Hawks fall to Kilgore, 5-2

Pleasant Grove’s soccer season came to an end as the Hawks fell to Kilgore 5-2 at Hawk Stadium Friday in a Class 4A area round match.

The Bulldogs dominated possession and had 18 shots on goal compared to just four for the Hawks.

One of Pleasant Grove’s best players got a red card in the first half, and the Hawks had to play 10-on-9 throughout the match.

“I pushed the team hard to grow and become better men,” PG head coach Drake Staggs said. “I can say that they have grown, and it was a much better match than last year. This year we got more offensive compared to the prior year.

“We did the best we could do with what we had. We played without three of our best players, but we did the best we could. I am proud of them for fighting.”

The Hawks took an early 1-0 lead when Dillon Williams booted in a 35-yard goal with 32:04 left in the first half.

David Garcia scored on a header for the Bulldogs with 16:08 left in the first to knot it at 1-all. About eight minutes later, Elian Torres kicked in a goal off an assist from Yonaton Contreras to give Kilgore a 2-1 edge.

Wayna McIntryre legged in a goal with 6:08 left for the Bulldogs to make it 3-1 at intermission.

Mateo Meraz padded Kilgore’s lead with a goal at 36:51, and teammate Contreras shot in a goal at 24:29 to give the Bulldogs a commanding 5-1 advantage.

Anthony Mejia made a spectacular save with his feet for the Hawks with 30:22 left in the match.

Pleasant Grove got two penalty kicks with 23:49 left in the match. Jacob Heminger’s attempt was saved by Kilgore goalie Jackson Hatcher.

Dillon Williams booted in his penalty kick for the Hawks to make it 5-2.

Senior Hawk goalie Matt Day made 13 saves. Kilgore plays Palestine in the Class 4A regional quarterfinals.