By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
ROMA — The Los Fresnos Falcons lost a tough one to the Laredo Alexander Bulldogs on Monday night in the area-round of the Class 6A playoffs.
It was a tale of two halves, with the first being dominated by Los Fresnos and the second seeing the physical Bulldogs take control. With two minutes on the clock, Alexander scored its second goal of the final 40 to clinch a 2-1 victory.
The Falcons were emotional after the loss, particularly the 14 seniors on the roster. Los Fresnos coach Michael Miller embraced each one after the game and praised the example the seniors set for the rest of the program.
“Five or six of these seniors were involved in (last season’s first District 32-6A championship) and built on that success,” Miller said. “The seniors came in ready to work every day and set a tone that will reverberate for the next 20 years because of what they’ve done for the program. They’re a great group of guys, and it’s going to be really tough to replace them.
“It’s a tough way to lose when you lose on a mental error. With two minutes left, you don’t really have time to recover and try to find the equalizer,” Miller said. “Credit to (Alexander), second half they came out and hit us hard. I thought we responded well and we had some good chances, but they’re a hell of a team and we did everything that we could and we just came up a little bit short.”
Los Fresnos used its speedy offensive attack to create scoring opportunities and control possession during the first half. Senior Thomas Sauceda made his presence known as he plowed through Bulldogs to fight for the ball and help Los Fresnos push the ball up the field.
Misael Rodriguez, Alejandro Sanchez and Jose Uvalle were key pieces in Alexander’s defense that kept the Falcons from capitalizing on many chances. The Bulldogs used their bodies to knock down passes and shots and were physical throughout the contest.
Los Fresnos put the first goal on the board during the 13th minute. A scuffle for the ball drew Alexander’s goalkeeper out of the net, and the Falcons sent a shot on goal that was body-blocked by a Bulldogs player. With the goalie still misplaced, sophomore Ivan Galvan snagged the deflection and sent a kick to the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
“I knew we’d come in and be ready to go from Minute 1. We knew they’d be physical and that kind of bothered us for a little bit, but I think once we got our speed involved in the game it got better,” Miller said.
Alexander’s physicality slowed the Falcons in the back half of the first. Sanchez and Nicolas Cedeno did well to pressure Los Fresnos and get the Bulldogs’ offense working better.
Galvan, Jesus Ramirez, Joe Garza, Adrian Longoria and Jorge Hernandez showed off dribbling skills and used long passes to continue generating scoring chances for Los Fresnos. Sauceda sent a hard kick off the post, and he took a kick to the face as the Bulldogs attempted to clear a pass fed to him in front of the net.
Alexander came out with a purpose and turned the tables in the second half. The Bulldogs controlled possession and upped their defensive pressure to prevent Los Fresnos from completing passes or executing offensively. They tied the game during the third minute of the half on a goal by Emiliano Monroy.
The Bulldogs’ aggression got the best of them at times, resulting in two players being issued yellow cards. But Alexander’s defense consistently stifled the Falcons in front of the net, and the Bulldogs pushed the tempo of the game as the clock continued to wind down.
“They did a good job of not letting us do what we like to do, which is move the ball around,” Miller said. “We couldn’t get more than a few touches on the ball because they were coming hard and we had golden opportunities, one before we scored and one late, and against a good team if you don’t use those chances, you’re going to lose.”
Los Fresnos goalkeeper Frankie Melendez made some nice saves in the second half to maintain the tie despite Alexander attacking relentlessly. Isaac Richardson and Rafael Canales both made impressive defensive plays to keep the Bulldogs off the board, and Romualdo Gonzalez and Ricardo Pena aided the effort.
Alexander’s offense was relentless during the final five minutes, leading to a late goal by Emiliano Monroy to put the Bulldogs on top 2-1. With momentum on their side and the third round within reach, the Bulldogs held off the Falcons’ comeback attempt.
“It’s been fantastic (playing with this team). We’re all brothers and we all love each other, and it just hurts all of us to end our season like this,” Hernandez said. “We fought for so long, fought through COVID and last year ending early. If we had played in playoffs last year it would’ve helped us with experience because none of us had been here before. As a senior, it sucks to have it end like this.”