Lions fall hard to Cougars, Lobos on the road

By Alonzo Garza
POST-REGISTER

The Varsity Lions soccer team traveled to Pflugerville Connally for a district match-up on Tuesday, Feb. 11, and took on the Lehman Lobos on Friday, Feb. 15. The Lions fell to both teams, losing 4-0 to Pflugerville Connally and 5-0 to Lehman.

Lions vs. Pflugerville Connally
The match began as an extremely physical conte

st. Both sides aggressively challenged each other for every ball, at every turn. A couple of Lions picked up yellow cards early in the match. Freshman Moses Ramirez came off the field with a bloody nose early in the game.
“Welcome to Varsity soccer,” Coach Ramez Antoun said with a grin.
Lions improved on their ability to possess the ball throughout the game. They held on to it for much of the first half, but could not find the net after sending several quality shots at the Connally keeper. The first half ended with the Lions down 1-0.
“You have to stand up for yourself in the second half,” Antoun said to his squad after a brief exchange with the lead official. “Obviously, the referee is not going to call much, so give it back to them a little bit,”
The Lions began the second half strong. Possessing the ball, linking many passes together in the middle and offensive third of the field. Junior Cameron Peters and senior Jose Jaimes were the pistons in the passing machine, showing excellent vision and movement in the process. Despite their best efforts, the Lions could not pull even. Connally tacked on three more goals. The Lions fell, 4-0.
“I think we showed tremendous improvement in this match,” Antoun said after the game. “We passed extremely well. Sometimes things just don’t go our way. I am proud of all of our guys for standing up for themselves and matching Connally in a physical sense.”

Lions vs. Lehman
The Lions came out aggressive and sharp against Lehman, using the entire width and depth of the field. They kept possession of the ball for the first few minutes of the match and spent them at the Lehman end getting a couple shots off at the goal.
Lehman scored on a transition. The left wing let a harmless ball go at the right post of the Lion goal and although Lion keeper Mauricio Gutierrez seemed to have a bead on it, it trickled into the goal for a 1-0 lead. The score remained 1-0 until halftime.
“We are doing everything right,” Antoun said. “Johnny is doing a great job on his mark. Defensively we look ok, but we must stop stabbing at the ball. We need to shoot more and follow up all shots for rebounds.”
The second half began with the Lions going against the wind. Lehman went on the offensive instantly. Mistimed passes by the Lions allowed the Lobos to spend much of the half in Lion territory. The Lions did not muster much of an offensive flow in the second half. The Lobos broke through a weak Lion defense easily. The match ended 5-0 in favor of the Lobos.
“Guys, I know you are all playing really hard,” Antoun said after the match. “Take pride in that. You didn’t quit on the game or each other. If we ever get all players healthy again, we will have better results. Hang in there, and we’ll see you Monday.”
The Lions played against Smithville at Lion Stadium on Tuesday, Feb. 19 and will travel to Pflugerville Hendrickson on Friday, Feb. 22. Check next week’s Post-Register for highlights and scores.
See you at the game.
agarza@post-register.com