Marble Falls boys soccer beats Bandera

CAPTION: Marble Falls’ Joaquin Aguilar (standing in front of Bandera’s No. 8) watches as he slips the ball between two defenders and just past the goalie for one of his two goals. Photo by Shaunna Marcum/ShaunnaLisa of Cliffhanger Loop Productions

The Marble Falls High School boys soccer team shut out Bandera 3-0 Feb. 17 in a battle for first place in the District 26-4A standings to end the first round.

“That is by far the best game we’ve played all year,” head coach Ryan Craven told his players in the postgame huddle. “If you play like that every single week, no one in the state of Texas can beat you. You have to stay on edge at all times.”

The Mustangs scored all three of their goals in the first half thanks to three assists by Eliezer Chocoj. One was to Jose Campos Garcia and two went to Joaquin Aguilar, none bigger than his second one that was scored in the final 10 seconds of the first half.

“He was able to get a scrappy goal,” Craven said. “He barely got it across the line. The referee had to make that call from his position. We scored in the first 15 minutes, so that was huge.”

As halftime was wrapping up, the Mustangs were setting the tone before they stepped back on the field, the coach said.

“To our kids’ credit, they were even saying ‘it’s 0-0,'” he said.

Because of the lopsided score, he was able to empty the bench.

Craven pointed to specific reasons why he called this match the best of the season.

“Our focus tonight was the best it’s been all year,” he said. “Our communication was better, we had a good game plan for their (junior Alvaro Fernandez). He is a really good player and we were talking about where he was at all times.”

He commended the Mustangs for making sure Fernandez didn’t get the opportunity to impact the match, signaling out Aaron Luna for what he did against the Bulldog defensively.

“We didn’t really let him get going,” the coach said. “Aaron Luna in the midfield, who got player of the game tonight, he really shut him down. And then when they moved him up top to the striker position, our center backs did a good job. Drake Taylor and Will Guzman did a good job of shutting (that) down. So it was really a team effort of us knowing where he’s at and not letting him get the ball.” 

While he was happy with the win, Craven believes the Mustangs can still get better.

“Guys, I’m going to praise you when do play well, but I’m always going to find something to pick at to get you better,” he said. “They have done a good job all year, to their credit, of responding. And when I do get on them, of not getting their heads down. So they’re a fun group.”

Marble Falls welcomes Wimberley Friday, Feb. 20, with the junior varsity playing at 5:30 p.m. and the varsity at 7:15 p.m.

“We lost them the first go round, so we need to prepare for them and get ready so that we keep putting some separation between us and everybody else,” Craven said.  

CAPTION: Eliezer Chocoj (23) set up his teammates for offensive success while Carlos Loredo does his part in the Mustangs’ attack. Photo by Shaunna Marcum/ShaunnaLisa of Cliffhanger Loop Productions