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Lilly Gorman

Coppell High School senior Adam Marez plays as a forward on Jan. 18th at Buddy Echols Field. Coppell defeated Keller Timber Creek by 5-0.

The Coppell boys soccer team faced off the Keller Timber Creek Falcons in a home match on Friday night and emerged victorious in a landslide victory of 5-0, bringing their preseason to a strong end.

Playing the classic 4-3-3, the Cowboys showcased their chemistry on the field by working in unison with clever plays in the midfield and great vision with long-balls forward, something that has been a prominent tactic in Coppell matches.

In addition to the great attacking plays in the match, the Cowboys also put up a solid defense against the Falcons. Though the Falcons created some close scoring chances at times, the Cowboys’ back four and CHS junior goalkeeper Tommi Penttinen worked hard to maintain a clean sheet by quickly shutting down attacks and obstructing shots.

The match started off as a balanced game between the two sides, but a fast-paced one. Both sides made attacking plays and possessed the ball almost equally.

However, Coppell kicked up gears after the 15th minute and began bombarding the Falcons with constant long balls past their defense and back-to-back attacking plays. In the next few minutes the Cowboys got multiple shots on the Falcons, but the ball never found its way to the back of the net.

Though the Falcons defense held up at first, it soon grew tired of the constant attacks, which lead to the first Coppell goal in the 29th minute: a long throw-in from Coppell senior left back Brandon Gast followed by a point-blank shot by Coppell senior striker/captain Adam Marez, making the score 1-0.

The second goal of the match came just moments later in the 31st minute from CHS junior center-midfielder Sebastien Blaas with a cross by CHS senior forward Joe Ruedi. The Cowboys scored once again as Ruedi slotted a goal later in the 36th minute, further lengthening the lead to 3-0.

As the Cowboys returned to the pitch for the second half, the ball remained mostly in Coppell’s grasps, and though the Falcons had some notable attacking plays, none of them translated into a goal. Coppell proceeded to extend its lead with two more goals: a chip shot by CHS junior midfielder Caleb Razzo from a distance a few minutes after kick-off and later followed by a great run and well-placed shot by CHS senior forward Brandon Gast with just five minutes left in the match, making final score 5-0.

“This game we started fast, whereas the past few games we had started slow,” CHS senior left back Jacob Vasquez said. “Coming out fast and really putting the pressure on the other team early was one of the strongest attributes of our team today.”

The Falcons match was a great closer for the Cowboys preseason run, ending it with a record of 5-2-1 and giving them the confidence boost they needed before the district matches began next week.

“[This preseason,] the team learned to just trust the process. There are going to be a lot of ups and downs because we got a lot of new players to varsity and a young team,” Coppell coach James Balcom said. “But we have learned in the past seven to eight games to just come out strong from the very start and not fall asleep at times in the game. The match is 80 minutes long and regardless of what’s going on, we have got to play hard. I think they have learned a lot and hope they found some confidence going into districts.”

Coppell opens District 6-6A playing against MacArthur on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Buddy Echols Field.