By Andy Tabor

The Coppell Cowboys had done what no other team this entire year had done; tied Jesuit through regulation and two intense overtime periods.  With junior goalie Chris Hinze leading the battle cry the cowboys looked to beat the area, state, and nations top team.

Unfortunately for the Cowboys, their amazing dream ended in anti-climactic fashion losing in a shootout 3-0.  Jesuit never missed a goal while Coppell struggled with the dribble down format of the shootout.

The format was that the offensive player would start at the 35 yard line and they would have five seconds to get a shot off or else the shot would not count.  A referee would blow the whistle at five seconds to signal if the shot was off in time or not.

Each team never violated the five second rule, however Coppell could not get past the Jesuit goalie in any of their three opportunities.  The shooters for Coppell were senior Jeremy Lind, sophomore Tanner Lines, and junior Jake Garnett.

The Cowboys started off the scoring when senior Jordan Elgin scored midway through the first half.  The game remained 1-0 thanks to save after save by Hinze in net.  One spectacular play was when Hinze stopped one Jesuit shot which then on the rebound, another Jesuit Ranger blasted a shot high just under the crossbar in which Hinze had to jump and smack the ball over the goal.

The Cowboys had held on for the rest of the first half and all of the second until an upper ninety shot by a Jesuit player found the back of the net in the seventeenth minute.  A clearly crushed Cowboy team still somehow was able to extend the game into the shootout where the ultimately lost.

The Cowboys season as a whole was very impressive considering the talented seniors the team lost and considering they had to play number one Jesuit in the second round.  The Cowboys had confidence going into this game and should not hold their heads down one bit.

With a somewhat slow start in district, the Cowboys were able to finish strong clinching a third place finish in the ultra-talented district 6-5A.  The best and most convincing win of the season came against bitter rival Flower Mound Marcus in which they won 4-1 on the road.

“It is always fun to beat our rival,” senior Eric Oesch said. “Beating them was a big moment for us this season.”

Coppell next season will have many bright spots.  Sophomore Will Simmons showed flashes of being the next great Coppell soccer player in his extended time played against Jesuit.  As for Garnett, the junior helped establish himself this year by leading the Cowboys in goals for most of the year.

Coppell