Keith7
01-13-2004, 02:23 AM
I know 3Afan2k3 was askin about 3A soccer programs, well here is a story of our team's last tournament
The Gainesville Leopards battled into the championship round and
twice led the L.D. Bell Raiders, but fell 4-2 on late set piece goals and
settled for the second place trophy in the Crowley Independent School
District invitational soccer tournament.
The Leopards led 2-1 with 23 minutes remaining Saturday, but gave up a goal
on a corner kick in the match's 67th minute and another during a throw-in in
the 76th minute to fall behind 3-2.
The Raiders got insurance from winger Logan Thibodeaux with 39 seconds left
on a counter attack goal while the Leopards were pushing forward in an
attempt to equalize.
"I am extremely pleased with the way the team performed in this
tournament," coach Daniel Lundy said. "We came here to play against some
tough teams so we could see how we needed to improve and second place
against teams of this caliber is not bad."
The Raiders, from District 5A-5, knocked off Trimble Tech 16-1 on Thursday
and Crowley 4-2 Friday to gain the other berth in the championship match.
Gainesville, a class 3A school assigned to District 4A-4 for soccer,
defeated Brownwood 5-2 on Friday night. The Reds then squeaked by North
Crowley 1-0 in the Saturday morning semifinal before returning to the
evening final.
Both championship squads fielded teams featuring good defenses, exceptional
overall speed and several quality ball handlers. As usual in such battles,
success befalls the team that gets more breaks or makes fewer mistakes.
Five of the six goals came on set pieces rather than through the run of
play.
Omar Ochoa scored both Leopard goals. The first, in the game's 28th
minute, was a well-placed penalty kick blasted into the lower left corner of
the Raider net.
Bell equalized on a corner kick with 3:16 left in the first half. Bryan
Odom booted the ball to the back post where Paul McHugh headed it downward
beneath diving Gainesville keeper Josh Swirczynski.
Ochoa got another PK chance 17 minutes into the second stanza and again
chose to drive the ball low and to his left. Raider keeper Jonathon Whitley
guessed correctly and made a spectacular diving save, but the ball bounded
from his hands and back to Ochoa. Ochoa made the most of his second shot.
Bell tied the bout 2-2 on a chip shot by Aaron Chibli following a corner
kick serve from Matt Ashmead and a throw-in from Ashmead to the center of
the GHS goal area was flicked on by Mohamed Sesay to put the Raiders up 3-2.
"We obviously have some work to do in defending corner kicks," Lundy said.
Lundy made a calculated move that paid instant dividends in the morning
semifinal.
The coach moved Juan Baltazar, a starting central defensive back, into a
forward position early in the 16th minute and Baltazar took a pass from
Ochoa and found cotton the first time he touched the ball.
"Juan is just so fast and I don't think North Crowley was ready for that
sudden change of pace," Ochoa said.
The Leopard defense made the one-goal lead stand, but not without some
controversy.
North Crowley took a shot late in the bout that Swirczynski struggled with
in front of the Leopard goal. A Panther attacker kicked the ball from
beneath the Cat netminder, but the referee disallowed the apparent goal.
"The referee ruled that Josh had the ball in his possession and that the
North Crowley player had kicked it out of his hand," Lundy explained.
North Crowley defeated their archrival, the Crowley Eagles, 1-0 in the
battle for third place.
Leopard midfielder Sergio Rodriguez, Ochoa, a forward, and defensive
fullback Baltazar were named to the all-tournament team at Crowley.
The Leopards have no game scheduled Tuesday, but should see plenty of
action Thursday through Saturday in the Birdville Tournament. In the
varsity division the Leopards play Grand Prairie at 11 a.m. Thursday at
Birdville High School and then meet The Colony at 8 p.m. Thursday at the
Birdville Athletic Complex.
Friday the Reds meet Burleson at 12:30 p.m., also at the Birdville Athletic
Complex.
The Leopards also play at least one game, and possibly two, on Saturday
depending on how they fare during the round robin competition. Those times
are to be announced.
The Gainesville Leopards began the 2004 soccer season on an
upswing Friday with a 5-2 shelling of the Brownwood Lions in the first round
of the Crowley ISD tournament.
The Spotted Cats dominated the run of play early, taking five shots on the
Lion goal and maintaining possession in the Brownwood end of the pitch, but
the Lions got on the scoreboard first in the match's 10th minute.
