3-goal blast propels Rams over Wildcats
Lakeside took control of the game early, scoring three goals in under two minutes, as the Rams rolled to a 4-0 victory over El Dorado Tuesday night at Austin Field.
Russell Gartner picked up a hat trick, scoring three of the four goals for the Rams (10-3-1, 5-2 5A/6A-6), while the Wildcats (4-4-2, 2-4) never could find the back of the net.
“We came out,” said Lakeside head coach Craig Moses Tuesday. “We didn’t play real well last night. We did; we just couldn’t score, and that’s one of the things we focused on today — be patient, and don’t overthink it and don’t overpower it. Just get the ball in the back of the net.”
Gartner put the ball in the back of the net with 26:33 remaining in the first half after a throw-in by Philip Gayle dropped in front of the senior midfielder on the left side of the goal.
The Rams front line did not let up after the first goal, getting the ball deep into Wildcat territory before Bobby Rhodes got the ball off a pass from Gayle, putting it above the diving El Dorado keeper to make it 2-0 with 25:09 left in the half.
Gartner got his second goal 21 seconds later after a flurry of kicks were repelled by the Wildcat keeper, finding the top right corner of the net from about 10 yards out.
“It takes the wind out of anyone’s sails,” Moses said of the three goals the Rams scored within a two-minute span. “Any time you get that many goals — boom, boom, boom — it takes wind out of a lot of people’s sails. We were just fortunate that it was us doing the scoring.”
The Wildcats made a switch in goal, which kept the Rams from scoring until late in the half. A foul on Jose Diaz about five yards outside the penalty box gave Gartner a chance for his third goal. His direct free kick sailed over El Dorado’s wall as the keeper froze, the ball sailing into the top-left corner for a 4-0 Rams lead with 2:24 remaining.
“We did a good job today of moving the ball around, getting opportunities,” Moses said. “Russell had three goals, and sophomore Bobby Rhodes had a goal, being in the right place at the right time. That’s what a winger is supposed to do, pick up goals like that.”
El Dorado made some defensive changes during the second half, keeping the goal clear. The Rams almost got a fifth goal on a penalty kick with 24 minutes remaining, but the shot by Alvaro Barrago hit the crossbar, bouncing free.
The Rams finished with 38 shots on the night, 13 of which were on-target. El Dorado had 16 shots, seven on-goal.
Lakeside’s defense picked up its second-straight clean-sheet and fourth of the season with the win. Goalkeeper Devin Nieto had three saves in the first half, and Anthony Herrera had four in the second half.
“Hats off again to the defense; they played strong again tonight,” Moses said. “We’ve just got to keep on going. We’ve got a tough one Thursday.”
The Wildcats conceded eight corners to the Rams while Lakeside did not allow a single corner for El Dorado.
Fouls plagued the Rams, picking up 15 compared to El Dorado’s 11.
The Rams are set to travel to Hope (6-5, 4-4) today, and El Dorado will host conference-leading De Queen (9-2, 6-0).
Girls
El Dorado scored both of its goals in the first half as it held on for a 2-0 win over Lakeside Tuesday at Austin Field.
The Lady Rams (7-7, 4-3) struggled to get off shots, getting off just seven with four on target in the match, but head coach Karrie Irwin was pleased with the effort the team showed.
“I told them at halftime that I was really impressed with the way they communicated,” she said Tuesday. “I was really impressed with the way they talked with each other about where to go and how to fix something instead of cutting each other down. It was a big improvement from the other day. We don’t like to lose, but coming back from that game yesterday, that was a massive improvement, and we all feel better about it.”
El Dorado (8-2, 3-2) found the back of the net early for its first goal, just 2:35 into the match. The second came at the
14:04 mark in the half.
The Lady Wildcats struggled with penalties, committing
13 on the night, and eight of those were offside calls. Lakeside committed just two fouls, one offside, in the match while taking three corner kicks and conceding four.
Jessica Bishop had 11 saves on the night, seven of which came in the first half.
The Lady Rams are in the midst of a three-conference-game losing streak, including Monday’s 6-1 loss at Texarkana.
“We played a lot better than we did yesterday,” Irwin said. “I don’t know what was going on yesterday. We didn’t have our minds in the game. We were all kinda with a cloud over our heads and weren’t working together, weren’t talking, weren’t communicating. We weren’t making any passes. We didn’t go to space. We weren’t attacking the ball.
“Today was one of those days — we had a little talk. We all felt a little bit better. They all started communicating better. They were encouraging, and that was nice. We kind of got in a slump, and it just was a little too late to catch up with the score.
Lakeside travels to Hope (29, 2-6) today, and El Dorado is set to host De Queen (8-4, 6-0).