Boys’ soccer fights weather for victory
The Wimberley Texan soccer boys played at Bandera on Tuesday of this week and will travel again this Friday as they take on Fredericksburg in District 24A competition. Coach Ramez Antoun sat down this week for a short interview about soccer, injuries, lousy weather and more soccer.
“Last Tuesday we played Canyon Lake at home and won 2-1. We knew it was going to be a physical game so we prepared for that. Usually they’re a pretty strong defensive team but they made a couple of mistakes in that first half and we got goals from both. In the second half Alan Hernandez added a goal, his 11th this season, so he’s leading the team in scoring.
“The weather was nasty with drizzling rain and cold. “This was perfect English weather, just right for a soccer game!” Coach Antoun quipped.
“At halftime, I told our guys, “A two goal lead is just enough to make us feel nice and comfy, but, it’s also just enough for them to feel they can get back into the game. The next goal is going to be critical because it will either bury them or give them hope, depending upon who scores.”
“Sure enough, just five minutes into the second half, we lost sight of their best player who was able to sneak in behind the defense and put a great shot in just inside the post. That made the score 2-1. After that goal, Canyon started moving more players forward at us to get into the game. So, we countered by getting more defenders into the game to clog up the middle.”
“It was a good game for the kids because Canyon Lake is always tough. They’ve had some success and haven’t given up many goals. With the win we brought our district record to 1-1-1.”
“Nick Kohls proved pretty versatile in the roles he’s been filling for the team as we moved players around due to injuries. Nick’s best at wing where he’s most comfortable but he’s filled in for us at outside back, defensive mid-fielder and striker. Also, Edgar Jiminez is playing as an outside back but he’s a best on the wing. Ramsey Frank is still out of the defensive backfield but we’re cautiously optimistic to get him back soon which will help us at other positions.”
“Brandon Shott, our goalkeeper, deserves much praise for his great work in the nets. He’s made saves that probably most high school keepers couldn’t make.”
“It’s a five team district so it’s not so much about winning a set number of games. In this district, a team can win two or three games and advance to the playoffs at the next level. But we don’t want to finish fourth then need to play the number one team from the other half of the district. We want to finish second or maybe even first, but third would still get us where we can advance with strong play. Of course, winning the district championship would also be nice!”
“I tell our players, “This is not last year’s team and this is not next year’s team. We are THIS year’s team and we need to write our own story.” So we’ll go out to Bandera this Friday, take advantage of their weaknesses and try to bury them. That’s our goal against Bandera and that’s our goal against everybody we play.”