“Harker Heights came out strong and fast in the first half,” Temple coach Matt Corley said. “They were ready to play.”
The Knights (12-2-2, 4-1 in 12-5A) scored all three goals in the first half, when they held the Wildcats (11-6, 3-2) scoreless.
Temple’s lone goal was by Itai Meki with an assist by his brother, Tawanda.
“We had good opportunities to score in both halves,” Corley said. “But in the first half, everything we shot seemed to go over. And in the second half, our shots went over or wide. We were trying to beat Heights with pure strength instead of passing and shooting. We just didn’t capitalize on our opportunities.”
The Wildcats will host district co-leader Belton on Tuesday.
“We will watch film of this game and critique what we did wrong,” Corley said. “We have to try to get back to the basics and do the simple things that got us 11 wins.
“We’ll sit down with the guys and show them what they are doing wrong individually and as a team. Hopefully they’ll realize that if we make these kind of mistakes against Belton, they will punish us. But I know our kids are capable and they will refocus.”
BELTON - Tyron Martin had a hat trick to help the Belton Tigers roll to an 11-0 win over Copperas Cove at Wilson-Kerzee Field on Friday night.
“It was difficult to stop (our guys) from scoring,” Belton coach Tarcisio Mosnia said. “Even when we put other guys in we would score. The guys played really well.”
Vincent Crepeau, Josh Caffey and Brandon Maldonado added two goals each and Nick Palamara and Dillon Darr scored one apiece.
“The guys didn’t feel like this would be easy,” Mosnia said. “But when you look at the score, it did turn out that way.”
Martin and Crepeau gave Belton - ranked No. 13 nationally in the ESPN RISE poll - a 2-0 lead with goals in the first seven minutes. Palamara, Crepeau, Caffey and Maldonado started an offensive frenzy near the 20-minute mark, scoring a goal each in five minutes to put the game out of reach.
“Everybody just started clicking,” Mosnia added. “There was a lull there for a while, and then we just picked it up near the end of the half.”
Goalkeeper Manuel Amaya didn’t have a busy night but stopped all five of Cove’s shots.
The Tigers (15-1, 5-0) will be at Temple on Tuesday.
GIRLS
Temple’s Lauren Muniz headed in a corner kick by Kristen Kylberg in the fourth minute of the second overtime to give the Lady Wildcats a 2-1 win over Harker Heights on Friday night at Woodson Field.
Temple got a first-half goal from Rebecca Petro but allowed Harker Heights to tie the game with just under two minutes left in regulation.
“We had to have (this),” Lady Wildcats coach Oscar Bersoza said. “Our goal is to get into the playoffs and we couldn’t afford a tie.”
The Lady Wildcats (9-5-1, 3-2) travel to Belton on Tuesday night.
COPPERAS COVE - The Belton Lady Tigers remained perfect in District 12-5A with a convincing 8-0 win over Copperas Cove on Friday.
Jourdan Brown had a hat trick and Chelsea Jones, Michelle Hagen, Carina Dunahoo, Taylor McMillan and Lauren Van Orden had one goal apiece as Belton outshot Copperas Cove 29-3.
The Lady Tigers (11-1-3) had little trouble, scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes and holding a 4-0 lead at halftime. They added two more quick goals in the second half, then just maintained tight defense the rest of the way.
Belton coach Barry Elkins said his squad is playing well now but warned that it has a tough schedule coming up, hosting Temple on Tuesday before traveling to district co-leader College Station A&M Consolidated next Friday.
“We want to make sure we don’t get complacent,” Elkins said. “We have to stay ready and be prepared. We need everyone with the same mentality right now."
