MSOC: 'Riders claim scrimmage win over Tigers
Horton during preseason scrimmage action Friday at Roughrider
Stadium. (Photo by Ray Jackson)
The Tenaha Tigers surprised the Center with an early goal, but when the 'Riders got on track they began to gain and keep the momentum Friday night as they built a 4-1 lead at the half as they went on to a 7-2 win over the Tigers in scrimmage action at Roughrider Stadium.
The squads played a shorted game, battling for a pair of 30-minute halves. Jose Campos scored on a long ball that appeared to catch the Center defense off-guard just four minutes to put the visiting Tigers on top, 1-0.
The Roughriders would come back with four goals before the break. The first came with 17 minutes on the clock, before exploding with three goals in the final three minutes before the half to give CHS a three-goal lead.
Senior Gilberto Presa scored twice for Center during the run, while sophomore Luis Garcia and sophomore Pablo Gonzalez added one each.
Center tacked on its fifth goal of the game with 20 minutes left in the contest when senior Jonathan Rafael drove a shot into the back of the net. The 'Riders then added another one five minutes later when Rafael got loose for a shot as the Roughriders padded their lead to 6-1.
Campos scored his second goal of the match for the Tigers with 12 minutes remaining, converting a free kick, trimming the 'Rider lead to 6-2.
Center would then tack on a final goal in the final five minutes when Garcia putting a shot into the net.
Freshman Armando Escobedo was the winning goalie in the net for the Roughriders.
"Armando has played goalie for me the past two games and has done an excellent job despite only being a freshman," said Center head coach Richard Ruiz. "I've been very impressed with his ability to anticipate shots at the goal.
"He is going to be a valuable asset to our team throughout the season. He'll be splitting time in goal with Felipe Parra."
Two Tigers split time in goal as Alberto Leos started the match and had some excellent saves, according to Tenaha head coach Terry Ward. Tim Hafford also spent time in the Tiger net.
"We started out playing pretty well and our offense was aggressive, which led to us getting an early goal on them," said Ward later. "But we have to improve on our defense. We gave up some easy goals because our defenders were too low and not aggressive, but that's the reason you have scrimmages - to learn those things.
"We want to see where our weaknesses are and continue to work on them before the regular season starts."
Tenaha was scheduled to open its regular season Tuesday night in Carthage, but the match was cancelled because of poor field conditions.
Ruiz said his team is making positive strides toward its season opener, which was Tuesday night at home against Atlanta. Center won that match, 4-0.
"We have a very young team this year and they really like playing soccer and have been working very hard in practice to try to establish a better passing game that is going to benefit them in district," Ruiz stated. "I am really proud of our guys stepping up and overcoming an early score. They were able to come back and keep fighting.
"I'm hoping this will be a small preview of what we will see this season. These scrimmages give me time to scout our kids and see how they play under pressure. It is definitely good practice."