3/24/2021 - Fort Worth, TX
Today the Tigers took on the Rams of Texas Wesleyan University with everything to play for. With the top 7 spots already locked up for the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament, today's match would be one of the deciding matches to determine the final slot. With Wesleyan, CCCK, snd SAGU all playing for the final spot, that meant the next two games were critical.
The Tigers came out on the front foot causing havoc and creating several chances. With Leslie finding the ball in the middle and driving at the back line, his shot forcing the GK into a smart save. A few moments later, Drew would slide Matias in behind, but his shot going agonizingly wide. Conrado, Tyler, and Matias were up next but their headers going over the bar. The best chance of the match was a full volley from Chirife forcing the GK into a full extension save. A goal of the year nominee if it found the nylon. But the game would ultimately change when the Rams GK was sent off for a last man tackle on Schrader. Some debate as to the color of the card, but ultimately the two footed tackle would have gotten him anyway.
The goal would finally come for the Tigers. Ismael found Benjamin down the right flank in behind the back line. His cut back beat the defender, and his left foot curling effort found the back of the net. The Tigers would go onto half a goal to the good.
"What a great start from the guys. We were on the front foot almost immediately and were nearly rewarded for that. Some really good saves from their GK kept this thing 0-0 instead of 2-0. After he was sent off, we didn't quite respond well to it. It seemed to take our edge off, and it became a bit more of an even contest. That's something we will need to work on. But, we got the goal right before halftime after some wonderful skill from Benjamin," coach Hoxie added.
The second half started a few notches down on the intensity scale as far as Coach Hoxie was concerned. The guys seemed a little flat and did not play with any real sense of urgency. With the Rams starting to get involved a bit more, even with a man down, a goal looked certain.
After a ball played deep into Tiger territory, the knockdown would find the trailing CM player, who evaded his defender. He played a ball between the gaps, and a Tiger defender slipped making a play on the ball. The resulting goal meant 1-1 and it was game on.
Hoxie included, "Yah...unfortunate slip but that's not the frustrating thing. We spoke in detail about controlling the 2nd half, tracking our runners, and not getting beat 1v1. We were complacent, and that is a dangerous place to be at with a hungry team, a man down, and everything to play for. Disappointed from my point of view."
With 10 minutes to play, the game would eventually find its winner. Nunez was able to get on the end of a ball after a few bounces in the box. It was a scrappy play that was played in from a free kick from deep, and Nunez was able to win the game for the Tigers. The last few minutes was nervy, as it was foul after foul, and the Tigers panicked a little bit. But some quality goalkeeping and a narrow miss, meant that Tigers would take all of the spoils in the day.
"What a grind. Super intense. Despite what everyone was feeling about what the score should have been, it was reality that kept smacking us in the face. We've got to improve our game management before Friday. We didn't do that very well. But, it was a weird game, and in this game you only need one more goal than the other team to win. No one cares if it's more than that. From that perspective, my guys did it right. They did what they needed to do, and I'm proud of them for that. Their playoff destiny is in their own hands, and that's what we could have hoped for."
Go Tigers!
#Ambush
