Apaches overcome first half frustrations, win 3-1

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MANOR — The bi-district playoff game between the District 26-4A champion Gonzales Apaches and the fourth-seeded Lampasas Badgers of District 25-4A was a surprisingly tight contest, as the Apaches had to overcome a scoreless first half and a late brawl before eventually getting the 3-1 win to advance to the next round.

“Their team was phenomenal,” Gonzales’ head coach Greg Ramirez said of Lampasas. “They were more than a fourth-seed team, that’s for sure. They were out to play. They wanted this game. We got some good breaks and were able to capitalize on some mistakes that they did. Lampasas is a really good team, they are awesome.”

The matchup of the night between the Apache forwards and the Lampasas back four was one to watch for as the Badgers matched speed with the normally speedy Gonzales forwards.

“Their defense was extremely fast,” Ramirez admitted. “We couldn’t get past them.”

In other games, strikers such as Rogelio Sanchez and Santiago Escoto, would able to find a spot in the line to out-pace the defense. Friday night, Lampasas covered their ground and frustrated the attackers.

Even as the Apaches eventually found space to take shots on goal, Lampasas goalkeeper Johnnie McGehee blocked everything his way.

It wasn’t until eight minutes into the second half where the Apaches finally found their first goal of the game.

“We started to do more wide passing,” Ramirez said of the second-half adjustment. “All we were doing in the beginning was trying to go over the top.”

Due to Lampasas’ speed, the Apaches tried to bring in the defense through their passes out wide so that Escoto and Sanchez could get open.

In the 48th minute, Sanchez was able to draw a foul right outside the right side of the box. Daniel Cruz took the free kick, finding the head of Escoto who got passed the goalie, giving Gonzales the 1-0 lead.

Later in the game, Cruz added to the lead as Escoto from the left side of the box found some space in front of the goalie, successful passing it to the freshman who tapped it in from just a few feet away to go up 2-0.

“Rogelio [Sanchez] and Daniel Cruz were excellent tonight,” Ramirez said. “Santiago and Jose Flores with their passing abilities did awesome too.”

In the 69th minute, Sanchez broke through the defense and drilled a shot to the lower left corner of the net, giving the Apaches the 3-0 lead. Just two minutes later, Lampasas scored, cutting the lead to 3-1.

As the Apaches defense stiffened, tempers flared and with 1:55 left on the clock, a late foul on the Badgers was called, causing a minor brawl to break out as both teams tried to separate their players. Officials assessed red cards to both teams, including one to Apache starter Sebastian Rodriguez who, due to the red card, is forced to sit out for the next round.

The game continued and the Apaches ended the game with the 3-1 advantage. They now advance to the area round to take on Fredericksburg, the second seed out of District 27-4A who had a bye in the first round.

“Against Fredericksburg, we’re going to start out with our wide passing instead of going over the top. That’s what we got to do,” Ramirez said. “We’re going to test the waters first, so-to-speak, we’re going to test the speed of their defense. If they’re slower than us, we’ll go over the top.”

The teams play on Friday, March 31 at Wimberley at 7 p.m.

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