Sports > Schools
Glass Half Full: West offense explodes for 5-0 shutout
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@acnpapers.com
GARLAND -- Call it a tale of two halves for the Plano West boys soccer team in Thursday's Garland Invitational Tournament opener against Mesquite Horn.
Denied for one half opposite a game Jaguar defense, the Wolves' offense shifted five gears over the match's final 40 minutes for a 5-0 shutout victory.
"I thought we played really well in the first half," said Jimmy Dowell, West head coach. "I thought we possessed well and attacked well, but we just weren't shooting or creating.
"In the second half, we shot and took those chances."
Turned away on its three shots on goal during the first half, the Wolves were successful on their first four cracks at Horn keeper Brandon Niven in the second stanza.
Senior Mauricio Aguilar got the ball rolling in the 51st minute after fielding a deep outlet pass from senior Gustavo Mendoza that locked in the corner of the pitch. Aguilar weaved his way through a trio of Jaguar defenders down the sideline and slipped the ball past Niven for the contest's opening goal.
"We let up a goal where three guys let [Aguilar] dribble by them on the line," said Johnny Robbins, Horn head coach. "They kept cutting in on him and it just broke down after that."
Waiting more than 50 minutes for its first goal, West needed just four minutes to find the back of the net again after a shot by junior Chase Birdsong was deflected by a Horn defender and rolled into the wide-open crosshairs of junior John Rind, who proceeded to sling the ball in for the 2-0 lead.
Aguilar upped that margin to 3-0 during the 60th minute after being granted a penalty kick following a three-man dust-up in the penalty area.
"It helps us a lot to have that creative player," Dowell said. "We didn't have [Aguilar] last weekend and he is coming back from a hamstring injury.
"It's nice to have that kind of player who's an outlet and tactically, can create things."
Dowell rested Aguilar for the match's final 20 minutes but the Wolves' offense didn't suffer in the slightest, receiving a Birdsong header off a corner (67th minute) and a goal off the crossbar by senior Michael Farin with eight seconds remaining for the 5-0 win.
All the Jaguars had to show for their second-half efforts was a myriad of off-target shots with only an attempt by Travis Tamez during the 70th minute being within the vicinity of West senior keeper Carson Liesenfelt.
"We had been doing well up to this point," Robbins said. "We're young with a lot of sophomores and a couple of freshmen playing right now. We were doing well, but today we just didn't put it out."
The Jaguars had more opportune cracks at Liesenfelt during the first 40 minutes, ripping off a trio of shots on goal -- two behind the leg of Ewahia Amhanesi -- but Birdsong, junior Brandt Phillips, senior Kyle Levesque and Mendoza answered the call for the West defense.
"Much better job," Dowell said of his defense. "Last weekend, we were a little unorganized and at times a little confused on what we were doing. It's something we spent all day (Wednesday) working on and it was much better."
The Wolves wrapped up the event with matches against Richardson Pearce, Garland and Jack Hays. West next travels to Williams Stadium Friday for a 7:30 p.m. match against Garland Naaman Forest, the last pre-district stop for the Wolves before beginning 8-5A play Feb. 3 versus Lewisville.
Denied for one half opposite a game Jaguar defense, the Wolves' offense shifted five gears over the match's final 40 minutes for a 5-0 shutout victory.
"I thought we played really well in the first half," said Jimmy Dowell, West head coach. "I thought we possessed well and attacked well, but we just weren't shooting or creating.
"In the second half, we shot and took those chances."
Turned away on its three shots on goal during the first half, the Wolves were successful on their first four cracks at Horn keeper Brandon Niven in the second stanza.
Senior Mauricio Aguilar got the ball rolling in the 51st minute after fielding a deep outlet pass from senior Gustavo Mendoza that locked in the corner of the pitch. Aguilar weaved his way through a trio of Jaguar defenders down the sideline and slipped the ball past Niven for the contest's opening goal.
"We let up a goal where three guys let [Aguilar] dribble by them on the line," said Johnny Robbins, Horn head coach. "They kept cutting in on him and it just broke down after that."
Waiting more than 50 minutes for its first goal, West needed just four minutes to find the back of the net again after a shot by junior Chase Birdsong was deflected by a Horn defender and rolled into the wide-open crosshairs of junior John Rind, who proceeded to sling the ball in for the 2-0 lead.
Aguilar upped that margin to 3-0 during the 60th minute after being granted a penalty kick following a three-man dust-up in the penalty area.
"It helps us a lot to have that creative player," Dowell said. "We didn't have [Aguilar] last weekend and he is coming back from a hamstring injury.
"It's nice to have that kind of player who's an outlet and tactically, can create things."
Dowell rested Aguilar for the match's final 20 minutes but the Wolves' offense didn't suffer in the slightest, receiving a Birdsong header off a corner (67th minute) and a goal off the crossbar by senior Michael Farin with eight seconds remaining for the 5-0 win.
All the Jaguars had to show for their second-half efforts was a myriad of off-target shots with only an attempt by Travis Tamez during the 70th minute being within the vicinity of West senior keeper Carson Liesenfelt.
"We had been doing well up to this point," Robbins said. "We're young with a lot of sophomores and a couple of freshmen playing right now. We were doing well, but today we just didn't put it out."
The Jaguars had more opportune cracks at Liesenfelt during the first 40 minutes, ripping off a trio of shots on goal -- two behind the leg of Ewahia Amhanesi -- but Birdsong, junior Brandt Phillips, senior Kyle Levesque and Mendoza answered the call for the West defense.
"Much better job," Dowell said of his defense. "Last weekend, we were a little unorganized and at times a little confused on what we were doing. It's something we spent all day (Wednesday) working on and it was much better."
The Wolves wrapped up the event with matches against Richardson Pearce, Garland and Jack Hays. West next travels to Williams Stadium Friday for a 7:30 p.m. match against Garland Naaman Forest, the last pre-district stop for the Wolves before beginning 8-5A play Feb. 3 versus Lewisville.
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