Archives > Sports Update
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
Pirates strike back: Poteet boys topple West Mesquite, force tie for first in 23-4A
By DEVIN HASSON, dhasson@starlocalnews.com
Poteet's performance on Tuesday night was one that has been weeks in the making.
Since the second half of the 23-4A season got started, the Pirates have been on a tear, outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 29-1 in four victories.
Poteet believed it was playing its best soccer of the year, but the question remained if it would translate into results against crosstown rival and district leader West Mesquite, a team that has had its number of late.
With the win, Poteet (10-1-0-0, 30 points) moves into a tie with West Mesquite (10-1-0-0, 30) for first place in 23-4A with one game left in the regular season.
"It was a big game, it was a rivalry game and it was intense throughout," Poteet head coach Colby Peek said. "This one meant a lot to them and they came out and played great.
"It was Senior Night and we have eight seniors on this team and they all contributed. I couldn't be more proud."
Poteet was able to move within reach of at least a share of the district championship while at the same time exorcising some demons against a West Mesquite team that had won the last four meetings.
The Wranglers won the first head-to-head match this season, 1-0, but the Pirates made sure this time would be different. Poteet made a few changes in its approach, but the biggest key was simply maintaining the high level of play it had displayed during the last two weeks.
"After the first game (West Mesquite), we played Crandall, and we didn't play well at all, I think we had a little bit of a hangover still," Peek said. "Before the second half of district, we sat down and talked and made some new goals and since then, they have been focused, driven, goal-oriented, we've really just been on fire.
"West Mesquite is a very good team, but the guys were hungry for it, especially the seniors, I think they needed this one."
Ojeda opened the scoring with an unassisted goal in the first half and that allowed the Pirates to settle in.
The score remained the same until early in the second half when Carlos Cardenas made a nice play to create some space, and then rather than taking a shot, made an unselfish pass over to Pearson, who finished the job to make it 2-0.
The Wranglers cut the deficit to 2-1 when Isai Velasquez scored off a set piece with 15 minutes left, but as they pushed up in an attempt to get the equalizer, Poteet countered and put the game away when Josh Sedeno set up Ojeda for an insurance goal.
While Velasquez was able to score the 101st goal of his high school career, that was the only mark against a Pirate defense that was able to hold the high-powered Wranglers in check for the most part.
Goalkeeper Trevor Gilbert came up with some key saves and the defensive line of Sedeno, Larry Caruso and Hayden Long limited West Mesquite's chances. When the Wranglers did try to apply pressure, other players, such as senior captains Trent Wisdom and Ruben Gonzalez dropped back to provide additional support.
"He's (Velasquez) one of those guys as they say, you can't stop him, you can only try to contain him and I thought we did a great job," Peek said. "He's such a great player and they are such a good offensive team that to hold them to just the one goal, it took an entire team effort."
Poteet has one more test in the regular season when it plays at last-place Crandall on Friday. West Mesquite has a tougher task in its season finale when it hosts third-place Forney on Friday at Mesquite Memorial Stadium.
If the Pirates and Wranglers each win and finish the season tied, they will share the 23-4A championship, but Poteet would be the top seed in the playoffs due to point differential in the teams' head-to-head series.
Tuesday marked the high point of the season for the Pirates to this point and they are hoping there are more memorable moments yet to come. But their focus for now is on Crandall as they try to continue to build momentum for the start of the playoffs next week.
"This is the time of year when you want to be playing your best soccer and that is what we have been doing," Peek said. "During the second half of the district season, every game has been our best game to that point, so hopefully that will continue and we can carry that momentum into the playoffs."
Follow Devin Hasson on Twitter: @DevinHasson
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: Sports Update «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
