Bastrop rallies in second half to down Pflugerville Connaly in bi-district
- 14 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Jim Irish
Courtesy photo
MANOR -- Cayden Justice chose an opportune moment to end a dry spell on the offensive end.
The Bastrop senior striker scored in the 54th minute for the winning goal against Pflugerville Connally 2-1 in the bi-district round at Manor High School on Friday.
The goal unfolded on Bastrop goalie Gavin Meraz's long kick downfield to left wing Angel Chavez. Chavez centered it to Justice, who beat Connally goalkeeper Shane Donahue.
Justice, the team's leading scorer, tallied his 14th goal of the season despite a right quadricep injury. Bastrop coach Greg Vuagniaux said Justice was 80% recovered from the injury.
"He plays with so much adrenaline," Vuagniaux said about Justice.
Justice had not scored since a 1-1 tie in a district match against McCallum on February 13 -- a dry spell of six matches.
"He plays with so much adrenaline."
-- Bastrop soccer coach Greg Vuagniaux about Caden Justice
The victory was Bastrop's second consecutive in bi-district against Connally and by the identical score.
The match was a tale of two halves.
Connally (11-7-6) dominated the first half, repeatedly beating Bastrop to the ball and pressuring on offense.
Their attacking style culminated in a goal by Noe Molina in the 11th minute.
"Being first to the ball is a big part of this game," Vuagniaux said. "We weren't getting a lot of touches on the ball. That's a huge factor.
Vuagniaux said the backline "cleared the ball; we just didn't press our lines. That's what caused (Pflugerville) to be onsides."
Bastrop was fortunate to trail only 1-0 at halftime.
Freshman goalkeeper Gavin Meraz stopped seven shots in the first half, including one by Noah Salazar at close range following a long throw-in in the 4th minute.
The momentum shifted in the second half. With the wind at his back, Meraz boomed kicks downfield giving Bastrop scoring opportunities.
On one of those kicks, Justice had a clear shot at goal, but Donahue interfered with his progress and was whistled for a penalty in the box in the 50th minute. Angel Chavez took his time before drilling the penalty shot by Donahue for his 11th goal of the season.
Bastrop's attack frustrated Pflugerville. Defender Erick Camarillo was given a yellow card in the 52nd minute.
Two minutes later, Bastrop (15-5-4) scored the winning goal.
"We should have had a penalty, and it was not called."
-- Pflugerville Connallly coach Ryan Ford
Pflugerville coach Ryan Ford said the center referee "absolutely" missed a penalty in the box before Bastrop's winning goal.
"We should have had a penalty, and it was not called," Ford said. "They brought it down the other direction and scored right after that. That's high school soccer. You don't score a chance at one end; it happens at the other end. All that happened fast."
Vuagniaux said he understood Ford's disappointment.
"I don't try to play referee," he said. "I try to play coach. In those situations, they haunted us before. I've seen a foul and play continues. That's happened plenty of times (to us)."
"Effort and enthusiasm."
-- Vuagniaux about second-half rally
Bastrop wasn't content to run down the clock after scoring the second goal. Bastrop had a goal by Chavez nullified in the 57th minute because of offsides by Chavez.
Vuagniaux credited "effort and enthusiasm" for the second-half rally.
"In a game like this with both teams of similar attributes, it is the team that is a little more in shape and wants it a little more," he said.
Bastrop center back Andres Carbajal returned after missing several games because of a concussion.
Bastrop moves to the area round to compete with Sharpstown (19-6) at Rudder High School at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Jim Irish is a freelance writer in Bastrop, Texas
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