Marble Falls boys soccer lose to La Vega in state semis
CAPTION: The 2026 Marble Falls High School boys soccer players and coaches with bronze medals and plaque symbolizing reaching the Class 4A Division I state tournament. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
The Marble Falls High School boys soccer team lost to Waco La Vega 3-1 April 3 in a Class 4A Division I state semifinal.
The Mustangs ended their best finish in school history with an 18-4-5 record, 10-1-1 in District 26-4A as the district champions and won four playoff matches.
“I was really, really pleased with our guys’ efforts, told them at halftime that I believed that we’re gonna win the game, that we ‘re gonna score and if it went into overtime, we would come out on top, because we had more depth and we’d been in close games all year, and that was our motto,” head coach Ryan Craven said. “And I didn’t want it any other way than that. Our kids truly believed to the last second that we were going to win the game and that was really, really cool to see and be a part of.”
The Pirates (26-2, 15-1 District 23-4A champions) scored three minutes into the match when they beat the back line and went three on one with junior goalie Jett Marcum.
In at least 10 matches, the Mustangs have scored in the opening five minutes, including two playoff contests. In the regional final against San Antonio Davenport March 31, they scored in the opening two minutes.
“I don’t know how to explain it because we’ve come out fast all year long,” Craven said. “There’s been multiple games this year where we scored in the first 5 minutes, and they were able to do it to us, and it totally changed the dynamic of the game with everything. They kind of sat back and played a little more defense. And we were able to kind of weather the storm after that first goal because they had a great crowd and we brought a great crowd, too honestly, for being two hours away.”
Drake Taylor suffered a “badly” sprained ankle in the final five minutes of the Davenport win. That forced other Mustangs to play. But Taylor entered the contest believing he could contribute, and he did, Craven said.
“His ankle was swollen and black and everything,” Craven said. “The pace of the game starting out was unfair to Drake. You could tell he was hurting, and he played great for being beat up like he was.”
Marble Falls got the equalizer when Ismayl Ismaylov scored on a ricochet with 20:19 left in the first half.
“Lots of credit to, Ishi for just winning balls and playing all over the place,” the coach said. “We had the momentum, obviously scoring that goal and had the momentum to possess the ball or get shots off. We started playing the way we were supposed to to start winning balls and playing defense.”
CAPTION: The Mustangs’ only goal in the state semifinal kicked by Ismayl Ismaylov (left) as he got it past Waco La Vega defenders standing in the middle of the penalty box. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
Up to that point and after, the Mustangs had opportunities — free kicks, corner kicks and a couple of breakaways. But they couldn’t find the back of the net again with some attempts kicked too high, others hitting a pole or cross bar, and others being cleared by La Vega.
One Mustang simply had a defender and the goalie to beat with 9:25 left in the match. The goalie got the ball.
Less than a minute later, Marcum came out to kick the free ball from the La Vega 45-yard line. As it got to the crowd, the goalie knocked the ball away.
Meanwhile, the Pirates did all they could to catch the Mustangs flatfooted again. Instead, Marcum and the defenders rose to the occasion — literally — by using their heads and refusing to allow La Vega to dribble to the side of the penalty box and wait for a teammate to flash free.
Sometimes the Mustangs looked like they were basketball defenders, guarding the paint while staying on the balls of their feet and low as the Pirate with the ball made a decision on how to proceed.
When Marcum did come out, he beat La Vega in a foot race for the ball, used his head to clear it out of the box and away from Pirates, or had leaping jumps to tip the ball to himself. In fact the Pirates had two opportunities to score on the same possession on a corner kick. Marcum leapt to block the first, and the Pirates looked to have an easy ricochet since the goalie was still laying on the turf. But the Mustangs cleared the ball to turn the Pirates away again.
Only two times was La Vega better than Marble Falls at finishing.
The first was at the 3:05 mark of the first half. The ball was passed from right to left on the outside where the Pirate went one on one with a Mustang, who stayed with him stride for stride. After Marcum came out to help challenge, the defender took his shot with just enough force to accurately put it into the right pocket of the net.
“I thought there was an obvious foul on that second goal,” Craven said. “Jett came out and I don’t know if he slipped or what, but they got the goal in. It was going to be 1-1 going into halftime, and we had all the momentum. Because in the second half, they sat back and just absorbed our attack because we were bringing it on them. They kicked it up there and had a chance to run, so we had to run back. Our defender did a great job of holding it.”
The other was with 2:47 left. A Pirate chased the ball from one end to the other in a footrace and found himself one on one with Marcum on the left side. This time the ball was kicked softly and accurately into the left corner of the net.
Craven credited reserves in “trying to keep us fresh,” Jose Campos Garcia “for winning balls in the air,” and Will Guzman, Noe Gonzalez, Erick Flores and Joaquin Aguilar “for winning balls.” He praised the Mustangs’ whole back line for its play, pointing out that he kept a lot of players in purple and white on the La Vega side of the 50-yard line.
“They’re well coached,” he said of La Vega. “They play through balls and the deep balls well, and we practiced it. You could look at and point the finger at all different kinds of scenarios. The bottom line is they scored three and we scored one. They’re a really, really good team that deserves to be there for a reason. We did, too, but it was a physical game.”
Marble Falls Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Jeff Gasaway, Marble Falls High School Principal Patrick Hinson and athletic director Keri Timmerman each presented the Mustangs with their bronze state medals and the plaque for finishing in third place in the state.
Then the players gathered around their coaches for one more postgame huddle.
“You laid everything on the line for your brothers,” assistant coach David Griffin said. “Be proud of what you’ve done. Only three teams in the history of Marble Falls have played this far (the 1992 Marble Falls High School football team and the 2006-07 Marble Falls High School girls basketball team). Always root for your brothers.”
Three Marble Falls ISD buses filled with students and the high school drum line were in attendance.
“That was pretty awesome, so just a great experience to get it out there,” Craven said.
He reflected on this 2026 team.
“This without a doubt is not the most talented team that Marble Falls has had in the last five years,” he said. “We talked with the team early in the season that we’re not going to win games 5-0, 6-0, 4-0. It’s going to be 3-1, 2-0 or 1-0. They embraced that. We told them that we’re a gritty team that’s going to defend and we’re going to score enough and we did that. We had some speed and we had the entire team, we’re going to attack. Even if we don’t score as much, we’re still going to attack and go after you. I was so proud that we embraced that mentality. Our motto was ‘unfinished business’ because we felt like last year we let a district championship get away from us, and then we lost in the area (round) to La Vernia when we felt like we were the better team, so our ultimate goal was to go and win a regional championship. And then at that point leave all the cards on the table, and we’re just going to go out there and we’re going to play. Because at that point, all things possible and our guys accomplished every one of those goals, and next year, the goal is to get the state championship.”
CAPTION: One of several times the Mustangs were that close to scoring against the Pirates. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
