MSOC: 'Riders bow out of kicker playoffs
Center lost Tuesday, 7-1. (Photo by John Krueger)
Advancing to the Class 4A State playoffs for East Texas teams forces them to switch gears, mostly because once in the postseason, teams from District 35-4A are forced to play teams from the Waco area.
For the second consecutive season the Center Roughriders have qualified for the postseason, and once again they ran into a seasoned team from Waco and dropped an Area playoff matchup. On Tuesday night CHS fell to Waco High by a 7-1 count at Athens High School.
Three of the four league teams struggled in the playoffs, with only one of them picking up an opening victory.
All four teams that qualified for the playoffs from District 35-4A received a bye in the bi-district round of the playoffs. In addition to Center's setback, league champion Jacksonville topped Killeen, 4-1, district runner-up Nacogdoches lost to Waco Midway, 1-0, and third-place finisher Palestine fell to Waco University, 3-1.
Jacksonville is set to meet Waco University in the Sectional round of the playoffs.
Roughrider Head Coach Richard Ruiz said his team faced an uphill battle from the outside in its setback to Waco High. CHS fell behind 5-0 at the half and was never able to recover.
"Coming into the game we had the formations and knew what we wanted to do to be successful," Ruiz stated. "But I think we were kind of intimidated by them when we watched them warm up. They had some big guys and, as a result, we just didn't show up to play. We just weren't attacking."
Rain threatened before the game, but didn't move in until the match was over. But Center still couldn't hit on all cylinders.
Rene Solis scored the lone goal for the Roughriders in the second half, with Eduardo Chavez picking up the assist on the play.
"We had at least five or six good scoring opportunities during the game when we had a 1-on-1 situations with a player and their goalie, but we just couldn't score," Ruiz pointed out. "We just didn't finish."
Playing a team from Waco means small scoring opportunities must be capitalized on, Ruiz admitted.
"They were a very polished team," Ruiz said of the Waco High squad. "I talked with their coach after the game and he said most of the Waco teams are made up of players who play a lot of 'club' soccer their in Waco. As soon as their season is over they go into club leagues and they also play throughout the summer to stay sharp. And also stay in shape. And it's easier for them because they don't have too travel as far.
"I encourage our kids to play as much league play in Nacogdoches during the summer when they can, but they can't always afford to do that."
Center finished the season with a 5-11-1, losing its final four games. But Ruiz said the team has a good mix of young and veterans and should have a strong base from which to build the 2012 team.