico Vilar and into the net after Vilar saved a blast from one of Corona’s teammates but left the rebound for Corona’s taking.
The crowd at Estadio Caliente erupted in cheers, surging forward in the stands to get a closer look as Corona and his teammates celebrated the historic goal on the field.
“It was a great feeling, something you can’t describe with words,” Corona said via Facebook. “It was a great time, before the half, because we knew it would bring confidence levels up for the second half.”
The goal came after Los Xolos won a free kick, which was knocked short to the left for the long shot.
“It wasn’t a planned set piece,” said Corona, who went the full 90 minutes as a right midfielder. “When the shot was coming, I noticed there was a big chance for a rebound.”
The lead wouldn’t hold, as Tijuana conceded a penalty in the second half that Morelia’s Miguel Sabah was able to convert for a 2-1 away victory.
Though it wasn’t the dream result the debutants had hoped for, Corona said there were positives to be taken from the match as the team embarks on a quest to stay in the top division and begin to build the foundation of a club that could become a fixture in FMF’s top division.
“Yeah, of course we wanted to win, but now we have to think in the next game,” he said, adding the team is becoming more and more familiar with each other on the field.
And Corona is expecting big things on an individual level as well, saying that getting his name on the scoresheet will allow him to “take that confidence that I felt for the upcoming games to be a more aggressive player.”
Corona, who is yet to be capped by the USMNT and is also eligible for the Mexican and Salvadoran national sides, said having his name forever etched in the newly promoted club’s history is “something to be really proud of,” since he got his start as a professional with Tijuana.
The young midfielder, who said he prefers being called Joe Corona to Joe Benny Corona, Joey Corona or any other combination of names you may have heard, played a season at San Diego State before crossing from California to Baja California in 2009 to play with Xolos’ youth club. His strong performances there earned him a full slate with the first team last season and continued work has him likely to continue making the first eleven on a regular basis.
The club itself, also known as The Aztec Dogs in addition to their Xolos moniker (short for Xoloitzcuintles, but we’ll probably avoid dropping that one too frequently), was founded just four years ago and has been tipped by some Mexican soccer analysts as prime candidates to avoid the drop this season.
But it could be a rocky start for the club with a rough stretch of schedule looming as they search for the first points at the top level. Their next three matches all come against Mexican powers, with a home match against Chivas sandwiched between trips to face Monterrey and Santos.
Corona’s goal (along with other highlights) embedded below. Start time for the Corona mark is 1:16: