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Boys soccer: Jaguars racking up goals as second half of district nears
BY JUSTIN THOMAS, jthomas@acnpapers.com
After scoring just two goals in its first three District 8-5A contests, Flower Mound's boys soccer team has seen an uptick in its offensive production over the last three, recording 11 goals en route to compiling a 2-0-1 record, including a 4-0 victory Tuesday over Plano West.
Conor Ermold, Ben Hammonds, Volney Richardson and Phillip Sinclair recorded goals for the Jaguars.
"We came out and scored very quickly," said David Doyle, Flower Mound head coach. "It was about 10 seconds into the match and then we came back and got another about five minutes later. That really got us out to a good start."
Doyle was also pleased with Flower Mound's performance on the defensive end in the shutout.
"[West] had a couple of decent scoring chances," he said. "They had one off a corner that we failed to clear and if they would have scored, it would have made it 2-1, and that would have been a little scary. But other than that, most of their shots were from distance and we didn't have to make any real tough saves."
The Jaguars have also received production from across the board.
"Everyone is going a good job," Doyle said. "Our defensive players and midfielders are doing a good job and everyone is contributing good shifts. And when we've missed a few guys with injuries, the guys off the bench have come in and stepped up. That's been good to see and we have a lot of confidence in our bench."
Flower Mound looked to stay hot Friday at Allen (results not available as of press time) before taking on Hebron and Marcus next week.
"Our next four matches are going to be huge," Doyle said. "We have the other top four teams in the standings, along with us. But the good thing is we have Marcus and Plano (Senior) at home and then we have to travel for Hebron and Allen. They're all going to be good tests and hopefully we can play consistently."
Friday's contest against the Eagles is the final match of the first half of district competition. The second half gets underway Tuesday against Hebron. Flower Mound previously lost against the Hawks Feb. 3, 2-1.
Marauders notch wins over Lewisville, Allen
With what is virtually a new roster, it has taken some time for Marcus' boys soccer team to find its rhythm.
But as the first half of District 8-5A competition concluded Friday with a match against Hebron (results not available), it seems the Marauders are hitting their stride.
Marcus (3-1-2) won a pair of matches during the past week to move into a three-way tie for first in district with Plano Senior and Allen.
One of those wins was a Feb. 17 victory over the Eagles, 1-0.
"It was a fantastic match for us," said John Gall, Marcus head coach. "Allen came in with a lot of confidence at 3-0-1 and it was a match we knew we had to win to not allow [Allen] to get too far ahead of us in the standings. We came out and played very solid and consistently throughout. And I was really pleased with the way everyone competed."
Offensively, the Marauders received a spark from Haiden Stiles.
"He's been out since the Marcus Tournament (Jan. 26-28) with an ankle injury and this was just his second match back," Gall said. "But he had a great goal on an assist from Alex Totilo, who has also been outstanding for us all year."
The Marauders also excelled on the defensive end.
"We played exceptionally," Gall said. "They didn't have a lot of chances and had no clear shots in the second half. It's a good sign, because with our youth, our guys are learning as we go and I think that bodes well with eight matches left."
Marcus was coming off a 2-1 victory Friday over Lewisville.
"It was a great win," Gall said. "We had two good goals in the first half to take control and we made it tough for Lewisville to create chances."
Tyler Mouton and Victor Villarreal posted goals for the Marauders.
Mouton got Marcus on the board early in the first half off a set piece. The ball was sent in off a corner kick and headed to the goal before being deflected out about 15 yards, where Mouton was there to drive it in for a 1-0 advantage. Hank Steinhafel also earned an assist for Marcus, feeding Villarreal, who beat a defender 1-on-1 and found the back of the net to double the margin.
"It was a fantastic goal," Gall said.
In the second half, with the wind at their back, Lewisville's offense began to pick it up.
"They had nothing to lose and really started to come after us," Gall said. "I would have liked to see us contain them a little better and they were able to score with about 15 minutes left. Fortunately we were able to hold on but it was a good test."
Kenneth Luna recorded the goal for the Farmers in the second half.
"He got the ball on the left side of the field and hit a nice, low-driven ball into the left side from about 18 yards out," said Brandon McCallum, Lewisville head coach. "It was a nice individual effort."
But Lewisville was unable to overcome the two-goal deficit.
"We had a couple of chances in the first half," McCallum said. "Brandon Hom made a nice run but just couldn't score and we also had a good chance off a header that their goalie made a nice diving save on to deflect it wide.
"But late in the first half they scored with about 17 seconds left and that was kind of a backbreaker."
The Farmers were coming off a 2-1 loss Feb. 17 against Plano and continued Friday against Plano East (results not available as of press time). Next week, Lewisville opens the second half of 8-5A play with tilts Tuesday at West and Friday against Allen.
"We're 2-4 and three of our losses have been by one goal," McCallum said. "We're doing a good job of competing. We just need to do a better job of figuring out how to win those tough games. We're struggling to score in the flow a little bit but if we figure out some of our defensive issues and finish our scoring chances better, we can get right back in it.
"West and East are two teams behind us in the standings and we need to get points for wins and build our confidence back up. I feel like we've been as good as our opponent on the field each night we played them but they are doing a better job with their chances. The guys still seem positive and hopefully we can end our little skid."
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