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View Full Version : Gainesville Soccer Moves into first after beating Whitchita Falls Rider



Keith7
02-17-2005, 08:46 PM
Is there any other 3A soccer team leading their 4A district??
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GHS soccer beats Rider, moves into first place

Leopards win 1-0 over Raiders

By JIM OTTS

Register Correspondent

A set play goal three minutes into the second half led the Gainesville Leopards to a 1-0 victory over the visiting Wichita Falls Rider Raiders, giving the Cats sole possession of first place in District 5-AAAA.

Steven Arenas leapt high at the back post and used a header to redirect a long throw from Sergio Rodriguez toward the center of the Raider net beyond the outstretched hands of Raider keeper Corey French.

That shot was the first of only two the Leopards took in the second half and broke open what had been an eventful stalemate.

Coaches for both might have been reading the same scouting reports prior to Tuesday's showdown since both teams seemed to have the same game plan.

Rider played high balls to their offensive left trying to get speedy attacker Ryan Sadler in the open space behind Gainesville defender Tim Cochran while, on the opposite end, the Leopards lofted balls toward the left touch line behind Raider defender Gilbert Youngblood for Rodriguez to run onto.

Cochran stood his ground, as did Youngblood, and the match went to the intermission deadlocked.

The attack, counter attack, long ball game showcased the league's best two defenses and it appeared the team that won would be the one in better position to take advantage of a mistake or the one that could capitalize on an adjustment.

"I was really glad to see Steven (Arenas) get that goal," Leopard coach Daniel Lundy said. "He does not score a lot of goals or get a lot of assists sometimes, but he is such a force in the middle that he makes it possible for others to have opportunities."

Rider made an early second-half adjustment by sending Sadler on more of a diagonal run toward the central area, trying to draw Cochran inside. That gave more outside space for the left midfielder and central striker to utilize, but Leopard midfielder Casey Martin and sweeper Juan Baltazar rotated to provide cover.

The visitors took 15 shots in the second half but most were free kicks near midfield or flicked headers following long throws from the touch line.

Leopard defenders, protecting a slim lead, packed into the penalty and goalkeeper areas and contented themselves with clearances across the touch lines. That provided plenty of throw-in opportunities for the Raiders.

The Cats got a little relief and ran off some of the second half clock with dribbling runs forward by Juan Franco and Martin and an occasional outlet pass to Milo Puente. Puente connected with fellow forward Brad Seatherton on a crossing play that gave the Leopards a good scoring chance but Raider defenders retreated in time to thwart the effort.

Rider fired off a half-dozen scoring attempts in the waning moments, many which were fielded by Gainesville keeper Bobby LaSalle, who finished the night with 15 saves, and others that were won and then cleared by Baltazar, who let nothing past him.

Josh Smith, filling in at stopper for Caylin Runnels, and fullback Kolby Kuykendall also helped the Leopards control the defensive area. Runnels had to take care of some personal business elsewhere. The Leopards were also minus senior defender Mat Bastian who was battling flu symptoms.

"I think that might have been the longest 30 minutes I have had to suffer through," Lundy said.

The Leopards (11-2-2, 4-0) take control of the conference race with eight championship points and Rider (11-4-1, 3-1) drops to second with six points.

The Sherman Bearcats (6-8, 2-2) were idle Tuesday and remain in third place with four points. Denison's Yellowjackets (9-7, 2-3) also have four points and a better overall record than Sherman, but they have one more conference loss thanks to a 1-0 upset at the hands of Burkburnett Tuesday. Sherman also won the first head-to-head meeting with the Jackets.

Burkburnett (3-9-1, 1-2-1) moves into fifth a few percentage points ahead of Wichita Falls High (8-7-1, 1-3-1) which got its first conference victory on a 2-0 decision over Wichita Falls Hirschi on Tuesday.

Hirschi (7-8-1, 1-3) is next for the Leopards. Gainesville travels to Wichita Falls Friday to face the Huskies in a 7 p.m. outing at McNeil Field, the natural grass arena across the parking lot from the WFISD's large Memorial Stadium facility.

The Spotted Cats wrap up first round action next Tuesday with a road trip to Sherman.

"We just need to take care of business," Lundy said. "It feels really good to be in first place and we want to stay here."

The Cats might be without Arenas for the weekend. The midfielder suffered a blow to his right shin and had to be helped off the pitch with a little more than three minutes remaining. The injury is listed as a deep bruise and puts Arenas on the doubtful list.

VWG
02-17-2005, 09:25 PM
OK... first off I never respond to a soccer thread, but I gotta give it up to Gainesville. WF Rider has a solid high school soccer program. Nice win.

KTJ
02-17-2005, 11:23 PM
Way to go Leopards. Keep it up.

I believe Gainesville was the first 3A school to ever field a soccer team. Or was that Lake Dallas?

Keith7
02-17-2005, 11:32 PM
And yes to all the people who noticed in the title i spelled Wichita wrong... That is a tricky little word

PhiI C
02-17-2005, 11:59 PM
Congratulations to both teams on a well played game. Thanks for the update!