Brownwood's T.J. Green won the battle for a 50-50 ball and tapped it behind
the GHS defensive wall for a back-post shot the first time the Lions were
able to claim the ball past the midfield stripe.
Omar Ochoa equalized for Gainesville two minutes later by redirecting a
long throw-in netward and the senior forward was instrumental in the
following three Leopard tallies.
With four minutes remaining in the first half Ochoa battled through a crowd
of Lion defenders to keep the ball alive in front of the Brownwood goal,
then tapped it back to Sergio Rodriguez for a low shot into the corner.
Two minutes into the second half defender Tim Cochran intercepted a
Brownwood pass and played the ball along the right touchline for Steven
Arenas. Arenas took the ball deep and then crossed to Ochoa, who had found
enough space in the middle for a clear shot beyond the diving keeper.
Brad Seatherton scored the fourth Leopard goal after receiving a through
ball from Ochoa. He tapped it past a pair of converging Lion defenders and
then chipped it over the keeper's head for the 4-1 cushion in the 49th
minute.
Brownwood managed to cut the margin with a free kick from George Ruiz to
the head of Mason Ellis at the back post. His redirection in the 52nd
minute sailed over the head of GHS netminder Josh Swirczynski.
Kolby Kuykendall sent a scorching shot goalward in the 58th minute and the
ball went through the hands of Brownwood keeper Brad Raschke into the net.
The victory put the Leopards into the second round where they were to face
the host North Crowley High School Panthers Saturday morning. North Crowley
had an easy trip into the second round when Trinity Valley High School
withdrew from the tournament at the last moment and NCHS played its own
junior varsity. The varsity Panthers whipped the JV Panthers 9-0.
In other first round action L.D. Bell trounced Trimble Tech 16-1 and
Crowley High School squeaked past Fort Worth Northside 3-2.
L.D. Bell and Crowley were to face each other in the other winner's bracket
semifinal game and the winner was to face the winner of the NCHS-Gainesville
game in the championship bout while the two semifinal losers were to meet in
a battle for third place.
<small>[ January 13, 2004, 01:24 AM: Message edited by: Keith7 ]</small>
The Gainesville Leopards battled into the championship round and
twice led the L.D. Bell Raiders, but fell 4-2 on late set piece goals and
settled for the second place trophy in the Crowley Independent School
District invitational soccer tournament.
The Leopards led 2-1 with 23 minutes remaining Saturday, but gave up a goal
on a corner kick in the match's 67th minute and another during a throw-in in
the 76th minute to fall behind 3-2.
The Raiders got insurance from winger Logan Thibodeaux with 39 seconds left
on a counter attack goal while the Leopards were pushing forward in an
attempt to equalize.
"I am extremely pleased with the way the team performed in this
tournament," coach Daniel Lundy said. "We came here to play against some
tough teams so we could see how we needed to improve and second place
against teams of this caliber is not bad."
The Raiders, from District 5A-5, knocked off Trimble Tech 16-1 on Thursday
and Crowley 4-2 Friday to gain the other berth in the championship match.
Gainesville, a class 3A school assigned to District 4A-4 for soccer,
defeated Brownwood 5-2 on Friday night. The Reds then squeaked by North
Crowley 1-0 in the Saturday morning semifinal before returning to the
evening final.
Both championship squads fielded teams featuring good defenses, exceptional
overall speed and several quality ball handlers. As usual in such battles,
success befalls the team that gets more breaks or makes fewer mistakes.
Five of the six goals came on set pieces rather than through the run of
play.
Omar Ochoa scored both Leopard goals. The first, in the game's 28th
minute, was a well-placed penalty kick blasted into the lower left corner of
the Raider net.
Bell equalized on a corner kick with 3:16 left in the first half. Bryan
Odom booted the ball to the back post where Paul McHugh headed it downward
beneath diving Gainesville keeper Josh Swirczynski.
Ochoa got another PK chance 17 minutes into the second stanza and again
chose to drive the ball low and to his left. Raider keeper Jonathon Whitley
guessed correctly and made a spectacular diving save, but the ball bounded
from his hands and back to Ochoa. Ochoa made the most of his second shot.
