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Win, Lose or Draw: Allen satisfied, Flower Mound disappointed by scoreless draw
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
FLOWER MOUND -- Tuesday night's boys soccer game between Allen and Flower Mound offered a myriad of possibilities.
The Eagles could have finished first, second or third in district while the Jaguars could have completed 8-5A play anywhere from out of the playoffs altogether to a four-way tie for the district title.
The actual result was in the middle with a 0-0 draw putting Allen (7-2-5) as the No. 2 seed and Flower Mound (6-3-5) tied for fourth with Hebron. Only the Jaguars didn't immediately know their fate as head coach David Doyle stood with his assistants after the game examining their tiebreaker sheet.
"Tiebreaker," his assistants responded.
Hebron and Flower Mound, which split the season series, will compete in a play-in game for the final postseason slot.
The Eagles finished one point back of Plano Senior.
"I think the boys knew we were in the playoffs and they sort of had that chip off their shoulder," said Bryan Hantak, Allen head coach. "But because of that I feel like they might have lost sight of getting first place."
It didn't appear that way early as Allen controlled the first 20 minutes.
A corner by senior Travis Dierl made its way to senior Kenneth Santibanez in the 8th minute and he dished it to senior Parker Tikson, but his shot was stopped by Michael Martin. Flower Mound's sophomore keeper was solid throughout the first half. Martin beat Allen senior Caleb Walters to a free ball after Walters deflected a clear attempt in the 29th minute and he made a diving stop on a 31-yard shot from Eagles senior Samuel Glawe in the 40th minute to keep the slate clean at the break.
"[Martin] made some incredible saves tonight," Hantak said, "and it was impressive watching his control of the defense."
Allen's netminder, sophomore Christopher Hendricks, wasn't as busy as the Eagles held an 8-6 shot advantage for the game. Much of the credit for that can go to Allen's back line, specifically senior Keller Thomas, who altered Flower Mound's best first-half chance. The Jaguars got a steal up to senior Conor Ermold in the 34th minute, but his shot was deflected out by Thomas.
The ensuing Flower Mound corner hit the bar.
"Keller played outstanding tonight," Hantak said. "He really is our backbone."
Play evened out in the second half with much of the action contained to the middle third.
Flower Mound seniors Jackson Nagle and Nick Krueger controlled the back line and the Jaguars pushed forward more with good looks in the 44th and 51st minute. On the former opportunity, Ermold made a run down the left side before shooting wide. On the latter, senior Alex Hollingshad sent a ball in from 22 yards only to see it punched out by Hendricks.
Those two teamed up in the 71st minute, but Ermold's shot went wide.
Mixed in with the Flower Mound pressure, including a header from junior Nick Gerondale in the 79th minute, Allen made its own runs. The most dangerous came in the 58th minute when junior Daniel Hansen flipped the ball up toward the net. Walters and senior Benjamin Reidmiller had a beat on the ball, but Martin cut between them.
That thwarted the scoring chance, which was a theme repeated for the entire 80 minutes of the 0-0 draw.
"I thought we moved the ball really well," Hantak said. "We had some injuries and I knew some of the boys were tired, so I'm really proud of their effort; not just for tonight, but for the entire season."
Now the attention for both teams shifts.
Flower Mound looks to win its rubber match with Hebron to advance to the playoffs while Allen focuses on what must be done having already reached that destination.
"We want to get healthy, get a bit of rest and get back to basics," Hantak said. "Get back to playing the way we want to be playing."
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