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Pitch Perfect: Wildcats shoot past Richland, into regional tourney
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@starlocalnews.com
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS -- One hundred minutes weren't enough to contain the Plano Senior and Richland boys soccer teams in Tuesday night's Region I quarterfinal.
And after two halves and two overtime periods kept the two squads at a stalemate, the Wildcats gained more than enough separation in a shootout to fend off the Rebels for a 2-1 victory.
"I pick kids who are skilled with their feet and kids who if they miss, then they can live with it," said Bob Weir, Plano head coach. "I think those were all good, skilled kids and they stepped up and did a super job."
Senior Reid McDuff got the ball rolling opposite Richland keeper Cody Talley with a goal high and center for the 1-0 start. Senior Ramon Gallegos followed with a low strike that zipped past Talley, while senior Tony Santibanez baffled the keeper with a goal to the left side of the net and junior Isaac Urcuyo sealed the victory with a blast to the right that punched Plano's ticket to the Region I Tournament.
"There actually wasn't too much pressure," Urcuyo said. "We were up, 3-1, and (senior) Kyle (Johnson) did most of the work for us. All I had to do was put it in the net."
The emotions were ratcheted up a tick or two on Johnson's end, who manned the net and limited Richland to just one goal in the shootout -- a dart from Josh Munoz that Johnson actually managed to deflect but still had enough behind it to slowly roll into the net.
Richland's additional attempts were turned away by the Wildcats' keeper, with Angel Aveytia launching the ball over the goal after a Johnson slide and Miguel Chavez's chance batted away by the netminder.
"It's definitely really nerve-wracking," Johnson said, "but it's my job to stay back there and help the team wherever I can. That's all I wanted to do back there and it turned out well tonight."
The strategy of the shootout played in the Wildcats' favor as well, with the team's primary scoring threats -- Santibanez and Gallegos -- getting their shots out of the way early while the Rebels' two most active weapons throughout the night -- Jorge Cuadra and Cristian Cuadra -- never got a chance at testing Johnson.
The pair had plenty of ammunition for Plano during the 100 minutes of play that preceded the shootout, with neither team giving way amid a flurry of close calls.
"I thought there were times when we looked good and I thought we were the better team," Weir said, "and others when they did the same thing to us. We were just fortunate at times out there and the same for them.
"It was a 50-50 ball game the whole way."
With neither team finding the back of the net through 40 minutes, Plano required just 75 seconds into the second half to break the stalemate. With a Rebel defender draped over him and his back to the net, Santibanez managed enough space to plant, turn and drive a shot from 35 yards out high and past Jared Hall in the 42nd minute for the 1-0 Wildcat lead.
"Tony can strike the ball," Weir said. "When we gets a step or two on you and gets momentum, he's got a strong foot and has a knack for the goal. That one really got us going."
It also forced Richland to play with a greater sense of urgency. Such was the case when the Rebels answered back in the 55th minute after Jorge took the ball across the Plano defense from 15 yards out.
Running parallel to the goal, the speedster controlled the ball just long enough to find an opening in the Wildcats' back line to sling a shot low, left and past Johnson for the tying goal and the first goal Plano had surrendered since March 20.
Clean opportunities at net proved ill-fated, especially in the early going with both defenses not even permitting their respective keepers to make a play on the ball. The chances opened up as the action progressed, with Plano granted a slew of attempts right in front of the net following a Santibanez cross with 90 seconds left in regulation.
Despite three consecutive shots on goal, Hall and the Rebel defense didn't buckle. Such was the case in overtime when Cristian launched a 40-yard ball with one second remaining in the first overtime that went high and mere inches shy of the top of the net.
Jorge added two near-misses of his own in the second overtime, scampering past the Plano defense up the sideline on his own and sending a pair of kicks that went low and just wide of Johnson.
The Plano goalkeeper would have plenty of say in Richland's fate during the shootout and as such, the Wildcats return to the regional tournament for the second consecutive year, with a 4 p.m. matchup Friday against El Paso Bel Air from Midland's Grande Communications Stadium.
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