Coppell senior forward Luis Mendez Gil scored the final goal of Friday’s match off of a pass from senior forward Haniel Johnson.
The crowd cheered as this goal secures the win for the Coppell boys soccer team against Lewisville and clinches the district 5-6A championship, a title Coppell has not held for nine years.
On Friday, Coppell won, 3-1, against Lewisville at Buddy Echols Field.
Scoreless at half, Coppell coach Steven Morris changed strategies to create more scoring chances.
”The pivotal part was coming out in the second half,” Morris said. “We talked about what we liked, what we saw, what’s going on, what we can improve and tactically what we can do to address defensive issues. We’ve been a second half team. We scored three goals in the second half in the last three games.”
Coppell came out of halftime with a goal from Mendez Gil that was quickly answered with a goal off a penalty kick from Lewisville. With 12 minutes remaining in the match Coppell midfielder senior Caden Naef broke the tie with a goal off of a corner kick, bringing the score to 2-1. Mendez Gil scored the final goal with two minutes left to seal the victory.
According to junior goalkeeper Chase Anderson, discipline in the second half was the driving force that led Coppell to victory.
”It was 1-1 [midway through the second half], and we’ve been in that position a lot of times before, but we know how to push through adversity,” Anderson said. “We communicated the whole second half, every second you could hear someone’s voice. Being in the right place at the right time plays a big part and that’s all communication and discipline.”
As a captain this season, Mendez Gil has watched the team grow. The supportive environment the team created was vital to winning a district title.
“Everyone has so much passion for the sport,” Mendez Gil said. “Everyone brings up each other no matter if you mess up. It’s a pleasure to lead this team on.”
Next, the team can focus on another achievement it has not accomplished in nine years: winning at state.
”As they begin to have that success, they start to build that belief in themselves,” Morris said. “They’ve achieved an objective that hasn’t been done for nine years, so now we’re stoked to maybe achieve another one that hasn’t been done. The last time they won districts, they won at state, so that’s the hope.”
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