Marble Falls boys soccer beats Austin Achieve, Kennedale in same week

Photo by Shaunna Marcum/ShaunnaLisa, Cliffhanger Loop Productions

The Marble Falls High School boys soccer team enjoyed winning back-to-back matches the week of Jan. 30-Feb. 2.

The Mustangs defeated Austin Achieve 3-0 Feb. 2 in District 25-4A play after crushing Kennedale 6-2 Jan. 30.

The Mustangs (3-0 in district play) hosted Achieve, the only team in district play to beat them in 2023, in the first round. Therefore, head coach Rick Hoover said, it was an important victory for his squad.

Garrett Goggans got the Mustangs on the scoreboard thanks to scoring on a penalty kick after the Polar Bears were called for a handball in the box. His goal gave Marble Falls a 1-0 lead at the half.

“That probably should have been a red card,” Hoover said. “It looked like he deliberately did a hand ball.”

Both teams fought through rain in the first half.

“It makes it difficult for both teams,” Hoover said. “It was a sloppy first half. It was difficult for either team to be successful on what they were doing.”

Seth Parker added the second goal thanks to an assist from Ivan Espino and Diego Mata scored the final goal on an assist from Esteban Dominguez. Both goals were scored in the final eight minutes of play.

Hoover noted the two second-half goals were scored close together.

“They still have their heads down and argued,” he said. “That’s when we cause the break. And we didn’t back off. We talk about the mental side. We stress that in our preparation. That’s an opportunity when the other team scores on you, they sometimes let their guard down. It’s a prime opportunity for the other team to score.”

The coach emphasized the importance of winning this contest, especially since it was in the first round at home.

“In the second half, it dried out. It was much better,” the coach said. “We were connecting on passes and controlling the ball and playing like how we want to play. We got that goal (in the first half), which was fortunate. We scored two goals in the last eight minutes. The majority of the game was a 0-0 battle. Achieve is a very good team.”

Against Kennedale Marble Falls led 3-0 at the half. Goggans scored the first goal with an assist from Kash Bussaraporn. Then Bussaraporn scored the second goal on a penalty kick, and Dominguez added the final goal of the half thanks to an assist from Goggans.

Goggans scored the fourth and fifth goals on assists from Bussaraporn and Charlie Brantley. Edward Lopez added the final goal on an assist from Anderson Mazariegos.

Kennedale scored two meaningless goals towards the end of the game after the Mustangs pulled their starters.

Hoover noted Kennedale boarded a bus at 8 a.m. Jan. 30 and drove straight to Marble Falls, played the match, and drove straight back.

“That’s a tough day,” he said. “They looked like they had a long day. I think we clearly were better. They put themselves in a huge disadvantage.”

Marble Falls welcomes Florence Tuesday, Feb. 6, in district play. The girls varsity plays at 4:15 p.m., the boys junior varsity competes at 5:30 p.m., and the boys varsity is at 7 p.m. It’s youth night, which means children wearing any sort of jersey gets in free.

Watch videos on Highland Lakes sports by going to Fierro’s YouTube channel and searching for The Broad Podcaster. Please like, subscribe and share.