CLEWISTON — The Clewiston High School Tigers look to be on their way to maintaining their reputation as the best soccer program around Lake Okeechobee.

The Tigers are off to a 5-1-2 start in 2020, kicking their season off with a 7-1 blowout over the Moore Haven Terriers on Nov. 12. A key part of that win, and of Clewiston’s season overall, was senior Josue Gonzalez.

Gonzalez had a team-leading five goals against the Terriers, putting him on track to lead the Tigers once again in scoring this year.

In 2017, as a freshman, Gonzalez set the varsity record in scoring at Clewiston with 41 goals for the season.

That performance in his freshman year caught the eye of Tigers soccer coach Skip Crawford, who calls Gonzalez a rarity and says his confidence in his own shots gives him the ability to put up big numbers in games.

“He’s willing to shoot,” explained Crawford. “He’s willing to go at the goal pretty much anytime he gets close. He just thinks that way. He’ll take a lot of shots that other kids wouldn’t take, shots that’ll go through a crowd in front of the goal and get through. He’s strong, a hard worker and he’s ready to shoot from either foot. That’s what makes him different than a lot of kids in high school.”

“When he gets in the zone, he’s hard to deal with,” continued Crawford. “Teams just have trouble with him. He’s deceptively fast, really quick bursts of speed. He gets past people all the time. And usually right when he gets past someone, our kids on the bench will say, ‘Here comes a goal!’”

Clewiston followed their win over Moore Haven with a 1-1 tie to Sebring on Nov. 13, then a 3-1 win over LaBelle on Nov. 17. Then, after a tie with East Lee County and a loss to Jensen Beach, the Tigers stacked three back-to-back wins over Pine, Sebring and Lake Placid, respectively.

The Tigers play again on Dec. 18 when they travel to face Lely at 7 p.m. But their next home game won’t be until 2021, when the Tigers host Glades Day in the final game of the regular season on Jan. 20.