H.S. Soccer: Abilene High girls silence Abilene Cooper in district battle

Staff reports

Three Abilene High players scored goals, and Trinity Escobedo made four saves as the Lady Eagles beat Cooper 3-0 in a District 4-5A girls soccer game Thursday at the Shotwell annex.

AHS, which led 2-0 at halftime, got goals form Rheauna De La Garza, Justine Martinez and Laila Brown. Martinez and Brown also had an assist each.

Escobedo, who was pulled up from the JV, got the save for the Lady Eagles (7-1-1 overall, 2-0 district). They opened district with a 6-1 win over Wylie on Jan. 27.

Abilene High's Justine Martinez, left, prepares to kick the ball as Cooper's Yesenia Rodriguez defends in the first half.

The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but it pushed back to Thursday because of an ice storm that hit the city on Monday.

“We have had to face some adversity already early in the season, but the girls are overcoming it together,” said Tiffany Van Hoose, AHS’ first-year coach. “Almost a week off from our last game and no practice due to ice was tough on the girls, but they found a way to pull out the win, and, at the end of the day, that’s what matters.”

Lexi McWhorter made 12 saves for Cooper (1-9, 0-2).

“Playing the crosstown game versus Abilene High is a fun one for our girls,” Cooper coach Michelle Velez said. “They get to compete against some of their friends for bragging rights.”

Velez said she couldn’t fault her team’s play.

“Our girls played hard from the beginning to the end,” Velez said. “They never put their heads down and had several good opportunities that we need to finish.

“To the credit of Coach Van Hoose and her team, they moved the ball well and created overloads that we had to defend most of the night.”

Abilene High's Rheauna De La Garza, center, goes on the attack as Cooper's Anita Alcantar (3) gives chase. De La Garza scored on the play for the game's first goal with 19:49 left in the first half.

Velez said Yesenia Rodriguez played well for the Lady Coogs.

“I am really proud of Yesenia and her tenacious fight to break up their runs coming from the right side,” Velez said. “My group played with pride, and they fought hard against a very good team.”

Cooper plays Wylie at 5 p.m. Friday in a district game at Sandifer Stadium. AHS plays Lubbock Monterey at 5 p.m. Friday in a league game in Lubbock.

BOYS

Eagles rally, beat Cooper

Trey Hall’s goal late in the game snapped a 1-1 tie and lifted Abilene High to a 2-1 victory over Cooper in a District 4-5A game at the Shotwell annex.

Kamune Mrisho put Cooper (3-5-1, 0-2) up 1-0 off a free kick four minutes into the game.

It remained a 1-0 game until Austin Wood scored off a corner from Karter Batten with 15 minutes left in the game. Hall scored the game-winner three minutes later.

Joel McPherson had five saves for AHS (3-5-4, 2-0).

“I am really proud of my guys battling back from a 1-0 deficit and scoring two second-half goals to win the game,” Eagles coach Roy Castillo said.

AHS plays Lubbock Monterey at 5 p.m. Friday at the Shotwell annex, and Cooper plays Wylie in the second game of a doubleheader at the annex.

Abilene High's Laila Brown (13) dribbles the ball as Cooper's Jaya'Lyn Anderson (24) and Mackenzie Ash (1) defend in the first half.