Lion soccer shuts out Wimberley

Parent”s Night Rescheduled
The Lion soccer program has rescheduled Parent”s Night for Friday, March 3. The Lions will play Kyle Lehmen at the Lockhart Junior High stadium, as the junior high has a track meet at the high school.
Parent”s Night, typically the last home game of the district season, is intended to honor both the seniors in the program and the parent

s who have supported them along the way. We hope all can attend, and we are sorry for any inconvenience this rescheduling may have caused.

Varsity defeats Wimberley
The Lions hosted the Wimberley Texans in district play on Saturday, Feb. 25 in a very wet Lion Stadium. The field was in bad enough shape to cancel the junior varsity game, which was scheduled to be played before the varsity match. After a short rain delay, the teams took to the field.
“All we can really do is play the game the best we can. I told the team to pay attention to the field conditions so they could be ready to react to a ball on a wet and muddy surface,” said Coach Ardis. “That said, we also need our younger guys to step up and play well. We”re missing four regulars, including three starters, for one reason or another.”
The game started out favorably for the Lions. The young players showed confidence and ability early in the game, and this continued throughout the contest. The Lions instantly were on the attack, earning many corner kicks and throw-ins deep in the Texans” end of the field.
In the ninth minute the Lions took the advantage to score. Junior Seth Guckian struck a perfect corner kick from the right side. Junior Alex Pfefferkorn headed the ball to the back post, where sophomore Jose Jaimes was waiting. Jaimes put a well-placed volley past the Wimberley goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead.
Four minutes later the Lions struck again. Lockhart”s aggressive offense had worked the ball deep into the Texans” end of the field and earned a throw in. Guckian put a nice long throw on goal and Pfefferkorn was able to head the ball past the Texan goalkeeper for a 2-0 lead. Pfefferkorn”s goal was his first as a Lion. This score would carry the game into halftime.
“That first goal was right out of a highlight video. Alex is getting really good in the air and Seth”s crosses have been a strength all year. Both goals are evidence of that,” Coach Ardis added.
As the second half began the rain started to clear out, but the damage to the field was done. The middle of the field was in the worst shape, with standing water and mud beginning to pool in places. The pace of the game did slow down, and scoring chances were hard to come by for both teams. The Lions had chances, but the Texans had more. The Lions were able to keep the Texans at bay, thanks in large part to the play of goalkeeper Jammer Kellum and defenders Cody Fehlis, Josh Janez, and Sam Bussa. The game ended in a Lion victory, 2-0.
The Lions are now 8-2-1 in district and 10-3-2 overall. The Lions will next host Lehmen on Friday, March 3. Friday”s game will be at the Lockhart Junior High Stadium starting at 6 and 7 p.m.

Varsity pulls draw against Del Valle
The Lions took their show on the road versus the Del Valle Cardinals Thursday night, Feb. 23, in district play.
The Lions defeated the Cardinals the first time around 4-1, but Coach Ardis downplayed that fact.
“We could very easily lose this game if we are not careful. Del Valle is a fast team and they are very capable of finishing on scoring opportunities,” said Coach Ardis.
The game began in typical form, with the Lions and Cardinals taking the first few minutes to familiarize themselves with each other. The Lions were able to possess the ball and attack for the majority of the first ten minutes, and Del Valle was able to launch a couple of quick counter-attacks. Both defenses were up to the early challenge. It wasn”t until the 22nd minute that one of the defenses cracked. Senior Samuel Bussa was able to launch a perfect long pass to senior Dwin Roland. The forward brought the ball down to his feet and got off a quick shot, netting his ninth goal of the year and giving the Lions a 1-0 lead. This lead would carry the game into halftime.
“Lately we”ve done a good job of being a possession oriented team”, said Coach Ardis. “Earlier in the year and in years past we”ve depended on the long ball for scoring chances. That doesn”t work against good teams. We have got to possess the ball. That”s our plan.”
The second half began with a little more pace. Both teams tried to work the ball wide, hoping to flank the opponent”s defenses. Again, both defenses were up to the challenge. The Lions attack, Del Valle recoups. Del Valle attacks, the Lions recoup. Much of the second half was played at a furious pace. It wasn”t until the 23rd minute that a team was able to score. Del Valle was able to counter-attack and score, drawing even at 1-1.
The rest of the game proved to be a real track meet, with endless end-to end chances. Both teams had chances, and both goalkeepers made a variety of amazing saves. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.
“That second half got away from us. With the exception of the first ten minutes, we didn”t play very well. We got away from what worked for us in the first half and let Del Valle dictate the speed of play. All in all though, we”ll settle for a tie,” Coach Ardis added.
J.V. Ties Del Valle
The Lockhart Lion junior varsity soccer team traveled to Del Valle Thursday night, Feb. 23, for a district re-match against the Cardinals.
The Lions defeated the Cardinals the first time, but Del Valle had only nine eligible players at that time. Despite that, Del Valle still held a lead for most of the first half.
“I told their coach they had a good squad, and with a full team they probably would have beaten us”, said Coach Antoun. “But this is a different game. They have a full team, and we are a better squad then we were then. This should be a good game.”
The Lions came out in good form, possessing the ball and doing a good job of working the ball around. A bolstered midfield, anchored by freshmen Cameron Peters and Gaspar Martinez, set the pace early and distributed the ball to open teammates while controlling the middle of the field. The Lions spent much of the first few minutes on the offensive, but could not get a clean shot off on account of the Del Valle defensive unit. Eventually, the Lions were able to crack the Cardinal defense. Freshman Matthew Carneiro opened the scoring with a goal off a nice Cameron Peters” assist. Six minutes later, Carneiro scored again, this time from a pass from freshman AJ Maderal, who recently joined the soccer program after the basketball season ended. The Lions held strong at the other end, and the Lions took a 2-0 lead into halftime.
“There really wasn”t much to say at halftime. Everything looked good. All we had to do was continue to play the brand of soccer we played in the first half. I told the team to stay hungry, and to approach the second half as if it were 0-0”, said Coach Antoun.
The Lions came out in the second half and continued their sharp play. Carneiro completed the hat-trick in the fifth minute, thanks to sharp passing from sophomore Jose Jaimes. This put the Lions up 3-0 with thirty minutes to play. But this game was far from over.
Del Valle scored two minutes later off a miscommunication in the Lion defense. Seven minutes later the Cardinals scored again, this time by beating the Lion defense down the right side.
“At that point, I could see the team tense up. We stopped going after the ball and playing aggressive, which was exactly why we were so successful in the first half,” said Coach Antoun.
Del Valle would draw even after a third goal with six minutes remaining, and the game would end in a draw.
The tie brings the junior varsity team to 4-5-1 overall and 3-3-1 in district play.
“It”s disappointing to tie a game when we”re up 3-0, but we played pretty well. That Del Valle team is basically the same team that blew the freshmen out last year, in junior high, so there are definite positives to take away from this game,” Coach Antoun added.

(Courtesy of Ramez Antoun)