H.S. soccer: Abilene Wylie rolls past Abilene Cooper girls

The Cooper girls soccer team had to play consecutive nights, and it showed in the second half against southtown rival Wylie.

The Lady Bulldogs, who had a bye the night before, scored five second-half goals, including three by Kaylee Richardson, in a 6-0 victory over the Lady Cougars in a District 4-5A game Friday at Sandifer Stadium.

Maly Wallem scored two goals, and Maci Hanson had another for Wylie (4-7-3 overall, 1-1 district), which bounced back from a 6-1 loss to Abilene High in the district opener Jan. 27 on the Lady Eagles’ home field.

Cooper (1-10, 0-3) was coming off a 3-0 loss to AHS at the Shotwell annex Thursday night. The game originally was scheduled for Tuesday, but it was pushed back to Thursday because of the ice storm that hit town Monday.

“We got lucky with having a bye,” Wylie coach Madison McAdams said. “I think it made a little bit of a difference not having to play back-to-back days.”

Regardless of the circumstances, McAdams was pleased with her team’s play.

“I was really proud of them,” McAdams said. “We didn’t start out on the right foot last week with our first district game against Abilene. So, we set out with some different goals today, made some adjustments and played hard from start to finish.”

Cooper coach Michelle Velez said her team couldn’t keep up with the Lady Bulldogs in the second half.

“With the turnaround as quick as it was, my girls did what they could,” Velez said. “The first half, kept them 1-0, played pretty decent in the half. The second half just showed over all of us that we were tired.”

Cooper did put up a fight in the first half. Hanson got the only goal Wylie needed off an assist from Rozlyn Rumsey with 33:20 left in the opening half.

Wylie had its chances to build on the lead before halftime, but Cooper goalie Lexi McWhorter made several nice saves, including a stop on Hanson’s penalty kick 3:13 before the break.

“The goalie did a good job the first half,” Velez said. “Second half, they’re coming in at us quick. They had fresh legs. They had no game yesterday, but there’s no excuses. This group works so hard, and we’d like to see a win at some point.”

Richardson got her first goal 7:43 into the second half, thanks to an assist from Allie Allen.

Wallem made it 3-0 three minutes later off an assist Hanson.

Richardson’s second goal put the Lady Bulldogs up 4-0 with 21:00 left to play in the game. Wallem had the assist, before notching her second goal with 8:26 remaining. It came off a Brylee Ross pass. Richardson got her hat trick on the game’s final goal.

Wylie goalie Avery Adams made two saves.

“Up front, we were really strong,” McAdams said. “We created a lot of chances. We didn’t finish as many as we wanted in the first half. Second half, we started connecting a lot more, found the back of the net. … We made great plays on the back line. The goalkeeper, I think she had to make a save or two, but we kept the shutout. Really just a great team win.”

Lady Eagles win again

At Lubbock, Justine Martinez and Laila Brown each scored goals as Abilene High edged Lubbock Monterey 2-1 in a District 4-5A game.

Trinity Escobedo made five saves in netting her second shutout in as many days. The Lady Eagles (7-1-1, 3-0) beat Cooper 3-0 on Thursday.

Brown had the assist on Martinez’s goal for a 1-0 halftime lead, and she scored on a breakaway for the game-winning goal in the game’s final minutes.

“It was a tough battle,” first-year AHS coach Tiffany Van Hoose said. “Much respect for Monterey and Coach Loffler. He has a strong group of girls that came out hard and ready to play until the end. I am so proud of the team effort we gave until the final whistle. We continue learning and growing for the next game.”

It was Monterey’s first loss in seven games. The Lady Plainsmen had won five straight before playing Lubbock-Cooper to a scoreless draw Thursday.

AHS plays Lubbock High at 5 p.m. Tuesday in a district game in Abilene.

BOYS

Wylie subdues Coogs

Alen Canales scored two goals, and Wylie knocked off Cooper 4-1 in a District 4-5A game at the Shotwell annex.

Cade Fellows and Isaiah Martinez each had a goal for the Bulldogs (6-6-1, 1-1), while Liam Cisneros, Lobokola Enduki and Fellows each had an assist.

Sawyer Thompson had eight saves for Wylie, which led 3-0 at halftime.

Kamune Mrisho had the Cougars’ lone goal on a penalty kick to make it a 3-1 game with 28:00 left.

“Huge win for us,” Wylie coach Oscar Villeda said. “Struggled against Abilene Cooper the past couple of years. Good win for this group going into Tuesday’s matchup with district leader Lubbock Monterey.”

The Bulldogs play Monterey at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Sandifer Stadium. Cooper has a bye on Tuesday before going to Monterey on Friday.

Monterey nips Eagles

Davien Jaramillo scored the game's lone goal as Monterey beat Abilene High 1-0 in a District 4-5A game at the Shotwell annex.

Reese Rasor had four saves for the Plainsmen (11-0-2, 3-0).

AHS (3-6-4, 2-1) plays Lubbock High at 5 p.m. Tuesday in Lubbock.