NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — A key for a team leading its district halfway through league play is to duplicate wins and defeat the squads that want revenge from the first time around.
The Sharyland High Rattlers did just that, not allowing visiting Roma to sniff redemption and downing the Gladiators 2-0 Tuesday night.
Sharyland sweeps the season series by a combined score of 5-0 but, more importantly, pushes its district lead to five points after dropping its first district match on Friday.
For the first 40 minutes, Shary peppered the opposing keeper with shots and close chances but couldn’t find the first tally. Alonso Gonzalez said that keeping their composure was crucial to finding the goal first.
“At first we struggled, but our team captain said to stay calm and we did because we knew we had a lot of shots,” Gonzalez said. “We knew after the first one it would be a little easier.”
Early in the second half, the Rattlers finally put home the goal they spent 40 minutes previewing. With just five minutes gone in the second half, Gonzalez found himself alone with the goalie and chipped the ball over the keeper and into the net.
“Sometimes when you get too ahead of yourself you really don’t think and you lose the opportunity,” Gonzalez said. “So I saw the goalkeeper was a little out so I took the chance and I shot it over the goalie.”
With 18:37 to play, the speed that forward Carlos Rodriguez had been showcasing all evening came to life. Rodriguez beat all of his markers and dished the ball to Alberto Martinez, who had a yawning net to boot in the second goal.
Speed has been a factor for the Rattlers all season and Tuesday’s win was no exception.
“Our offense is very dangerous because of our technical ability,” Martinez said. “I think that every single player on the field has very good technique. Yes (Rodriguez) and Derek Garza are very fast players, but I think it’s the people that make the passes to them and it just makes it that much easier.”
Between Sharyland’s first and second goals, Jorge Morales was a force for the Gladiators to reckon with. He took multiple shots that narrowly missed the target.
The Rattlers bounce-back win was fueled by extra motivation after falling 2-1 in penalty kicks to La Joya Palmview. Sharyland’s veteran coach was not too worried about the loss, citing a tough district.
On Tuesday, Palmview topped second-place Sharyland Pioneer in penalties to allow Shary High to stretch its advantage.
“What happened against Palmview just happened,” Sharyland coach Rev Hernandez said after the win. They played very well (against us) so did (PSJA) Memorial, who (also) took us to penalties.”
Hernandez explained the difficulties in sweeping a district opponent.
“The thing is, they already know what we’re going to be doing, so they’re expecting us to do it,” Hernandez said. “All we have to do is be patient, I think our guys did an excellent job today,” Hernandez said. “Everything starts in the back, with the goalie. We let everybody touch the ball. As long as we’re moving and everyone’s touching the ball we’re fine.”
Between the pipes, Rattlers’ tandem Gabriel Tamez and Armando Montes combined for a mostly uneventful shutout.