GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
CORPUS CHRISTI — As Sharyland High coach Aaron Clemons prepared to address his team after a its season-ending loss, senior Nikki Gonzalez was squatted in the middle of her teammates, crying into her jersey.
The Lady Rattlers ran into a bigger, faster, stronger team on Friday in the region IV-5A semifinals, falling 2-0 to Cedar Park at Cabaniss Soccer Field.
“The team and I are all upset that we lost the first game here at this tournament, but we all know that we gave it our all,” Gonzalez said. “We know that, in the end, we love the team.”
Clemons said Sharyland was prepared to face a physical challenge from Cedar Park. One of his points of emphasis from Day 1 in his first season at the helm of the Rattlers has been developing physicality, knowing just how important it can be in playoff situations.
But Sharyland still had no answers for Cedar Park’s ability to win seemingly every header, or to track down every long ball with superior speed.
“Within our district, we hadn’t come up against a team that would spread the field that much, and do it so quickly,” Gonzalez said.
Cedar Park opened the scoring with 29:04 to play in the first half on a goal by Vanessa Rangel from about 25 yards out. Sharyland High keeper Kimberlee Cano was tracking the ball cleanly the whole way, but in the end it was placed too perfectly above her outstretched arms.
“I can’t expect my goalie to get that,” Clemons said. “But we shouldn’t have freed her up to take that shot.”
In the second half, Clemons felt the Lady Rattlers started to get a foothold. With 32:35 to play, sophomore Isabella Marinaro dribbled through a crowd of three defenders and struck a shot just wide of the far post, igniting both the Lady Rattlers’ players and fans. But Sharyland never cracked Cedar Park, and a 45-minute lightning delay with 23:57 left to play sent both teams to the locker rooms and allowed Cedar Park to rest and regain its composure.
“I feel like if we hadn’t had that lightning delay, that they were starting to wear down,” Clemons said. “You let a team like that get a little bit of rest, and they’ll hurt you.”
Cedar Park did just that, building a two-goal cushion after a crucial defensive misplay by Sharyland left an easy shot for Sarah Davidson with 14:58 to play.
Clemons hopes the loss goes down as a learning experience. With eight starters back for next season, he expects the team to have a bright future.
“Right after the game, I told the girls, ‘Hey, we’ll be back,’” Clemons said. “We’ll be back.”