Goodbye district…Hello soccer play-offs

Lion soccer finish regular season with 1-1 draw
Varsity vs. Vista Ridge
The Lockhart Lion varsity soccer team completed their regular season schedule against district-leading Cedar Park Vista Ridge on Friday, March 17. The Lions had previously fallen to the Rangers, 3-1.
“This is a tune-up game for the play-offs. We will be playing teams of this caliber f

rom here on out, so we”ll need to step up our play. Also, these guys haven”t lost or tied a game all year, so it would be fun to blemish their record a little bit”, said Coach Robert Ardis.
The game began with both teams playing at a high level. Both teams were able to pass the ball around effectively, and were using all players and making quality runs. On every single occasion, both defenses were up to the challenge, turning the attacking team away and starting a counter-attack. Although scoring chances materialized for both teams, the first half ended in a 0-0 tie.
“We played very well in the first half. Defensively we looked organized, and offensively we”ve had some chances. We just need to take advantage of our opportunities,” said Coach Ardis.
The second half began as the first half had ended. Both teams possessed the ball well, and both teams had chances to score. Twenty-two minutes into the second half, someone finally scored. Senior forward Dwin Roland made a fast run up the field and was rewarded with a long pass, setting up a breakaway. But Dwin was tackled from behind by a Ranger defender, and a penalty kick was awarded to the Lions. Goalkeeper Jammer Kellum stepped up and blasted a laser of a shot past the Ranger keeper for a 1-0 lead. This sparked life in the Rangers, who after the restart came right at the Lion goal. It took the Rangers three minutes to find the equalizer, a low driven shot to Jammer”s left that bounced of the post and in. The rest of the game would prove entertaining, but the scoring was done. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.
The Lions finish the regular season 10-3-3 in district and 12-4-4 overall.

Varsity vs. Smithville
The Smithville Tigers came to town on Tuesday, March 14, for a varsity district match up at Lion Stadium. In a previous game, the Lions defeated the Tigers 8-0.
The game began with Smithville only fielding eight players. Despite being shorthanded, the Tigers were able to play good defense for the first five minutes. Then the avalanche of goals began. Senior Joey Theriot made a pass to senior JC Vogel, who netted the ball for a 1-0 lead. Four minutes later Vogel scored an unassisted goal, his 20th of the year. Two minutes later junior Alex Pfefferkorn assisted on senior Dwin Roland”s goal, his 11th. Four minutes later junior Seth Guckian assisted on Vogel”s third goal of the match, marking his third hat trick of the season. Before the first half ended, Roland, Guckian, and Pfefferkorn would add goals and the Lions took a 7-0 lead into halftime.
“Let”s treat the second half as a training session”, said Coach Ardis. “Let”s go to a three touch maximum and work the ball around to everyone before a shot is taken. Again, we do not want to embarrass anyone.”
The second half began as the first did, with the Tigers able to defend for the first few minutes without allowing a goal. Five minutes into the half, the scoring began. Senior goalkeeper/forward James Kellum netted a shot off an assist from Vogel. In the seventeenth minute, after several near misses and scoring chances, senior Brian Seeliger put a ball in the goal thanks to a great pass from Kellum.
“At that point, being up 9-0, I told the team to stop shooting”, said Coach Ardis.
Despite Coach Ardis” instruction, the Lions were not done. Senior Sam Bussa broke through and tried to tap the ball to the keeper, but the keeper missed the ball. The same happened to junior Cody Fehlis. The Lions won the game, 11-0.
The win improved the Lions record to 10-3-2 in district play.

JV vs. Vista Ridge
The Lockhart Lion junior varsity soccer team finished their regular season schedule at Vista Ridge on Friday, March 17.
The junior varsity team lost previously to Vista Ridge, 6-0. Although the Lions were short-handed, they were ready for the game.
“Unfortunately, many players skipped out on practice this week and therefore won”t be playing”, said Coach Antoun. “We”re sticking with those who showed the dedication to show up for workouts over Spring Break.”
The Lions came out in a defensive formation that stymied the Vista Ridge attack for much of the first half. On the offensive, the Lions were able to counter-attack with some success, thanks in part to the play of Christian Gutierrez, Matthew Carneiro, and James Raquet. Each of these players, along with AJ Maderal, made the Lions a dangerous team on the offensive side of the field. It wasn”t until the twenty-eighth minute that the Rangers were able to net a goal, and at halftime the Lions trailed 2-0.
“Despite the score, I feel we played extremely well in the first half. Both goals came on plays that were made because of their size. I told the team to continue the solid play and to end the season with intelligent play, as they displayed in the first half,” Coach Antoun added.
The second half was played much like the first, although the Lions were able to get into more of a flow offensively. Freshmen Matthew Carneiro and Cameron Peters paced the Lions on the attack, and many scoring opportunities were created. The Lions just could not finish, but not for a lack of effort. The final score was 4-0 in favor of Vista Ridge.
“This season we showed tremendous improvement,” Coach Antoun said. “I am extremely proud of these young men for their hard work and determination this season. I also would like to point out Jacob Berry and Miguel Guerrero, who both have really focused themselves on improving over the second half of the season, and stepped in and played great defense tonight.
“We would like to thank all who have supported these young men this season. We should all be proud of them,” Coach Antoun added.

(Courtesy of Ramez Antoun)