San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Rattlers hand Broncos first loss of season
“In the game of soccer, every goal is huge, and that first goal really
set things in motion for us. Getting that first
goal early is really big against a tough team like (Brandeis). When you get that first goal, your belief
goes way up.” Reagan coach Gilbert Villarreal
Reagan’s boys soccer team closed the first half of its district schedule in impressive fashion Friday night, shutting out previously unbeaten Brandeis 3-0 in a District 28-6A match at the Blossom Athletic Complex.
“This was a huge victory for us,” said Reagan head coach Gilbert Villarreal, whose team has won three straight matches and is now 4-0-1 in its last five outings. “We’ve been thinking about this match for a long time. We tied (Brandeis) both times we played them last year, and Brandeis got a lot of the preseason hype and were unbeaten. We were needing a big win and this came at just the right time. We put it all together tonight and put ourselves back in the conversation as to who the best team in the district is.”
Reagan (8-4-3, 6-1-1) scored all three of its goals in the first half. The Rattlers got on the board just 2:14 into the match when Pablo Cantu set a cleared corner kick back into the Brandeis penalty area, where Jesus Carrillo got the ball and fired a shot into the lower left corner of the net to give Reagan a 1-0 lead.
“In the game of soccer, every goal is huge, and that first goal really set things in motion for us,” Villarreal said. “Getting that first goal early is really big against a tough team like (Brandeis). When you get that first goal, your belief goes way up.”
After the opening goal, Reagan kept up the offensive pressure before finally doubling its lead at the 25:09 mark. Mateo Domenech sent a cross into the penalty area, and Aiden Phelan took the pass and promptly blasted a shot into the top half of the net to put the Rattlers up 2-0. A miscue by Brandeis (91-3, 6-1-1) in its defensive end set up Reagan’s third goal, as Marcelo Tenorio pounced on an errant Bronco pass and slid a shot under the Brandeis goalkeeper to make it 3-0 Reagan with 32:12 showing on the clock.
Brandeis, which had a six-match winning streak snapped with the loss, had some scoring chances, including a one-on-one breakaway in the 38th minute, but the Broncos’ shot went over the top and the score stayed 3-0 at halftime. The Broncos ratcheted up the offensive pressure in the second half, but Reagan’s defense kept Brandeis at bay to earn a crucial district victory. Rattlers goalie Patrick Bassett had to make only one save in order to give Reagan its sixth clean sheet of the season, and it was just the third time in 13 matches this season that the Broncos failed to find the back of the net.
“Our defense bent some in the second half, but they didn’t break,” Villarreal said. “To earn a shutout against a team like Brandeis is big.”
Reagan is back in action Tuesday, taking on Clark at the Blossom Athletic Complex at 7 p.m. in another district match. Meanwhile, Brandeis faces Marshall in a district match at 7 p.m. Monday at Farris Stadium.