Hays and Julian Salas-Porres finished off a perfect District 49-4A season with a 2-0 win over Lehman Friday night. The Rebels will play at Manor in the first round of the playoffs on March 25. Lehman will face either Elgin or Pflugerville Connally in the postseason, pending the outcome of a matchup with Bastrop Monday that determines who gets the district’s No. 2 playoff seed. (Photo by Cyndy Slovak-Barton)
by MARK CAUL
The intensity was high for a Hays-Lehman soccer game that was virtually meaningless in the district standings with the Rebels having clinched the 49-4A crown a week before and the Lobos already having secured a playoff berth of their own.
But it was still a heated rivalry game between two teams loaded with very competitive players. It ended with Hays pulling off a season sweep with a 2-0 win at Lobo Field.
It also capped a perfect 12-0 run through 49-4A for the Rebels, who improved their incredible regular season record to 21-1-1.
“What these guys have accomplished is surreal,” Hays head coach Jason Burnett said. “Having an unblemished record in district is unbelievable. These kids have accomplished so much. We’ve accomplished everything we wanted to in the regular season. Now it’s up to them what we accomplish in the playoffs.”
Hays advances to play in the first round of the playoffs at Manor on Friday, March 25, beginning at 8 p.m. Lehman fell into a second-place tie in 49-4A and is scheduled to play at Bastrop’s Memorial Stadium on Monday at 6 p.m. to see who gets the district’s second seed in the playoffs. The winner of that matchup plays Elgin in the first round of the playoffs and the loser will face Pflugerville Connally sometime between March 24-26.
Against Hays, Lehman head coach Jay Sansom said he expected a tough battle. The Lobos could have avoided the one-game playoff with Bastrop with a win or tie against the Rebels.
“Every time we play those guys it’s going to be intense because these kids know each other so well,” Sansom said. “It’s for community bragging rights so it doesn’t really matter what the records are or where the two teams are in the standings. Both teams wanted to win the game very badly.”
Hays beat Lehman for the fourth straight time, dating back to last season when the Rebels also swept the Lobos during the regular season. Lehman’s last win over Hays was a 2-0 decision in the Rebel Cup championship match last season.
Friday night, opportunities to score came few and far between.
But in the second half, Hays junior Parker Thornton finally got the Rebels on the board, taking a pass from Chase Sparks and then finding the net to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead.
Sparks sent a beautiful crossing pass to Omar Rangel who scored a few minutes later to give Hays the cushion it needed in the victory.
“They played with a lot of intensity on defense,” Sansom said. “We played well for most of the game but Hays is an outstanding team and they will go a long way in the playoffs.”
