Hays' Taylor Herselman (left) and Lehman's Fabian Mantilla battle for position during a hard-fought 2-2 tie at soggy Shelton Stadium Friday night. Both soccer teams are tied atop the district standings with only one week remaining in the regular season. (Photo by Cyndy Slovak-Barton)
By JASON GORDON
The Hays and Lehman boys soccer coaches did everything they could to try and get ahead of the rain in the forecast Friday night.
Despite moving the game time up nearly three hours at Shelton Stadium, neither the Lobos or Rebels came away victorious. Mother Nature was the ultimate winner.
Both teams trudged their way through the downpour that plagued most of the game, and came away with a 2-2 tie.
There was even a 40-minute delay for electricity in the air late in the first half that sent fans scurrying and both teams into the locker room.
“The game was a mess,” said Lehman’s Andres Castro. “We tried to beat the rain by starting early but that didn’t do us much good.”
In a game with major playoff implications, Lehman struck first when Hector Castillon scored in the first half to give the Lobos a 1-0 lead.
That was the score when the teams were sent to the locker rooms for the weather delay. They returned to play the final four minutes of the first half, before taking another 10-minute break for halftime.
“The long weather delay killed our early momentum,” Castro said. “We were so pumped up after that first goal. Hays probably had an advantage because of the break since they were able to go in down 0-1 and talk about things.”
Hays senior captain Jake Morrison agreed with Castro.
“The weather break gave us a chance to calm down and get back into the flow of the game,” Morrison said. “We talked and decided to change our game plan a little bit and go to a 3-4-3 formation. Once we came back out of the locker room, we were
ready.”
Hays tied the score just after the second half began, on a penalty kick by Omar Rangel.
The Rebels took the lead 10 minutes later when freshman Nick Perry scored from close range, and Hays led 2-1 midway through the second half.
“We felt like we had to hold the lead and maybe get one more goal,” Morrison said. “We wanted to get first place back in the district standings.”
Unfortunately for the Rebels, despite a couple of good scoring chances that sailed over the crossbar, Lehman would get a chance to tie the game with just under three minutes left in the game.
Fernando Mercado was fouled in the penalty box and took the subsequent penalty kick. Mercado’s penalty kick went off the hand of the diving Hays goalkeeper Robert Cowan and into the back of the net, and the game would finish tied 2-2.
“It was a little bit disappointing, but I was ok with the tie because we played our best and it turned out we got back into first place,” Morrison said.
The district 49-4A race is tightly packed with five teams fighting for four playoff spots. All district teams will be taking spring break off.
Hays and Lehman seem to be in solid position headed into the final week of play. The Rebels and Lobos are tied with Cedar Creek in first place with 20 total points. The teams earn three points per district win and one point for each district tie.
Hays has games remaining with Giddings Tuesday night at home and at Cedar Creek Friday night. Lehman has only one district game remaining, Tuesday night on the road at last-place LaGrange.
“Our goal is not to just make the playoffs,” Castro said. “We’ve done that a few times now. We’d be very disappointed with the talent we have on this team to not win a playoff game for the first time in school history.”
Last season, the Lobo boys soccer team came tantalizingly close to becoming the first team in any sport to win a postseason game, before losing to Elgin in a shootout that went nine rounds deep in the bi-district playoffs.
Morrison also feels Hays has a chance to do some damage in the playoffs once the Rebs get there. Last year, Hays was 22-1-1 heading into the postseason as one of the favorites in the region to make state, but got knocked out in the area round by Vista Ridge.
“Our team has grown and gotten better all season long,” he said. “We always seem to play up to our competition and I expect that to continue in the playoffs. I think we have a very good chance to be successful once we get there.”
