Marble Falls boys soccer beats Davenport

CAPTION: After Will Guzman (4) scores the first goal of the match against San Antonio Davenport in the first minute, he is congratulated by Joaquin Aguilar (20), Drake Taylor (7), Ismayl Ismaylov (11), Daniel Dominguez (10) and Aaron Luna (behind Drake). Photo by Shaunna Marcum/ShaunnaLisa, Cliffhanger Loop Productions

The Marble Falls High School boys soccer team defeated San Antonio Davenport 5-2 March 3 in District 26-4A play to remain atop of the standings.

The Mustangs got the scoring going early thanks to a goal by Will Guzman, who was assisted by Eli Chocoj one minute into the match.

“Eli hit just a banger shot,” head coach Ryan Craven said. “And it deflected out for a corner kick and then he took the corner and Will Guzman headed off his knee into the goal. So that was cool, just kind of overwhelmed him. People are running into the box, which is something that we’ve been trying to get better at, so that was cool to see the kids’ hard work pay off on that.”

Five minutes later, Chocoj “got the ball side and dribbled into the box,” Craven said.

“He went shoulder to shoulder to the defender,” he said. “And he went down, and we got a (penalty kick) out of it. Which is funny cause the kids have been wanting to have competitions for penalty kicks. I basically picked the best one, and I thought it was Drake Taylor, our centerback defender. And he took it and made it like it was nothing.”

That made the score 2-0.

With 15 minutes remaining in the half, outside defender David Dominguez got the ball on Davenport’s far end and passed to Chocoj.

“Right when Eli took the touch, the defender stuck his foot out and kind of blatantly tripped him in the box,” the coach said.

That resulted in another penalty kick with Chocoj connecting for the 3-0 lead at the half.

The Mustangs kept the same intensity in the second half. Joaquin Aguilar had a breakaway and assisted Demarco Davis who took the shot from six yards out.

“That was kind of a funny goal, but it was also a really good goal at the same time because we’d been talking all week about wanting to get midfielders into the attack,” Craven said. “And we really had five on three in that transition. So that was cool to see.”

Forty-five seconds later, the Wolves scored to cut into the deficit 4-1.

“I think we were still celebrating in our heads,” the coach said. “We hadn’t given up a goal in four games, and we didn’t want to give that one up.”

A Marble Falls foul gave Davenport a free kick, which it converted to cut the lead to 4-2.

When the Wolves were given a penalty kick, Marble Falls made the save.

“That was big that we saved the PK,” Craven said. “Because at that point, if they would have made the PK, it would have been 4-3. There was still about 15 minutes left in the game, they would have had all the momentum. That was good that we stopped it.”

The scoring ended when goalie Jett Marcum kicked the ball around 75 yards to where Aguilar was waiting.

“Joaquin made a touch and ran by two defenders and then just blasted it by the goalie’s head,” Craven said. “It was probably about 15 yards from the goal. He got a good look and let it rip.”

The coach was pleased with the Mustangs’ defense.

“Davenport did a good job possessing the ball in the midfield,” he said. “But defensively when they got it into our defensive third, we really smothered, and they couldn’t get a shot off. So they didn’t have a shot, really the first half. They did a good job possessing the ball, but we kept everything in front of us for the most part and wouldn’t allow them to get a good shot off, so that was cool to see. I’d like us to be able to possess the ball a little bit better than we did, but we made it very difficult for them to possess it and then we were able to get the ball.”

The win keeps the Mustangs tied for first with Fredericksburg. The two meet Friday, March 6, in Fredericksburg. Because of the coming bad weather, the varsity match will be played at 5 p.m. and the junior varsity will follow. Though both teams are tied for first play, the Billies have only the Mustangs and Davenport left while Marble Falls still has to play Fredericksburg, Fischer Canyon Lake and Bandera.

“We’re in the driver’s seat,” Craven said.

CAPTION: Marble Falls goalie Jett Marcum (left) ensures San Antonio Davenport is turned away again. Photos by Shaunna Marcum/ShaunnaLisa, Cliffhanger Loop Productions