STAFF REPORTS
St. Joseph Academy took over the lead in its TAPPS district race with a 3-0 soccer victory Saturday against San Antonio Central Catholic at Canales Field.
The Bloodhounds, playing in cold and wet conditions, prevailed to stay undefeated on the season at 5-0 while improving to 3-0 in district competition. Central Catholic slipped to 8-2 and 3-1 with its first district loss.
“The conditions were tough but to win in district is huge, especially winning against a team like Central Catholic,” SJA coach Tino Villarreal said. “Central Catholic has set the pace in our district for years, and they won the (TAPPS) state title two years ago.
“We came into the match a little weary because we haven’t played as many games as we wanted and Central Catholic has played a lot,” Villarreal added. “The conditions weren’t the best, but we’ll take the win. It puts us in the driver’s seat in our district.”
SJA went 16-4-2 last season and reached the TAPPS Division I state semifinal round for the first time.
On Saturday, things broke in the Bloodhounds’ favor just before halftime as SJA’s Jose Kauachi scored on a header off a corner kick during the 38th minute.
It became 2-0 during the 52nd minute when Gerardo Moses scored thanks to a perfectly placed long pass from the midfield by Andres Rico. Moses received the pass in stride and kicked the ball into the goal.
The lead increased to 3-0 during the 60th minute when Gerardo Elizondo scored off a rebounded shot. Kauachi took a shot that went off the goalkeeper, and Elizondo was there to fire the rebound into the net.
The Bloodhounds next will have an alumni game at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Canales Field before playing at Port Isabel at 7:30 p.m. Friday.