Mustangs hold off Hippos, advance to second round
Nathan Hendrix/The Highlander
Junior midfielder Josiah Rojas (8) works against a Hippos defender in front of the Hutto goal in Thursday's playoff match. Rojas scored the only goal of the match in the Mustangs' win.
By Nathan Hendrix
Sports Editor
The Marble Falls soccer team advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a narrow 1-0 victory over the Hutto Hippos on Thursday night in Liberty Hill.
The Hippos gave the Mustangs a competitive match throughout - a vast improvement over the 6-1 loss they suffered to the Mustangs in preseason.
After a slow start, the Mustangs gathered themselves and played their game. Mustangs head coach Rick Hoover said nerves were a big part of the mistakes in the first 10 minutes of play.
With 25:40 left in the first half, junior midfielder Josiah Rojas got the opportunity he was probing for and put the game's only goal in past the Hippos goalkeeper.
In the latter stages of the second half, Hutto went on an all-out offensive by moving six players up to forward looking for the equalizer. The Mustangs defenders and senior goalkeeper Michael Vazquez responded and held on to the lead.
The Mustangs will face Caney Creek in the second round on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Bastrop Memorial Stadium. Caney Creek finished the regular season with a 19-2-2 record, which was first place in District 20-5A.
See the full story in Tuesday's print edition of The Highlander.