Bell tied the bout 2-2 on a chip shot by Aaron Chibli following a corner
kick serve from Matt Ashmead and a throw-in from Ashmead to the center of
the GHS goal area was flicked on by Mohamed Sesay to put the Raiders up 3-2.
"We obviously have some work to do in defending corner kicks," Lundy said.
Lundy made a calculated move that paid instant dividends in the morning
semifinal.
The coach moved Juan Baltazar, a starting central defensive back, into a
forward position early in the 16th minute and Baltazar took a pass from
Ochoa and found cotton the first time he touched the ball.
"Juan is just so fast and I don't think North Crowley was ready for that
sudden change of pace," Ochoa said.
The Leopard defense made the one-goal lead stand, but not without some
controversy.
North Crowley took a shot late in the bout that Swirczynski struggled with
in front of the Leopard goal. A Panther attacker kicked the ball from
beneath the Cat netminder, but the referee disallowed the apparent goal.
"The referee ruled that Josh had the ball in his possession and that the
North Crowley player had kicked it out of his hand," Lundy explained.
North Crowley defeated their archrival, the Crowley Eagles, 1-0 in the
battle for third place.
Leopard midfielder Sergio Rodriguez, Ochoa, a forward, and defensive
fullback Baltazar were named to the all-tournament team at Crowley.
The Leopards have no game scheduled Tuesday, but should see plenty of
action Thursday through Saturday in the Birdville Tournament. In the
varsity division the Leopards play Grand Prairie at 11 a.m. Thursday at
Birdville High School and then meet The Colony at 8 p.m. Thursday at the
Birdville Athletic Complex.
Friday the Reds meet Burleson at 12:30 p.m., also at the Birdville Athletic
Complex.
The Leopards also play at least one game, and possibly two, on Saturday
depending on how they fare during the round robin competition. Those times
are to be announced.
The Gainesville Leopards began the 2004 soccer season on an
upswing Friday with a 5-2 shelling of the Brownwood Lions in the first round
of the Crowley ISD tournament.
The Spotted Cats dominated the run of play early, taking five shots on the
Lion goal and maintaining possession in the Brownwood end of the pitch, but
the Lions got on the scoreboard first in the match's 10th minute.
Brownwood's T.J. Green won the battle for a 50-50 ball and tapped it behind
the GHS defensive wall for a back-post shot the first time the Lions were
able to claim the ball past the midfield stripe.
Omar Ochoa equalized for Gainesville two minutes later by redirecting a
long throw-in netward and the senior forward was instrumental in the
following three Leopard tallies.
With four minutes remaining in the first half Ochoa battled through a crowd
of Lion defenders to keep the ball alive in front of the Brownwood goal,
then tapped it back to Sergio Rodriguez for a low shot into the corner.
Two minutes into the second half defender Tim Cochran intercepted a
Brownwood pass and played the ball along the right touchline for Steven
Arenas. Arenas took the ball deep and then crossed to Ochoa, who had found
enough space in the middle for a clear shot beyond the diving keeper.
Brad Seatherton scored the fourth Leopard goal after receiving a through
ball from Ochoa. He tapped it past a pair of converging Lion defenders and
then chipped it over the keeper's head for the 4-1 cushion in the 49th
minute.
Brownwood managed to cut the margin with a free kick from George Ruiz to
the head of Mason Ellis at the back post. His redirection in the 52nd
minute sailed over the head of GHS netminder Josh Swirczynski.
Kolby Kuykendall sent a scorching shot goalward in the 58th minute and the
ball went through the hands of Brownwood keeper Brad Raschke into the net.
The victory put the Leopards into the second round where they were to face
the host North Crowley High School Panthers Saturday morning. North Crowley
had an easy trip into the second round when Trinity Valley High School
withdrew from the tournament at the last moment and NCHS played its own
junior varsity. The varsity Panthers whipped the JV Panthers 9-0.
In other first round action L.D. Bell trounced Trimble Tech 16-1 and
Crowley High School squeaked past Fort Worth Northside 3-2.
L.D. Bell and Crowley were to face each other in the other winner's bracket
semifinal game and the winner was to face the winner of the NCHS-Gainesville
game in the championship bout while the two semifinal losers were to meet in
a battle for third place.
<small>[ January 13, 2004, 01:24 AM: Message edited by: Keith7 ]</small>