With a bright future in volleyball, Gomez was hesitant to return to the soccer team for his senior year.

It turns out he has something left to give in the sport he grew up playing in Venezuela.

A late-season uptick in production has him atop Manteca’s scoring list, as Gomez netted eight goals in the last three games.

It took some convincing from coach James Burns to get Gomez back.

Not only did Gomez want to have fresh legs for volleyball in the spring, but he was also recovering from a hand injury sustained during club play.

“Rehab with the injury coupled with his own apprehension led to a slow start for him, and he wasn’t playing much,” Burns said. “Then he committed himself to early gym workouts maybe 2-3 weeks ago. He came to me and said, ‘I can give you more,’ and from that point forward he has been our best finisher. His minutes have gone up, his opportunities have gone up and so has our level of play as a team.”

Gomez’s torrid run started on Jan. 27 against visiting rival Sierra, which previously had its way with the Buffaloes, 3-0. In the rematch, Manteca gave the postseason-bound Timberwolves all they could handle but came up short, 3-2. Gomez accounted for both of Manteca’s goals.

“It’s my last year, and I wanted to go all out at the end,” Gomez said. “I have two broken fingers, but with the rivalry games coming up, I knew that even though I couldn’t play volleyball, I don’t’ need my hand to play soccer. It just lined up perfectly, so I told (Burns) I wanted to make one more push, and it feels awesome that I’ve been able to.”

Last Monday, Feb. 2, he amassed five goals in a 6-0 win at Central Catholic. He added one more three days later, as the Buffs rolled past Mountain House 3-0 on senior night.

“He could have had a hat trick against Mountain House,” Burns said. “He was all over the frame, just a bit unlucky, but he got the first goal that set the table for us. It was probably our most complete effort of the season.”

Gomez leads Manteca with 10 goals, scoring his first two in early December.

At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, Gomez profiles as the ideal target striker that the Buffaloes have been needing the past couple years. Burns had always seen the potential in him and is glad to finally see it realized.

“I think he’s good on the ball, he has a big body, can finish in the air and finish from range,” Burns said. “If he can’t fly up and down the pitch, we can play the ball into him in a 25-by-25 space and let him play quarterback. What we saw the last week or so is that he also has the ability to run by people.

“It’s a credit to his personal drive and hunger. He has the hot hand, now it’s about how can we feed him.”

Gomez aspires to play volleyball in college and has a growing list of options of where he can take his talents, but he’s grateful to have had the chance to bid a proper farewell to soccer.

“It’s like a last goodbye and great way to end my soccer career,” he said. “Hopefully, we can keep playing and make the playoffs, but if not, I know that I gave it my all in the last few weeks of my senior season. It’s been awesome, and it makes it all worth it.”