By: Marin Murray
Despite their 1-5 start to district play, the boys’ soccer team still has plenty of time to snag a playoff spot, as the second round of district play begins on Friday.
“Not the ideal way to start it, but we’re looking to rebound,” first year head coach Roy Castillo said. “We’re doing a lot of learning and growing, but we’re getting there.”
The Eagles dropped their first five district games before defeating the San Angelo Central Bobcats 2-0 on Tuesday.
“I’d say that it started off rough at first, but now we’re starting to get things into place and work as a team,” junior defender Ivan Santana said. “I feel like we’re not all there yet but if we work on it and start playing with each other well, then we can do great things.”
Although district play has proven to be tough, the Eagles have big wins against both Wylie and Cooper. Castillo, who played soccer at Cooper, faced his former coach and coached his team to a 3-1 win over the Cougars.
“What I plan to build on is just getting these guys to continue to play as a team, play unselfish, and just get back on track,” Castillo said.
The Eagles currently hold sixth place with two points but are only four points away from being in contention for a play-off spot. The next few games are important if the team plans on keeping their play-off hopes alive.
“I don’t feel like there’s a certain strength in a certain position,” freshman goalkeeper Joel McPherson said. “I feel like we are all talented in every single position, and I feel like we are a very well-rounded team.”
While the results haven’t been in the Eagles’ favor yet, the team is looking to build off of recent success and is confident that they can finish the second round of district strong.
“I’m looking forward to playing the teams again that we’ve played recently,” Santana said. “To show that we can come back and prove that we’re better than what we did and just keep on winning games.”
The Eagles will take on the Permian Panthers at Shotwell Stadium on Friday, February 18 at 7:30 p.m.
