Marble Falls boys soccer learns through setbacks

The Marble Falls High School boys soccer team went 1-2 at the Round Rock Cedar Ridge tournament Jan. 11-13.

The Mustangs beat Cedar Ridge 3-1 and lost to Leander Rouse 1-0 and to Del Valle 2-0.

Esteban Dominguez, Garrett Goggans and Diego Mata scored the goals. Dominguez had two assists, while Goggans had the other.

“It was a good game for us,” head coach Rick Hoover said about the win. “I was proud of the kids for stepping up and coming off the disappointing loss. I thought we played well in all three games. Against Cedar Ridge, we were able to finish. I thought we played really well. You can play great and still lose. A bounce here and a bounce there changes the game completely.”

Hoover said he substituted his line-ups in this tournament to give each player the most valuable part of the pre-district season — minutes.

“We were disappointed by the losses,” he said. “Every time you lose, it doesn’t matter how you lose. In both of those games, we played it like a pre-season game. I didn’t play it like a championship or a playoff game.”

He noted the value in these matches is giving every Mustang playing time. That outweighs the outcome of the contest, he added.

He also noted that Rouse, a District 25-5A member, and Del Valle, a District 26-6A member, had reserves who were every bit as solid as the starters.

“(Their) depth is what makes a difference,” Hoover said. “All three goals came late in each game. I’m trying to build depth. This is the point in the season it’s more important to build depth. We had four or five kids coming off the bench. With a little more playing time, they’re slowly closing the gap. It’s more important to get that experience. I built this pre-season schedule on purpose. It’s not to try to go 10-0 before district. I’d rather have tough challenges and get better — that’s the key. With these losses, it wasn’t fun. But we got better. It exposes things that most (Class) 4A opponents won’t do.”

Hoover noted Mother Nature also was a challenge.

“I think the conditions were tough with the high winds,” he said. “I thought the whole tournament was very good. I was proud of the kids for fighting till the very end.”

He pointed out that some teams lose to opponents with bigger rosters and larger student bodies and take comfort in that. But not the Mustangs.

“Our kids don’t care about that,” Hoover said. “They don’t care if they lose to a big school or a little school, which is a trait I love about these kids.”

The Mustangs moved their home contests against San Antonio Veterans Memorial to Wednesday, Jan. 17, with the varsity playing at 5 p.m. and the junior varsity at 6:45 p.m. The Marble Falls varsity welcomes Austin Crockett Friday, Jan. 19, at 7:15 p.m. The junior varsity is playing in the Burnet Junior Varsity tournament.

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