By Cyndy Slovak-Barton.
Sticking to the game plan and pressing the Hutto Hippos was key to the Hays High girls soccer team’s 5-0 shutout Tuesday in the first round of playoffs.
The Lady Rebels stepped onto the field ready to play, and Hays head coach Brent Holcomb said he was proud of the results.
“Our strategy? We scouted them and we knew we had to press every ball,” he said. “We pressed them hard from the very start.”
The Lady Rebels dominated play, keeping the ball moving to open spots and moving around the Lady Hippo defenders.
“I’m really happy with how we finished,” Holcomb said. “Our linking plays have gotten much better.”
The coach said that knowing where their teammates were on the field and making one-touch passes helped set the pace of the game.
Holcomb said at one point in the game, the Lady Rebels had made a play with six consecutive one-touch passes as they moved the ball against the Hippos.
Just minutes into the game, Hays’ Mila Bustos drove a ball into the back of the net after several shots on goal by the Lady Rebels. As the Rebels pressed forward, the Hippos seemed to give way, allowing shot after shot.
Then Hays really caught fire, as Kat Salmeron scored at the 24:51 mark, and Bustos scored again at the 21:15 mark, giving Hays a 3-0 lead. The ball rarely slipped into the Hippos’ half of the field as the Lady Rebels kept on pushing.
Hutto’s first really close shot on goal game after Hays hit the 3-0 mark, but that attempt was deflected by Hays keeper Cortney Limmer with an easy grab.
The next two goals – all of Hays’ scores came in the first half – were made with “assists” by Hutto players.
At the 2:21 mark in the first half, a pass among Hays players ended up in a score as a misdirected defensive header by a Hutto player put Kayla Humphries in perfect scoring position. Hays led 4-0.
The final score of the game, at the 1:51 mark in the first half, went to Bustos. The Lady Rebel was running hard at the Hippos goal, dribbling through traffic and pushing past the Hutto defense. But a goal line misstep by a Lady Hippo sent the ball rolling into the Hays goal – the Rebels got the score in what is called an “own goal.” Since Bustos was the last Hays player to touch the ball, she got credit for the score.
In the second half, Hays players were moved in and out of the field, with the Lady Rebels putting on the pressure with a lot of forward passing between Humphries and Bustos, keeping the Hippo keeper off kilter.
The first real spark by Hutto came at 23:01 in the second half as the Hippos took several shots on goal, but every try was stopped dead by Hays keeper Yuvi Duque.
The Hippos were never able to get a ball across Hays’ well-defended goal.
Holcomb said he was happy with the outcome, knowing Hutto comes from a tough district.
“It’s pretty nice to come to someone else’s home field and win,” he said.
Hays’ Mercedes Gilmore said the team would be ready for its next match.
“We have been trying to work on our moves and transitions as a team,” she said. “The next round will be a good challenge and we’ll come ready to play.”
Kristina Loza-Garcia said she thought the win would boost Hays’ confidence going into the next round.
“We know where we stand against other teams,” she said.
Other players agreed.
“We were confident going in,” Victoria Ratliff said. “This is really exciting.”
Hays plays Cedar Park next; game time to be announced soon.
At top: Hays’ Mila Bustos collides with Hutto’s Sarah Bednarz in a header battle during the Lady Rebels’ win Tuesday night. Bustos was credited with three goals in the 5-0 defeat of Hutto, with the last coming off an own-goal by the Lady Hippos. Hays plays Cedar Park in the next round of playoffs. (Photo by Cyndy Slovak-Barton)
