San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Raiders dispatch 2-time defending champs
The Taft girls soccer team kept its season perfect as the Raiders began the second half of District 29-6A play by taking down back-to-back reigning district champion Brennan 2-1 on Friday night at the Northside ISD Soccer Fields.
Brennan sits third in the 29-6A standings, but the firstplace Raiders (13-0, 9-0) viewed the Bears (12-5, 7-3) as the team to beat.
“We have a lot of respect for them and a lot of respect for their players,” Taft coach Scott Davis said. “They have earned it the last two years, and we knew to be the best, you have to beat the best. We wanted to do that.”
Taft set the tone early as the Raiders kept control of the ball on Brennan's side of the field for the first 15 minutes of the first half. It was the Bears who got the first serious scoring chances, though.
Brennan sophomore Jennovi Diedrich dribbled the ball down towards the box and took a shot, though Taft sophomore goalkeeper Madissyn Harris stretched out and dove to make the save. The Bears' next opportunity saw them get on the board in the 33rd minute.
Senior Kyleen Hurley sent a corner into the box, and a Brennan player sent a header toward the goal, where Harris made the save. Brennan midfielder Rylee Halpin found the rebound and tipped the putback into the net to grab a 1-0 lead.
The Raiders quickly tied the game in the 36th minute, also off a corner kick. Senior Alexia Salinas kicked it to junior Layla Rangel, who sent a header past the goalkeeper, sending the two teams to halftime tied at 1.
Davis implored his team to come out strong and finish the job in the second half.
“They are the defending district champions, and I told them at halftime, ‘They are the best until somebody beats them,'” Davis said. “We had to go out there and win this game and not just accept the tie. We had to go beat them.”
Taft answered the call in the 55th minute, when Salinas drove the ball down the field, passing several Bears defenders. After juking the goalie, Salinas passed the ball to open sophomore Julissa Gonzalez, who tipped the ball in for the 2-1 lead.
It is Taft's second win over Brennan this season after the Raiders took the first meeting by an identical 2-1 score on Jan. 18.
“I liked our resiliency for sure, coming back from down a goal,” Davis said. “We knew they were going to come to play. We knew that this team doesn't roll over for anybody. They're not just going to accept that we're in first and they weren't and that was just the way it was going to be. They were coming to fight, and we knew that, and we expected that.”
The Raiders get another chance to secure their position atop 29-6A at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Farris Soccer Stadium when they face second-place O'Connor, whose only district loss is to Taft on Jan. 20. Brennan's next match also is against O'Connor at 7 p.m. Friday at the Northside ISD Soccer Fields.