Both the Aledo Ladycats and Bearcats had their respective soccer seasons end Friday night on the pitch at Rough Rider Stadium in Saginaw as Wichita Falls High School captured area playoff matches against both AHS squads.
WFHS 1, Ladycats 0
Wichita Falls forward Alyssa Salinas scored the lone goal to lead the Lady Coyotes past the Ladycats 1-0.
In the first half, Salinas received a pass on the left side near the goal line from midfielder Shayla Spearman. But instead of cutting to the middle or passing the ball, Salinas took a shot from a wide angle that sailed high and just inside the left post for a goal with 10:01 remaining in the first half.
Aledo goalkeeper Mackenzie Covington had already turned away a shot from five yards out from the middle, and later in the opening half Covington made a brilliant save on another close-range shot.
The half ended with Wichita Falls in front, 1-0.
In the second half Covington continued her brilliance in goal. Almost two minutes into the second stanza the sophomore stopped another point-blank shot to keep her team in the match.
The Ladycats had a good chance to tie the game minutes later, but Cameron Huddleston's 25-yard shot on a free kick sailed just over the cross bar.
Just past halfway through the second half Covington came through with three big saves - two on chances in front of the goal and another from 12 yards out - to keep the Ladycats within a goal.
Covington made another big save with less than two minutes left to play, and it sparked a final offensive rush by Aledo.
Huddletson broke free from 25 yards out on the right side, but her hard shot sailed inches past the goal post as Wichita Falls survived for a one-goal win.
WFHS 4, Bearcats 0
Wichita Falls broke open a one-goal match at the half with three second-half goals as the Coyotes defeated the Bearcats, 4-0.
The Bearcats were the aggressors early as they peppered Wichita Falls goalkeeper Mitchell Kurtz with three early shots, but each chance was turned away.
The best chance for Aledo to score early came five minutes into the match when Daniel De La Cerda's 15-yard shot was handled by a diving save from Kurtz.
After goalkeeper Caleb Hill made one of his nine stops for the match with 24:21 left in the opening half, the Bearcats had two more opportunities to score, but both chances were turned away by Kurtz.
With 3:20 remaining in the half, Dejan Savic worked his way free of the stingy WFHS defense and sent a shot toward the goal . But Kurtz spread out and made a diving save to stop the chance.
With 1:51 left in the half, WFHS had an excellent opportunity to extend the lead. But the athletic Hill came up with his seventh save of the half as the Coyotes led 1-0 at the break.
WFHS came out firing at the beginning of the second half. An excellent scoring chance failed when a shot hit the cross bar, but with 35:09 left to play Coyotes forward Travis Collins found the back of the net from 10 yards out on the left side to give his team a 2-0 lead.
Just minutes later the Coyotes struck again, this time from 15 yards out when Manny Santamaria scored off an assist from Richy Acosta.
Alex Ramirez closed the scoring on a goal from 12 yards out with 20:26 remaining in the match.
Also in Aledo High School sports:
The Ladycats softball team fell to Burleson Centennial, 9-2; and the Bearcats baseball team lost 1-0 at Granbury.
Aledo midfielder Haley Knesek (11) splits a pair of defenders Friday night in an area playoff match at Rough Rider Stadium in Saginaw. The Ladycats fell to Wichita Falls High School, 1-0.
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