By Joshua McKinney

If the Hays Lady Rebels were exhausted from playing a second game in two days, it wasn’t noticeable Tuesday.
Rallying from a two-goal deficit, the Lady Rebels had a chance to tie their game with the Lake Travis Cavaliers in the final seconds. But Lake Travis held on to claim a 3-2 win on senior night at Shelton Stadium.
Hays head coach Brent Holcomb wanted the win against Lake Travis but thought the result was close to a win under the circumstances.
“This is one of the hardest fought games we’ve ever played,” Holcomb said. “We had to play last night, so to come out here and be as gutsy as they were is a real testament to them.”
The Lady Rebels willed their way through the second half while fighting fatigue and a pair of two-goal deficits in the second half. This despite playing two games on consecutive days; Hays fell to Austin High 3-1 one day earlier.
According to Alexis Cowher, Tuesday’s game held importance, as it was the final home game of the year.
“I definitely think we picked it up throughout the game,” Fowler said. “We gave it our all and we wanted it. It was unfortunate that we didn’t get the result we wanted.
Hays went down 2-0 after conceding lightning quick goals within the first two minutes of each half.
Down but not out, the Lady Rebels immediately pressed Lake Travis, finding holes in the midfield and defense.
Kathryn Salmeron cut the Cavs lead to one goal at the 43rd minute. Salmeron disposed of a Cavalier midfielder around the 40-yard mark in Hays’ attacking half. She used agility and swift feet to break through Lake Travis’ backline to strike the ball just outside the reach of the goalkeeper.
But Lake Travis added another goal at 47 minutes to take a 3-1 lead. It only encouraged the Lady Rebels to press even harder.
Hays’ attacking quartet began pressing Lake Travis with speed and technical ability. Their aggressive approach led to three offside calls in three minutes but led to several chances.
Kayla Humphries drew a foul in the box to earn the Lady Rebels a penalty kick in the 65th minute. Humphries converted the opportunity to put her team within a goal with 17 minutes left in the game.
Hays had a chance to tie the match on a corner kick in the final minute of play. However, Lake Travis knocked the ball out of bounds.
Cowher scrambled to get the ball in order to take another shot from the corner but couldn’t get it off in time.
Hays plays again on Saturday against Austin Bowie. The game starts at 10:45 a.m.