Double disappointment for Cinco Ranch
Boys: Early penalty kick dooms Cougars in semifinals
GEORGETOWN — Sporting his Captain America shirt, senior goalkeeper Patrick Hillyard was a hero for Cinco Ranch in the UIL Class 6A boys’ soccer state semifinal against Coppell.
But even his heroics weren’t enough to send the Cougars to the state championship game for a second consecutive year.
An early Nick Taylor penalty kick doomed Cinco Ranch in a 1-0 loss to Coppell on Friday at Birkelbach Field.
Taylor was awarded a penalty kick after a foul on Cinco Ranch’s Dawson Palomar in the fifth minute, which he buried past Hillyard for the eventual winning score.
Otherwise, Hillyard was sensational in the regular field of play, as the District 19-6A Most Valuable Player has been all season. He finished with seven saves. Coppell outshot Cinco Ranch 12-4.
Hillyard has no regrets, even on the penalty kick.
“It’s 50-50 if you’re going to get it or not,” Hillyard said. “You just have to pick a side and hope for the best.”
Cinco Ranch was painstakingly close to leveling with Coppell on a few chances. Andres Seijas thought he had the tying goal with 37 minutes left in regulation but the referees waived it off, calling the ball out of bounds before he took the shot.
With 10 minutes left in the game, Cinco Ranch’s Juan David Cabal had a strike from about 25 yards out that smacked the right goalpost.
“If you go back and take away the PK, it was an even match and I’ll take that,” Cinco Ranch coach Mason Whitfield said. “Anytime you can come into a state semifinal and know that you did a good job and put up a fight, that’s all I can ask for.”
Whitfield said despite the loss, Hillyard’s performance Friday was a microcosm of his career at Cinco Ranch.
“What a two-year run for me with him,” Whitfield said. “What a great opportunity and then of course, major saves. Just big saves. Kudos to him.”
This was the Cougars’ second consecutive trip to a state semifinal, advancing to the state championship game where they fell to Brownsville Rivera 2-0.
Cinco Ranch is the center of the universe for high school soccer in Houston considering the girls’ team made its third straight appearance at state.
Hillyard believes the Cinco Ranch boys are capable of returning soon.
“I think we can make it back again,” Hillyard said. “And hopefully next time, we’ll win it.”