Racing ahead

Early lead keys Mustangs in quarterfinal win over Oakland; C’ville falls

MURFREESBORO — It could have been a lot more. But Peyton McKnatt and the Houston soccer team will take four goals any day of the week, especially in the state quarterfinals.

The Mustangs opened defense of their AAA championship in impressive fashion, blanking Murfreesboro Oakland 4-0 at Siegel Soccer Park on Tuesday. The victory sends Houston into a semifinal game against Ravenwood today at 6:30 p.m.

“Yeah, it’s (frustrating),” the senior said. “But I’ll take four.”

Said Mustangs coach David Wolff of his team’s performance, “It was not spectacular. We weren’t very efficient and we were on Saturday (when they put 11 past Cordova in a substate victory).”

McKnatt put Houston ahead 1-0 in the 10th minute of play and said getting an early lead was all part of the plan.

“We talked about it on the bus ride,” he said. “We talked about the first 10 or 15 minutes just basically coming out as hard as we can.”

Corey Brown converted a nice pass from Josh Moss to make 2-0 30 minutes in and Wolff said that was the backbreaker.

“It was the most important (goal),” he said. “Corey’s scored some huge goals for us this season. He plays a lot of different positions for us, sort of like a utility infielder. And he came up big with that one.”

Brodie Lewis got the third with 14 minutes left on a shot the Oakland goalkeeper fumbled into the net before Connor Young ran onto a good through ball from McKnatt to make it 4-0 two minutes later.

It wasn’t nearly as good a day for Houston’s archrival Collierville. The Dragons fell behind in the second minute of play and went on to lose to Bearden, 3-0, to end the season 15-5-3.

“It always puts you behind the eight-ball,” said coach Drew Hensarling. “At this stage they’re all quality teams and especially when you’re playing a storied program like Bearden . ... We got behind and we pressed a little.

“We had some good opportunities, but when they got the second goal you start to feel like it just isn’t going to be your day.”

PHOTOS BY JIM WEBER/THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL Houston High’s Corey Brown (15) celebrates a goal with teammates Joshua Moss (right) and Peyton McKnatt (center) against Murfreesboro Oakland in the AAA quarterfinals on Tuesday. McKnatt also scored in the Mustangs’ 4-0 victory.

Collierville High’s Daniel Blaisdell (23) gets tangled up while making a header against Bearden. The Dragons lost 3-0, ending their season with a 15-5-3 record.