By Marcus Krum
Staff Writer
@marcuskrum
For teams that are high in the standings looking to make a deep run into the playoffs, it is vital that they keep their foot on the gas pedal in the final games of the season. After a first half in which they looked hesitant in the final third, the Cowboys came out of the locker room and floored it.
After scoring only one goal in the first half, Coppell (15-2-1, 9-0-1 District 7-6A) piled on three more in the second against Euless Trinity (1-9-2, 1-7-1), winning the chilly Friday night match at Buddy Echols by a final score of 4-0.
In that first half, the lone goal for the Cowboys came in the 23rd minute, when senior forward Roberto Arguello received a pass from near the sideline and was just able to kick it past the Trojans keeper. Aside from that goal, Coppell received few chances in the final third.
“The first half, we were pretty tight,” Arguello said. “They were all packed in the back, and we couldn’t find any spaces to break through.”
The second half for Coppell was a completely different story. They came out with much more energy on the attack, and applied pressure early on, scoring in the first five minutes of the half. Their passes were much crisper, and they simply looked more relaxed on the pitch.
“We got a little bit more pressure on the ball earlier,” Rakestraw said. “We were able to create some quicker counter-attacks that lead us into the first two goals [of the second half].”
In that half, the Cowboys’ goals came from senior midfielder Colten Clark, junior forward Tanner Traw, and another by Arguello in the final minutes of the game, giving them their 4-0 win over last-ranked Trinity.
On March 17, the Cowboys kick off against second-ranked Colleyville Heritage in a matchup that could very well decide the district winner. Last times the teams played, the Cowboys defeated Heritage at home, 4-0.
“The biggest [match] is on tuesday at Colleyville,” Rakestraw said. “If we finish that off, they’re in second place. They’re the only ones that can catch us, so unless we were to lose our final two then we have the district championship locked up.
“It’s a huge game. It’ll be an intense game. It’s at their place, so they’ll be fired up, after their 4-0 loss [to us] last time. It’s important also that we start kicking on all cylinders going into the playoffs.”
