Marble Falls boys soccer crushes Canyon Lake

CAPTION: Brandon Guevara’s (2) field vision enables him to see who is open and the best path to score a goal. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Marble Falls High School boys soccer team shut out Fischer Canyon Lake 6-0 Feb. 18 in District 26-4A play.

With San Antonio Davenport beating Fredericksburg on the same night, the Mustangs (2-1-1) are in the thick of the district race and control their own destiny. Soccer uses a point system that awards points for wins and ties. Currently Davenport is the leader followed by Fredericksburg, Marble Falls and Bandera.

The Mustangs were set to finish the first round at Bandera Friday, Feb. 21, but district coaches chose to move the contests to Tuesday, Feb. 25. The junior varsity will play at 5 p.m. and the varsity follows.

Marble Falls didn’t hold back against Canyon Lake, taking a 3-0 lead at the half.

Eli Chocok scored on an assist from Marco Almazan, who also assisted Esteban Dominguez. Dominguez returned the favor by assisting Almazan on a goal.

Craven noted Chocok’s goal started on the Marble Falls’ side of the field.

Almazan scored on an assist from Rigo Lopez Valverde. Dominguez scored a goal on an assist from Coda Langley. And Brandon Guevara scored on a corner kick.

“It was our best game,” head coach Ryan Craven said. “Getting Esteban back was good.”

Dominguez has been the Mustangs’ leading scorer since the season started. His absence forced Craven to shuffle the lineup. That meant putting Joaquin Aguilar at the top. With Dominguez back, those minutes are split more evenly.

“It gives Joaquin a break,” the coach said. “Esteban and Marco were passing the ball to one another. I’m proud of the back line that passed it to the midfielders and let them pass to Marco and Esteban up top. Teams have figured out who our dangerous people are. You have to pass it around and make them get out of their defensive shape. That was good to see.”

Craven said the Feb. 17 practice was all about better ball handling and getting back to better defend the goal, two objectives that haunted the Mustangs going back to the 2-2 tie against Davenport Feb. 14.

“We worked on possessing the ball and defending the counter attack,” he said. “I saw all the stuff we practiced on Monday during Tuesday’s game.”