Burnet boys soccer loses to Austin LBJ
CAPTION: Burnet senior Genesis Ceron and the Bulldogs compete against a very tough Austin LBJ opponent. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Burnet High School boys soccer team lost to Austin LBJ 7-1 Feb. 21 in District 25-4A play.
The Jaguars (8-3-1, 7-2) led 3-0 at the half with the goals coming in the first 10 minutes of play.
Burnet (3-10-3, 2-4-2) head coach Benjamin Boorman noted LBJ has many players who will contend for the district’s superlative awards. It also didn’t help that the Bulldogs didn’t have all their players available because of illness or scheduling conflicts.
“But there were a lot of things on our end that it just wasn’t going to be our day right from the beginning,” he said. “We had five guys playing out of position with a different game plan and training that we hadn’t really prepared that much for, and it showed. We had to scrap the gang plan and everything just kind of fell apart after that. And LBJ just saw blood in the water at the beginning, so it wasn’t truly indicative of how we played.”
One bright spot was the play of Alfredo Jaramillo Gonzalez.
“He’s been one our standouts this year in the midfield,” the coach said. “He went in the back to play defense and wasn’t trained in the position, but he is one of our better athletes. He got to go up later in the game, and he scored his first goal for Burnet in the second half. So we’re excited for him.”
Boorman compared soccer momentum to basketball runs.
“One team just kind of gets on a run,” he said. “They’re outmatched tactically or mentally, and it just changes the game. Soccer is that way. Any goal that’s scored, and I’ve experienced this since I was five years old, really pumps up one team and deflates the other. It can do multiple things to you. It can make you wake up. Some teams come out flat, and then they get scored on and then they immediately come out with a vengeance and play like they truly can. Or it can deflate a team where they lose faith and they stop hustling and stop caring about being in team play and just kind of worry about themselves. So it’s very much a mental game and it’s the coach’s job to kind of get them on track.”
Boorman noted that he had a game plan in mind.
“I was trying to compete to win the game and pushing players up with my defenders who I thought were physical enough to hang with them,” he said. “As soon as they gave up a couple goals, it kind of deflated the team, and so from that point on it was backtracking. And that’s just how it goes in soccer sometimes. Small mistakes can be exacerbated quickly.”
Burnet welcomes Austin Travis Tuesday, Feb. 24 with the junior varsity playing at 6 p.m. and the varsity at 7:30 p.m. The program will have its Teacher Appreciation Night. The second round of district play begins at home against Jarrell Friday, Feb. 27, with the junior varsity playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity at 7 p.m. Then Burnet travels to play Austin Northeast Tuesday, March 3, with the junior varsity playing at 6 p.m. and the varsity at 7:30 p.m. at Nelson Field.
