By Josh Young.
On an unusually chilly night for March, the Leh-man Lady Lobos hosted the Bastrop Lady Bears at Lobo Field for a rematch Tuesday night. The Lady Lobos won the initial meeting between the two playoff contenders by way of an incredible goal in the final minute for a 2-1 victory. With revenge in mind, Bastrop surged past Lehman in the second half handing the Lady Lobos a disappointing 5-1 defeat.
Striking first in the opening half, the Lady Bears capitalized on a corner kick and a run by the midfielder to get her right foot on the ball and into the back of the net. The Lady Lobos answered later in the half as freshman Neftali Mercado passed wide to sophomore Alexis Sanchez, who moved inside the defender and launched a shot from 30 yards away for the tying goal.
The remainder of the half was a stalemate with the Lady Lobos taking some momentum from the Lady Bears on the strength of the Sanchez goal and the teams would go into the break with one goal each.
Lady Lobo sophomore forward Pam-ela Lasprilla takes a stab at the ball during Lehman’s Tuesday night game with the Bastrop Lady Bears. A four-goal surge from the Lady Bears proved too much, as the Lady Lobos fell 5-1. (Photo by Rafael Marquez) |
But, the second half told a different story for both squads as the Lady Bears scored on a well-placed free kick after a Lehman foul for an early 2-1 lead. Only one minute later, a Bastrop forward was able to get behind the Lehman defense and slide an uncontested shot past the Lehman keeper for a surprising 3-1 lead. The Lady Lobos could not find a way to push through the back line of the Lady Bears as they managed only 3 shots on the night.
Bastrop continued scoring with 14 minutes left and then again only a minute later to take a 5-1 advantage, sending the Lady Lobos to only their third defeat in district play.
Lehman head coach Nauri Garcia commented after the game on his team’s momentary lapses in the second half and how the team can move forward after this tough loss.
“We really only lost our focus for a few minutes in the second half and they took advantage for several goals,” he said. “From here, we just have to put this [game] behind us and move on, refocus on a new opponent.”
With the Lady Lobos still in the thick of a playoff race and holding onto second place in the district, they still have a great chance to help themselves on Friday night back at Lobo Field against Giddings. Both the boys and girls varsity soccer teams will be at home that night, with hopes of a packed house as they prepare for another playoff run.
