An early goal was enough for the Lehman Lobos boys soccer team to outlast the Lake Travis Cavaliers in a wild 1-0 district win Tuesday.
With the victory, Lehman (13-3-3, 8-1-2) is now a game back of Lake Travis for first in 25-6A with four contests remaining.
Coming Up
Lehman continues district play Friday at home against Del Valle at 7:45 p.m. The Lobos travel to play rival Hays Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. at Shelton Stadium.
The first twenty minutes of the match flew by as the two squads battled to take control of the match. Despite several promising runs from both teams, the match remained scoreless.
That all changed when a foul was called on Lake Travis within the 18-yard box, resulting in a penalty kick for the Lobos. Senior Alex Mantilla aimed to the bottom right with his shot, and the Cavalier keeper guessed the same direction. However, Mantilla’s shot found its way into the net regardless, just squeezing through the keeper’s grasp. The goal put the Lobos ahead 1-0, and from there, they adjusted to a defensive game plan. The Cavaliers struggled to break through the Lobo backline and trailed 1-0 at the half.
Coming out of half, the Cavaliers came out firing. Lake Travis fired off four shots in the first ten minutes of the half.
Lehman goalkeeper Andres Martinez and the Lobo back line held strong. Martinez was dominant down the stretch, recording five of his eight total saves in the second half.
Lake Travis kept up the offensive pressure throughout the remainder of the match, but Lehman’s defensive game plan held as the Lobos kept the Cavaliers scoreless. Despite five shots in the last ten minutes from the Cavaliers, The Lobos held them off and came away with the hard fought 1-0 win. Head coach Rene Medina knew his team would respond to adversity well.
“We told the guys they needed to respond by showing their character and hard work,” Medina said. “I feel that is what they did.”
The Lobos put together a dominant defensive performance against a Lake Travis squad that scored five goals in their last match. Medina’s squad answered the challenge, and he felt his team did what they had to against a formidable opponent.
“We knew they were gonna come at us,” Medina said. “It’s a program that is used to winning. We did well.”
