On Tuesday evening, just minutes into the first half, Cowboy fans roared as a shot from senior midfielder Samuel Stone glided smoothly into the net, making it past the hands of Plano senior goalkeeper Harrison McClain.
The chilly night at Buddy Echols Field saw Cowboys dominance throughout the game, as Coppell won 2-0 over Plano, with goal contributions from Stone and senior forward Luca Grosoli. The Cowboys were able to keep Plano’s aggressive attacking off the scoreboard by manipulating space on the field.
“Our goal when those moments were occurring is to make it predictable, because it was not always the guy pressuring the ball that won it, but the guy deeper who was reading it because we forced the other team into a bad pass,” Coppell coach Stephen Morris said.
Throughout the first half, Coppell maintained dominant possession of the ball, disallowing Plano with opportunities to build up plays, while also maintaining the ability to play out from the back and make good runs themselves. The Wildcats were soon met with a barrage of Coppell runs and shots, each igniting the crowd, including several Cowboys breakaways, eventually leading to Grosoli’s goal near the end of the first half.
“Tonight, we challenged the boys to come out on the front foot, apply pressure to the other team, and make them play at a high intensity which they cannot keep up,” Morris said.
The Cowboys’ sudden counter attacks continued into the second half. However, Plano was able to adapt, with multiple noteworthy saves by McClain and several good but unsuccessful Wildcats runs. Coppell still got more shots on goal, however, including several opportunities from senior midfielder Srikar Mulukutla, but none saw a goal.
“Sometimes, you put the ball in the corner as much as you can and hope it goes in, but you also sometimes get denied by the crossbar, like what happened with me today,” Mulukutla said.
Although the Wildcats continued to push against the Cowboy goal line, their attempts were unsuccessful, with Coppell senior goalkeeper Jacob Campbell making several saves.
“It was never an easy game, but we needed a win and we came out and got it,” Brodie Scott, senior defender, said.
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