Aledo’s soccer clubs celebrated their 2024 seniors with a pre-match ceremony on Friday, Feb. 23, before taking on District 5-5A foe Northwest.
In the opening match of the evening, the Ladycats (7-7-2 overall, 4-3-1 in district) were shutout for the second match in a row, after tearing off five straight wins, as the Lady Texans won 2-0.
The nightcap for the evening ended with an exhilarating victory for the Bearcats (11-3-4 overall, 3-3-2 in district). Tied at a goal apiece at the end of regulation, senior goalkeeper Deagan Dietz came off the bench to come up with two critical stops as the Bearcats won the shootout in sudden death.
The matchup between the Bearcats and Northwest was tight throughout the match. The two squads jockeyed for position the entire first half without being able to maintain control long enough to establish an offensive advantage. After 40 minutes of play, the contest remained in gridlock at the half, 0-0.
The second half played much the same as the first half with neither team being able to set themselves apart. It wasn’t until just inside 13 minutes remaining in the match that Trapper Davis put a quality shot on goal, sneaking it past the keeper to give the hometown Bearcats a late 1-0 lead.
Six minutes later, a controversial foul call inside the penalty area provided the Texans with a premium scoring opportunity as they looked to tie, which they promptly did.
With neither team able to muster a follow-up goal in the final six minutes of action, the match headed to a shootout.
Dietz came off the bench for the Bearcats, putting his long 6-foot-5 frame in the goal for the shootout. Aledo won the toss, and opted to go second in the shootout.
After Northwest made their initial goal to start the shootout, Davis stepped up first for Aledo. He buried his shot to put the Bearcats on the board, 1-1.
With Northwest nailing their second attempt, they took a 2-1 advantage early in the shootout following a block. Matthew Brown and Ryan Spriggs hit their shots to keep the Bearcats within reach, 4-3, as the fifth round came up.
With the match on the line, Dietz came up with the must-have stop to keep the Bearcats alive with Brody Gill set to take the final Aledo shot. Gill slipped the ball by the keeper, locking the two clubs in a 4-4 tie, as they headed for sudden death.
Northwest scored their first shot in the sudden death shootout to put the pressure on Aledo. With ice water in his veins, Robby Sloan buried his attempt to force Round 2.
Dietz once again came up with a clutch stop, giving Bruno Nogueira an opportunity to put the Bearcats over with his final shot. Nogueira did just that, as his goal lifted Aledo to victory before being mobbed to a swarm of his teammates.
After having their five-match win streak halted by the district-leading Saginaw Lady Rough Riders three days before, the Ladycats struggled to find their spark against Northwest on Senior Night.
While they controlled the ball most of the game, the Ladycats struggled to maintain control of the ball. They managed to get 14 shots on goal during the 80 minutes of regulation, but were unable to get a single shot into the net.
Down 2-0, the Ladycats drew a foul in the penalty area with under five minutes left in the match. With Allyson Weimer preparing to take the penalty kick for Aledo, a discussion between the referee and the assistant referee resulted in the penalty being waved off.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here