A shot from Coppell sophomore defender Mohammed Ouedraogo swerves toward the goal, then clears over the crossbar in an abrupt end to a Cowboy counterattack late in the second half.
This moment highlighted the mood for the Coppell boys soccer team, who, despite having seven shots on goal throughout its game against Plano East, ended the match in a 0–0 draw. Coppell now holds an overall record of 11-3-4, and still stands at second place in District 6-6A.
Coppell was able to maintain a clean sheet throughout a tense match due to its tight defense, bogging Plano East down as the match progressed, but it failed to capitalize on its counterattacks.
In the first half, Plano East established itself, racking up five shots on goal against the Cowboys defense, aided by the exceptional dribbling and vision of senior midfielder and captain Duncan Sullivan. Coppell was unable to match the Panther attacks, only putting up three unsuccessful shots on goal despite numerous attempts at counterattack and two breakaways.
However, the tables started to turn in the second half. Coppell intensified pressure on the Plano East defense, and was able to muster up two breakaways and four shots on goal, making opportunities through seven different crosses as well as through set pieces and through balls, though to no avail.
Ouedraogo, usually a defender, was put in during the middle of the second half as a center-forward for Coppell, hoping to use his physicality to overpower the Plano East defense. Although he was able to get two shots against the Panthers, the opportunities ended up futile. However, the attempts showed that Ouedraogo can also play well up front.
“He’s big, tall, strong and a good soccer player,” Coppell coach Stephen Morris said. “With the chances he created for himself, he just got unlucky; he just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net but had two good moments where he could have scored.”
To reap more goals out of its opportunities in the future, Coppell hopes to be more patient in its counterattacks to give it an edge and increase the momentum of its attack.
“Sometimes we just wanted to go when we probably should have built up a little bit more, and that wore us out since we weren’t able to get the numbers we wanted in there,” Morris said.
Additionally, Coppell’s clean sheet was greatly aided by senior goalkeeper Jacob Campbell, who made eight saves and was key in communicating to the Cowboy defense.
“We just put them away, our defense played well keeping the shape,” Campbell said. “I think my communication was great, and as a team we were able to work well in the back.”
Senior forward Gareth Meza Murillo was also instrumental in Cowboys presses, aiding with crosses and making runs up the wings, although he feels he could have helped more to score.
“I did well playing on the ball, but I feel like I should have done a better job of shooting and I should have cut in more,” Murillo said.
Coppell plays Hebron on Tuesday
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