GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
CORPUS CHRISTI — Down 3-0 in Friday’s Region IV-5A semifinal against Cedar Park Vista Ridge, Sharyland High finally started to find its footing. The Lady Rattlers scored a pair of goals and kept pressing forward, even after losing a player to a red card.
In the final five minutes, Sharyland had the best look at a tie it could possibly ask for, with the ball on the foot of leading scorer Isabella Marinaro in space only about 12 yards from the goal. But Marinaro’s final shot was turned aside, as was Sharyland’s comeback effort in a 4-2 loss at Cabaniss Field.
“We knew it wasn’t over yet, and we had plenty of time to come back. It came down to heart,” Sharyland sophomore Kaitie Watson said. “We knew we could’ve done it, and we should have won.”
The Lady Rattlers, undefeated champions in District 31-5A, end their season in the regional semifinals for the second consecutive year.
On Friday, Sharyland coach Aaron Clemons said a slow start brought on by playing against the wind and trying to feel out Vista Ridge led to the Lady Rattlers’ downfall.
“Had we played a little bit better in the first half, this would’ve been a tight game and gone into overtime,” Clemons said.
While Sharyland failed to put a shot on net during the first half, Vista Ridge relentlessly pushed towards the Lady Rattlers goal, generating six shots and a pair of goals by Brooke Shank.
Shank opened the scoring with 25:53 to play in the opening period, pushing a low, driven shot into the left side of the net. She scored her second with 13:44 remaining in the half, dribbling into a comfortable position about 25 yards from goal and burying a shot across her body.
Vista Ridge extended its advantage to 3-0 with 31:58 remaining in the game, when Kaitlyn Johns tucked a ball just inside the near post from about 10 yards away.
“It was a little much to eliminate that deficit and be able to come back for us,” Clemons said. “But the girls played very well. They never gave up. They kept playing, and what more can I ask for? We made it a game towards the end. I don’t think they expected that after the first half, but I tell the girls, ‘If you go out there and play with heart, anything can happen.’ And it sure did.”
Sharyland High scored its first goal of the game on its first shot, as Marifer Farias touched home a corner kick by Watson from point-blank range with 26:58 left on the clock.
Vanessa Guevara was the Lady Rattlers’ standout on offense, consistently evading her markers with dribble moves and engaging in regular shoving matches with a physical Vista Ridge team. Her efforts yielded a foul call in the box with 12:43 to play, and Marinaro put the chance into the right half of the net.
“We already made two goals, and there were a few minutes left, so why don’t we make another goal to beat them?” Guevara said.
That challenge grew even tougher when Sharyland’s Marcela Jarvis was sent off with a red card. Clemons said Jarvis was shoved by Vandegrift’s Erynn Johns — who received a yellow — and was given a red for retaliating.
Clemons adjusted by bumping Nallely Garza forward from sweeper to midfielder, allowing the Lady Rattlers to keep the pressure on. But it was Vista Ridge that netted the game’s final tally, as Johns scored with 2:37 to play.
“It obviously got into our head, like, ‘We can’t lose. We can’t lose,’” Guevara said. “But the fans and everyone were like, ‘You guys can keep on doing it.’ We just hoped for a win, but you can’t get everything you want.”
The shoving match that spawned the red card was one of many physical altercations between the teams. Clemons warned his group that Friday’s game would be physical, and the Lady Rattlers responded by regularly throwing their bodies into their markers.
Clemons said Sharyland proved it was no pushover — an important message from a group that hopes to return to the regional tournament in 2017. The Lady Rattlers are set to graduate only three seniors.
“Next season, we obviously want to make it back to this point,” Watson said. “We want to go farther. We have higher expectations for our team next year.”
CORPUS CHRISTI — Down 3-0 in Friday’s Region IV-5A semifinal against Cedar Park Vista Ridge, Sharyland High finally started to find its footing. The Lady Rattlers scored a pair of goals and kept pressing forward, even after losing a player to a red card.
In the final five minutes, Sharyland had the best look at a tie it could possibly ask for, with the ball on the foot of leading scorer Isabella Marinaro in space only about 12 yards from the goal. But Marinaro’s final shot was turned aside, as was Sharyland’s comeback effort in a 4-2 loss at Cabaniss Field.
“We knew it wasn’t over yet, and we had plenty of time to come back. It came down to heart,” Sharyland sophomore Kaitie Watson said. “We knew we could’ve done it, and we should have won.”
The Lady Rattlers, undefeated champions in District 31-5A, end their season in the regional semifinals for the second consecutive year.
On Friday, Sharyland coach Aaron Clemons said a slow start brought on by playing against the wind and trying to feel out Vista Ridge led to the Lady Rattlers’ downfall.
“Had we played a little bit better in the first half, this would’ve been a tight game and gone into overtime,” Clemons said.
While Sharyland failed to put a shot on net during the first half, Vista Ridge relentlessly pushed towards the Lady Rattlers goal, generating six shots and a pair of goals by Brooke Shank.
Shank opened the scoring with 25:53 to play in the opening period, pushing a low, driven shot into the left side of the net. She scored her second with 13:44 remaining in the half, dribbling into a comfortable position about 25 yards from goal and burying a shot across her body.
Vista Ridge extended its advantage to 3-0 with 31:58 remaining in the game, when Kaitlyn Johns tucked a ball just inside the near post from about 10 yards away.
“It was a little much to eliminate that deficit and be able to come back for us,” Clemons said. “But the girls played very well. They never gave up. They kept playing, and what more can I ask for? We made it a game towards the end. I don’t think they expected that after the first half, but I tell the girls, ‘If you go out there and play with heart, anything can happen.’ And it sure did.”
Sharyland High scored its first goal of the game on its first shot, as Marifer Farias touched home a corner kick by Watson from point-blank range with 26:58 left on the clock.
Vanessa Guevara was the Lady Rattlers’ standout on offense, consistently evading her markers with dribble moves and engaging in regular shoving matches with a physical Vista Ridge team. Her efforts yielded a foul call in the box with 12:43 to play, and Marinaro put the chance into the right half of the net.
“We already made two goals, and there were a few minutes left, so why don’t we make another goal to beat them?” Guevara said.
That challenge grew even tougher when Sharyland’s Marcela Jarvis was sent off with a red card. Clemons said Jarvis was shoved by Vandegrift’s Erynn Johns — who received a yellow — and was given a red for retaliating.
Clemons adjusted by bumping Nallely Garza forward from sweeper to midfielder, allowing the Lady Rattlers to keep the pressure on. But it was Vista Ridge that netted the game’s final tally, as Johns scored with 2:37 to play.
“It obviously got into our head, like, ‘We can’t lose. We can’t lose,’” Guevara said. “But the fans and everyone were like, ‘You guys can keep on doing it.’ We just hoped for a win, but you can’t get everything you want.”
The shoving match that spawned the red card was one of many physical altercations between the teams. Clemons warned his group that Friday’s game would be physical, and the Lady Rattlers responded by regularly throwing their bodies into their markers.
Clemons said Sharyland proved it was no pushover — an important message from a group that hopes to return to the regional tournament in 2017. The Lady Rattlers are set to graduate only three seniors.
“Next season, we obviously want to make it back to this point,” Watson said. “We want to go farther. We have higher expectations for our team next year.”