Taylor, Coppell attack dismantle Haltom in rout
Coppell High School junior forward Nicholas Taylor steals the ball away from the opposing Haltom player on Tuesday night at Buddy Echols Field. Taylor scored multiple goals that contributed to Coppell’s 11-3 win over Haltom.
February 18, 2016
On a night that saw a hat trick 12 minutes in, eight different Cowboys scoring goals and an eight point victory, everything fell into place for the Coppell boys soccer team’s attack, as they poured in the goals in an 11-3 home victory over Haltom.
For the first 15 minutes, it was Nick Taylor’s game. The junior forward racked up three goals and an assist in that time period, giving the Cowboys the big lead early that had been eluding them in the last four games.
“We’ve been slow the last three or four [matches],” Coppell coach Chad Rakestraw said. “It was good to jump on them early and get those early four goals in the first 15 minutes.”
The early lead jump started the entire Coppell team, and after each team scored once more, the Cowboys took a 5-1 lead into halftime.
The Coppell High School Cowboys celebrate their 11-3 victory over the Haltom Buffalos on Tuesday night at Buddy Echols Field. The victory improves the Cowboys to 11-0-2 in District 7-6A.
“I think it’s important that we get on them early,” Taylor said. “It helps us build confidence throughout the game, it carries the team. It helps us perform our best throughout the entire game.”
Coppell came out hot on the attack in the second half, with three different Cowboy attackers scoring in the first eight minutes to extend their lead to 8-1.
“It’s good for us to spread it around to different people,” Rakestraw said. “That’s how you want it to be. That’s how you know you have a team that’s playing together. It’s good.”
In the final 30 minutes of play, while the Cowboys continued to pour it on from all over, getting three more goals from three different players, several more avoidable defensive lapses led to two more goals from the Haltom attack.
“We’ve got to play at a higher level,” Rakestraw said. “We can’t be worried about our opponents or about where they’re at in district. We just have to be a little bit cleaner, especially defensively. To give up three goals wasn’t a real good thing for us tonight.”
On Friday, the Cowboys will look to continue their offensive firestorm at Buddy Echols Field against the district fourth ranked L.D. Bell. In their first matchup, the Cowboys squeaked out a 4-2 victory over the Blue Raiders.
“We’re going to use our successes, especially in this win right here, as a confidence builder, and to show that we have the ability to play well and really score a lot,” Taylor said.
