Wildcats top Eagles in district opener

ALLEN -- Though winds reached up to 50 miles per hour Tuesday afternoon, by the time the national anthem was sung before Plano Senior and Allen paired up the wind had died down and the flag hung limp from the pole.

Weather conditions became substantially colder, but the wind was no longer available for either team’s advantage.

And as the Wildcats and Eagles played more than three-fourths of the game, the only advantage Plano had over Allen was the fact that they beat the Eagles in the Jesuit Tournament earlier this season.

However, with 13 minutes remaining, a decisive call was made by the referee, giving Plano junior Dillon Powers a penalty kick opportunity and the Wildcats a huge upper hand as the final minutes ticked slowly off the clock.

Powers placed his kick perfectly with a low shot to the right side, giving Plano a 1-0 lead, which would ultimately be the final score.

“You don’t like the way it ended,” said Mike Wiersema, Allen head coach, speaking of the call made in the goal box. “But that’s the way it goes sometimes. You have to get over it and move on from here. That’s all you can do.”

On the other side, Plano head coach Bob Weir, was still not satisfied with the single goal, hoping for some cushion.

“You know there was still plenty of time left on the clock,” he said. “We wanted to get another goal there to make it a two-score game, but we weren’t able to do that. Still we got the win. It was a tough fought win, but it was a win nonetheless.”

In the opening moments of the first half, each team, knowing how important jumping out to a good start in District 9-5A play is, was energetic and moving briskly around the field.

At the 29 minute mark, Plano senior Travis Bally made a strong run, but hesitated to take the shot, resulting in a block by Allen sophomore goalkeeper Bryce Riegel.

Seconds later, another long ball gave Plano junior Danny Hahn an opportunity, but the header bounced just right of the post leaving the score knotted up at 0-0.

As the clock dipped below 10 minutes and the thermometer below 40 degrees, Plano had numerous scoring opportunities but was unable to put them away. By the end of the first half, the Wildcats had taken 10 shots on goal, as opposed Allen’s four shots.

However, the Eagles ended the period with two strong surges built on corner kicks. However, Plano was able to clear the ball both times.

In the second half, Allen began to make some adjustments.

“We noticed they were lagging a little at midfield,” Wiersema said. “So we were trying to take advantage of some of the openings we thought were there, but we simply couldn’t finish. That’s what we will have to get better at.”

And those holes did begin to open, Allen flip-flopped their shots-on-goal with Plano, contributing nine shots on goal in the second half, and allowing only four to the Wildcats.

“We were a little tired there at midfield,” Weir said. “Fortunately we were able to get some energy and production from our forwards and our defensive players, which really helped us out there in the end. So our conditioning there was effective.”

At the 30:52 minute marker, Allen senior forward Chris Stein dribbled in on the right side and kicked to the left post, but Plano sophomore goalie Sean Cote, moving right, dove back stretched out his 6-foot-3 frame to deflect the ball.

“I guess his height helped us out on that one,” Weir said. “We have some short goalies, but his size really gave him the ability to make some of those stops tonight.”

Moments later, Stein was again involved in a similar run, but Plano defenders surrounded the senior and the ball floated around outside of the box after being redirected.

There, Allen senior forward Colin O’Donnell controlled the ball, but sailed it through the uprights over the goal.

18 minutes later, Cote grabbed a long kick and quickly threw it to Hahn, who took the ball the entirety of the field before placing a centering pass before the front of the net. Plano senior forward Ibrahim Houari then collided with Allen senior Matt Newville, forcing a whistle by the referee, and giving the Wildcats an opportunity to take the game.

With Powers goal, Plano did just that and now has a leg-up in district play.

“We were fortunate to get that goal,” Weir said. “I’m happy with the outcome, but we have some things we can get better at.”

Plano next faces Lake Highlands, 7:30 p.m. Friday at Clark Stadium.

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