Lehman’s Jose Rangel scored the first goal of the half with a shot in the 25th minute to jumpstart the Lobos as they used a strong second half to throttle LaGrange 5-0 and pick up an important district win Friday night. (photo by Dominic Martinez)
by MARK CAUL
Fifteen minutes into their game with LaGrange, the second-place Lehman Lobos boys soccer team seemed determined to put their loss to rival Hays behind them and get back on track.
Unfortunately, the net seemed as though it had a few sheets of plywood in front of it as the Lobos dominated the Leopards but had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard.
Lehman’s Jose Rangel eventually scored the first goal of the half with a shot in the 25th minute to jumpstart the Lobos as they used a strong second half to throttle LaGrange 5-0 and pick up an important district win.
Although Lehman held a sizable advantage in shots on goal, the Leopards managed to keep the Lobos out of the scoring column for much of the first half.
“We had to come out with the idea that Hays was just another game,” Lehman head coach Jay Sansom said. “We had to come out and try to rebound because every game is important to us from now on.”
Rangel’s goal seemed to ignite the Lobos, who also saw senior Riley Higgins find the net only five minutes into the second half for a 2-0 Lehman lead. Midway through the second half, Higgins scored again after taking an assist from Richard Porche and Lehman stretched its lead to 3-0.
Christian Sepulveda and Oscar Martinez both closed out the scoring in the final nine minutes of the game.
Pepito Martinez, Hector Rodriguez and Porche all had assists in the win for Lehman, which improved to 5-1-1 in District 49-4A.
Lehman goalkeepers Al Ruiz and Andres Castro combined for the team’s fourth shutout of season to keep the Lobos in second place in district play behind undefeated Hays and just ahead of Bastrop.
Lehman is home to Smithville and then will travel to Bastrop on Friday night. A win over Bastrop would help solidify a playoff berth for the Lobos. Lehman returns home next Tuesday to play Lockhart, a team that tied the Lobos in their previous matchup. Each contest is scheduled to begin at 7:45 p.m.
“We want our kids to understand that we still can accomplish our goals,” Sansom said. “We just have to focus on what needs to be done and concentrate on the next two matches at hand. Smithville and Bastrop both gave us all we wanted the last time we played them.”
