Rams edge Wildcats in defensive stand
Both teams summoned a strong defensive effort but Lakeside scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over El Dorado Tuesday night at Austin Field.
Phillip Gayle scored in the 57th minute off a cross from Jack Butler. Lakeside preserved the margin when El Dorado threatened three minutes later, Ram goalkeeper Ryan Viscardis diving for a save but the ball coming loose. Ram defenders blocked two more El Dorado before Viscardis returned to his feet, finishing with nine saves.
“He does that,” said Lakeside coach Craig Moses. “He’s very consistent. It’s his game. He’s very knowledgeable of the game. His stature may not be the biggest keeper out there, but he’s quick and he has the knowledge of the game which puts him at the advantage of a lot of other keepers.”
The first half was scoreless despite Lakeside controlling 23 of the 40 minutes.
“We dominated the game (but) we just can’t score,” Moses said. “We’re still having problems scoring, but if you’re not going to score, it’s like I told them the other day, ‘We’re not going to score on every opportunity, but we’ve gotta be able to score.’”
El Dorado took 15 of its 20 shots in the second half but only six were on target.
“Second half, I thought El Dorado came out and took it to us a little bit,” Moses said. “I thought they had the better side the second half. I was proud of my defense, holding them out. We’ve gotta be able to hold out and win 1-0 games sometimes.”
Lakeside peppered El Dorado keeper Layne Henry for 28 shots, 15 in the first and with 19 on target.
Today, Lakeside (14-3-1, 9-2 in 5A/6-6) plays Texarkana on Senior Night and El Dorado (78-2, 3-4) goes to Hope.
• Jessica Bishop had 20 saves for Lakeside Tuesday night but couldn’t prevent a 2-0 El Dorado victory.
Bishop fielded eight shots in the first five minutes before Carson Henry connected for El Dorado’s first goal. The Lady Wildcats later fired eight shots in 13 minutes before Cami Lowrey made it 2-0.
An equipment issue before the game made Bishop’s performance more significant, said coach Karrie Irwin.
“She didn’t have her normal gloves,” Irwin said. “They ripped, and those were too big for her by about an inch. She’s a trooper. She gives 100 percent all the time. She’ll sacrifice. I’m real happy she’s in there.”
Irwin said the Lady Rams exhibited “so much more hustle, so much more drive trying to get to the ball” than against El Dorado last week.
“(We were) trying to make better passes, connecting some
combinations,” she said. “We had some that were a little bit down. It’s hot. They’re tired. We tried to do a lot more rotating to keep their legs fresh. We fought hard. … We’ve just got to finish. We just haven’t been able to finish.”
Senior fullback Rhea Yeargan, who manages the backfield along with Tarin Delong, was out after being injured at El Dorado last week.
“We lost a defender, one of our starting seniors who helps hold our line,” Irwin said. “Rhea Yeargan is in the center with Taryn, and they really keep that line up. We had more than 20 offsides with them last time. I think if we had our fullbacks in their normal position and the ones that have been working and holding that line, we probably could have got more offsides calls and a little bit less running.”
Lakeside (3-10, 2-4) plays Texarkana today while El Dorado (14-2, 7-1) hosts Benton on Tuesday.