The Rockdale Lady Tiger soccer team notched their first victory of the season during the Yoe 3A Invitational Tournament in Cameron this past weekend.
“I think we got what we wanted out of the tournament. The kids played against teams that we matched up well with,” said Gilberto Rodriguez, RHS head soccer coach. “Other than Madisonville, every school there had about the same enrollment as us.”
The Lady Tigers started off the tournament with a 1-0 win over the Florence Lady Buffs.
Vanessa Gonzales scored RHS’s winning goal in the first half and goalie Kaylee Criswell had seven saves.
Friday, Rockdale lost to Caldwell 1-0 for the third time. Gonzales missed goal attempts and Elysia Ruelas had one. Criswell made eight saves. She allowed one goal, which is the least given up to the Lady Hornets.
On Saturday, the Lady Tigers lost 6-0 to Jarrell and tied at zero with Yoakum. The Lady Tigers were missing goalie Kaylee Criswell. Ruelas substituted in as goalie, a position she never played before.
“We had to improvise,” Rodriguez said. “But Elysia did a great job. There were some long shots she couldn’t stop, but she also made some good saves for us.”
During the Jarrell match, Rockdale was also missing Carla Ugalde, who was sick and defender Whitley Boyd who had a powerlifting meet in Giddings on Saturday morning. Both players were back on the field against Yoakum later that afternoon.
Rockdale lost to Caldwell 2-0 at home on Tuesday, Jan. 8. Gonzales, Jassmin Cervantes and Marina Costilla all had missed shot attempts and Criswell had 12 saves.
The Lady Tigers played on Tuesday in Florence after press and face Smithville on Friday at Tiger Stadium. Their record is 1-4-1 with five more games until District 26-4A play begins 5 p.m., Friday, Feb. 15, at home against Cameron.
Tigers – Like the girl’s squad, the Tigers also went 1-2-1 at the Cameron tourney this past weekend.
“This weekend was very productive for us,” Rodriguez said. “I mean there were little things that we have to look at so we can improve, but we’re looking pretty good.”
RHS snapping their three-game winning streak with their 2-1 loss Thursday to the Buffaloes. The Tigers took the lead in the first half on a goal by Luis Iruegas, but the Buffaloes caught up in the second, getting two goals past goalie Ty Mayberry and taking down Rockdale in the opening game.
The Tigers then lost 3-2 to Caldwell, a team they’ve beaten twice in the last two weeks.
“It happens,” Rodriguez said. “I was actually more upset about the Florence game just because it was so close.”
Against the Hornets, the Tigers gave up two goals early, and went into halftime trailing 2-1.
RHS was led by Chris Olvera, who had two goals on five shots. Mayberry had four saves and allowed three goals. The Tigers had 14 shot opportunities in their match with Caldwell including three by Brandon Hernandez, two by Iruegas and German Mata and one each by Joan Pacheco and Fernando Gonzales.
On Saturday, the Tigers started off the day tied at two with Jarrell. Iruegas and Hagen Land scored in their second match with the Cougars. Mayberry had five saves.
“I was looking forward to playing (Jarrell) since they were such a good team last year,” Rodriguez said. “We played really good, especially since we were missing four starters.”
According to Rodriguez, leading scorer Olvera, Gonzales, Pacheco, and defender Alberto Torres were all missing due to injury during the Jarrell game.
In their closing match, the Tigers defeated Marlin 2-1.
“Within the fifteenth minute, we were already up two,” Rodriguez said. “So we gave a chance to kids who don’t get to play as much.
“But by the second half, Marlin was a completely different team. They scored and they had a defender in the back that stopped everything. We couldn’t get past him. It was two completely different halves.”
The Tigers were led by two goals from Olvera, who returned from being sidelined against Jarrell. Mayberry had three saves.
Earlier in the week, the Tigers beat Caldwell with a goal in the second half by Gonzales. Mayberry had 11 saves.
“My main concern last year was that we kept possession of the ball, but we couldn’t score much.” Rodriguez said. “But this year, the kids are on it, and they’re getting big points.
The Tigers played Florence on Tuesday after press time and face Smithville at home 7 p.m. Friday.
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