FULSHEAR—Goose Creek Memorial avenged last season’s regional quarterfinal loss to the Fulshear Chargers with Friday’s 3-1 win in the area round to advance.
Nearly a year ago, in the regional quarterfinals, the Chargers outlasted the Patriots in a penalty kick shootout. However, there was less drama in the 2024 meeting.
The Chargers never led in a match that was 2-0 in the blink of an eye.
Senior wing Ramon Diaz gave the road crowd plenty to cheer for, gaining the early advantage with two goals in the opening 13 minutes. Despite the Chargers playing on their home field, the Patriot faithful were heard loud and clear.
This put head coach Art Trevino’s Chargers in a tough predicament amidst the slow start. Trevino planned to wait and defend while strong winds came toward the Chargers’ backs, but failure to get the ball across midfield led to the quick deficit.
“We weren’t transitioning well for real scoring chances until we were down 2-0,” Trevino said. “Our reaction was late, but we put together some good shots by the end of the first half but were a bit murky in the second. Goose Creek is a very well-coached team, and they shortened the game. Our midfield wasn’t able to win the game in the middle, and that ultimately was the difference.”
The outstanding footwork from Diaz made it difficult for many of the Chargers to defend with the Patriots controlling possession throughout most of the first half.
The Chargers came alive and applied pressure on the Patriots’ backfield, but strong goalkeeping by Maximiliano Gonzalez made it a tough night.
Carlos Davila Campos broke away into a clear lane off to the left side of the field, but Gonzalez corraled his shot.
An assisted header from Adrian Nieto-Saul to Tomas Agudelo was no good, and Marvel Ogubuike had multiple chances at the net near the end of the first half.
Ogubuike finally got the Chargers on the board with 34 seconds left to cut the halftime lead in half, 2-1.
The Patriot defense clamped down following the break, allowing four shots on goal in the second half.
One of the Chargers’ best chances came when Davila Campos had another breakaway lane on the left side but found his shot in Gonzalez’s hands.
Salvador Vega was inside the penalty box but sailed his shot high off the crossbar, while Nieto-Saul had his shot deflected by Gonzalez.
The Patriots took advantage of the Chargers’ missed opportunities and regained their two-goal lead with Carlos Gonzalez’s score in the 47th minute.
The shot rolled underneath Fulshear goalkeeper Cooper Fix and proved to be too much for the Chargers to overcome.
The Patriots (14-3-2) continue a 16-match streak without a loss and advance to play Galena Park in the regional quarterfinals. The Chargers end the 2024 season at 15-4-4.
With 6A play upon the Chargers, Trevino knows that the team needs to get stronger and faster before joining a very talented District 20-6A pool.
The future looks to be in solid hands despite 12 seniors graduating, but the Chargers’ offseason plans are to be rigorous in order to compete.
“6A will be a whole different animal with Strake Jesuit, Alief Elsik, Hastings, and Taylor,” Trevino said. “They will be big and have a lot of players, and we have to get bigger. We have three or four sophomores that started for us, so the focus will be on getting them and the rest of our team strong enough for that bigger competition. If you can’t win against the middle 5A teams, you certainly won’t be able to do that in 6A.”
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