By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
After scoring the soccer match’s initial goal three minutes into the action, the St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds found themselves battling from behind pretty much the rest of the way in a 4-3 TAPPS Division I District 2 loss against Antonian Prep (San Antonio) on Saturday at Canales Field.
The setback at home evened the Bloodhounds’ overall record at 2-2. They are now 0-2 in district.
Antonian improved to 6-0-2 overall and 1-0 in district.
The Bloodhounds quickly gained a 1-0 advantage, but soon were deadlocked 1-1 with the Apaches after six minutes. Antonian went ahead for good, 2-1, during the 17th minute and held a 4-2 advantage at intermission. SJA’s lone goal midway through the second half just wasn’t enough as the Bloodhounds were unable to come up with the equalizer as the final minutes ticked away on the scoreboard.
“It was a tight match,” said Edgar Tovar, SJA’s first-year coach. “We had some errors early in the first half and we had to carry (the results of) those errors into the second half. We just couldn’t come away with the result that we had prepared for.
“Fortunately, our players put forth a stronger effort in the second half and came out with a better attitude (as they tried to rally),” Tovar added. “We just need to continue working hard so we can take away a better result in our next match. We need to be more focused (on getting the win).”
SJA next plays Dec. 28 at home against McAllen Rowe. Antonian’s next match is scheduled at home on Jan. 5 against San Antonio Edison.
The Bloodhounds opened their TAPPS season a few weeks ago with wins against Laredo St. Augustine (3-0) and Pharr Oratory (2-1) before losing 9-1 against TAPPS district foe San Antonio Central Catholic last weekend in the Alamo City.
“We have a team that is coming together and we look forward to having better results in the coming year,” Tovar said.
Jose Luis Almazan’s header off a corner kick in the third minute put the Bloodhounds ahead 1-0 in Saturday’s match. The Apaches converted a penalty kick just three minutes later to make it 1-1.
During the 17th minute, Antonian sent a low ball into the net from close range off a corner kick taken from the left side to go ahead to stay 2-1. An Antonian goal on a shot from the right side during the 36th minute increased the Apaches’ advantage to 3-1. Less than 20 seconds later, Adrian Cerda’s goal for the Bloodhounds cut Antonian’s lead to 3-2, but the Apaches weren’t done scoring.
A high, arcing shot off a long free kick that came in over the outstretched hands of the SJA goalkeeper settled into the back of the net for a 4-2 Antonian lead with 45 seconds remaining until intermission.
The Bloodhounds didn’t allow a goal to the Apaches during the second half’s 40 minutes, and conversely, could only come up with a close-range tally by Miguel Guerra during the 58th minute that left the final outcome 4-3 when the match ultimately ended.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess