Lion soccer demolishes district rivals

The Lockhart Lion boys’ soccer team has been successful in the 26-4A District contest after winning three out of four games.
The Lions defeated Marble Falls 2-0 and demolished Smithville 7-1 for their first two match ups. This past week, Lockhart met Drippings Springs on Tuesday, Feb. 8, with a home field advantage that resulted in a 4-1 loss.
Lockhart fell be

hind in the first quarter as Dripping Springs scored three goals and kept the Lions scoreless.
“In the first half we were, to put it simply, dominated by Dripping Springs,” Head Coach Robert Ardis said. “Our game analysis showed they controlled the ball 81 percent which is a drubbing in anybody’s book.”
In the second half, the Lions lone goal came from senior Nick Stevenson.
“The boys played much better in the second half but still lost the possession game. We had to cope with losing Alex Pfefferkorn on the defense with an injury and not being able to practice on a field for 15 days, but we cannot make any excuses. Tonight we were simply beaten by a faster, more aggressive squad. It is good we get to play them again because the team does not feel we gave them our best game,” said Ardis.
The Lions hosted the Vista Ridge Rangers on Friday, Feb. 11, for a victorious game, 1-0.
Lockhart scored their goal in the first half from a kick by Stevenson.
“Tonight we definitely made an improvement from Tuesday,” said Ardis. “I think getting on the field for a productive practice helped, as did sitting down and going over our mistakes from our game against Dripping Springs.
“Vista Ridge is a good, solid squad that was tough to break down defensively. There were also some issues with the officiating, which is being looked into at this time. There were some calls that should have gone our way but did not. Even some of the Vista Ridge players were surprised after the game at a late call where Nick Stevenson was pulled down in the box, yet received a yellow card when he should have been awarded a penalty kick. Luckily we overcame these issues and grabbed a tough win on the road.”
After these games, the Lions are 3-1 in district, 10-5 overall.
Lockhart will host Del Valle on Friday, Feb. 18, at 7:45 p.m., and travel to Lake Travis on Thursday, Feb. 24.