By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The St. Joseph Academy soccer team is taking an undefeated record into the holiday break.
The Bloodhounds are 4-0 overall and 2-0 in TAPPS district play after rallying to defeat San Antonio Antonian 2-1 on Saturday in San Antonio.
The Bloodhounds are defending district champions. They have some tough competition in their district as Antonian was the TAPPS Division I state champion three years ago, and San Antonio Central Catholic, another district foe, was the state champion two years ago.
Antonian is now 6-4-1 and 1-2 after Saturday’s defeat. Central Catholic is 7-1 and 3-0.
The Bloodhounds, who opened their season last month, play host to Central Catholic in their next match at 2 p.m. on Jan. 2.
SJA coach Tino Villarreal said his squad is displaying some good play at times but is not yet back to its level of last season when the Bloodhounds went 16-4-2 and reached the TAPPS state semifinals.
“Things are shaping up, and there have been moments that show what this team could be,” Villarreal said. “We just need to play more games. Our (district) opponents have played a lot more games.
“The match against Antonian was played in wet conditions with a drizzle,” he added. “It was a sloppy win, but any time you beat a San Antonio team in San Antonio, it’s huge.”
On Saturday, Antonian went up 1-0 during the 11th minute off a corner kick play.
“We had much better runs and plays (develop) in the second half,” Villarreal said.
After an SJA goal had been nullified when the referee called a pushing foul on the Bloodhounds in front of the goal during a corner kick, Jose Kauachi got his team on the scoreboard with a header during the 59th minute as SJA tied the tally at 1.
Another SJA goal was nullified on an offsides call before Mario Garcia scored for the Bloodhounds during the 71st minute to provide the eventual game-winner.
The Bloodhounds were coming off a 5-0 win at home against San Antonio St. Anthony’s on Dec. 5.