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Baseball n Waxahachie 9 Man. Lake Ridge 3 n Red Oak 18 Lancaster 1 n Man. Summit 3 Ennis 2 n Midlothian 4 S. Grand Prairie 3
n Man. Legacy 5 Arl. Seguin 4 n Duncanville 14 DeSoto 0 Softball n Waxahachie 9 Man. Lake Ridge 7
n Red Oak 22 Lancaster 0 n Ennis 11 Man. Summit 0 n S. Grand Prairie 10 Midlothian 9 n Man. Legacy 8 Arl. Seguin 0
Boys Soccer n Red Oak 3 Waxahachie 2 n Corsicana 2 Ennis 1 n Ferris 3 Lancaster 0 n Midlothian 4 Cedar Hill 0
Girls Soccer n Waxahachie 1 at Red Oak 0 n Corsicana 3 Ennis 0 n Ferris 8 Lancaster 0 n Midlothian 6 Cedar Hill 1
Waxahachietx.com/sports PAGE 1B | WAXAHACHIE DAILY LIGHT
Follow us on Twitter & Like us on Facebook | 3.23.2014
Photos by Scott Dorsett/ Special to the Daily Light
Big saves from Elizabeth Gish (left) and a goal by Mackenzie Posey (right) allowed the Lady Indians to celebrate their fourth straight district championship.
Lady Indians clinch district championship Girls soccer team wins fourth straight 28-4A crown with win at Red Oak By Billy Wessels Daily Light Sports Editor
RED OAK – Since Waxahachie and Red Oak’s girls soccer teams only played a half against each other the first round of district play, it makes sense why there was some extra pent up emotion in Friday’s contest. After a rain-shortened 1-1 draw in Waxahachie on Feb. 25, the Lady Indians and Lady Hawks entered the final day of the regular season with equal, undefeated district records. The two teams have combined to win the last 11 district championships so the fact that once again they squared off in the district title game was no surprise. Waxahachie has dominated in recent years however and this year’s group of seniors were fighting to become the first group in school history to win four straight district titles. It wasn’t easy, but Waxahachie fought its way to a 1-0 win in hostile territory to get the championship. “That’s four in a row for these seniors and it doesn’t get much
better than that for the program,” Waxahachie soccer coach Jason Venable said. “That’s five of six overall too. I’m proud of these girls. They are such a great group to coach.” He was worried about the players being too hyped when the game started. “I thought we came out too excited and full of energy and looked like we were trying to do everything, but play soccer,” Venable said. “We had our tongues dragging with 10 minutes left in the first half, but I thought we were better in the second half.” It’s no surprise both teams’ players were exhausted as they battled for every touch. “It’s always a beating. I’ve been doing this for 11 years and this is always the most physical game we have,” Venable said. “It’s been 11 years of this and it always seems like we have them last.” The turf at Red Oak seemed like a poker room in a casino considering how many cards were issued. Neither team picked up a dreaded red card, but there were several instances
that could have led to that. That’s nothing new for these two teams. In just the last two years, this game has seen broken noses and concussions. There were no major injuries Friday, but there were plenty of outstanding plays by one Waxahachie senior in her last game against Red Oak. Elizabeth Gish is in her first year as starting goalie and got her first taste of action in Red Oak and performed well up to the task. “Gish came up huge tonight. I’m so proud of her,” Venable said. “She hasn’t had very many chances in district and hadn’t had that many touches in a game before and came up huge.” She admitted to having some nerves, but she knew what she had to do. “You just have to go out there with a different mindset,” Gish said. “I have to play the entire game like its 0-0 and go after every ball as hard as I can.” She did just that on multiple occasions. Red Oak had a breakaway late in the second half that could have tied the game, but Gish came out and made a sliding stop. She said it felt like her
heart stopped on that play, she was so nervous. In the first half, she was diving to her left, but the ball was redirected to her right and somehow she jutted the top half of her body just in time to stop the ball. “I honestly don’t know how I stopped that one,” Gish said. There were several long shots she had to make catches on with attackers in her face and a couple of shots off the post to test her nerve, but every time, she responded. As great as she was, the team didn’t need much offense and it got just enough midway through the first half. Millie Atkins was racing down the sideline while being pressured by the Lady Hawks’ defense. She was still able to send a great ball into the box, about a dozen yards in front of the goal. Mackenzie Posey was able to corral the pass and finished the game’s lone score with a rocket past a diving keeper. “I never would have thought that goal scored early on would have been the winner,” Venable said. “But neither one of us give
up goals. We each gave up just two all district play. It’s pretty even defensive squads.” From then on, it was just about playing keep away. Waxahachie’s typically staunch defense stepped up, as did a couple of reserves as Venable called upon them. “With this defense, there aren’t many people that are going to score on us,” Venable said. “We had some people step up late. Ariana (Acosta) did well. We put J (Jasenda Ferguson) in at the end and she gave us everything she had.” The defensive unit he credited features senior Hailey David, Marybeth Martin and Mica Mottla, junior Aeriel Horton and freshman Belle Prachyl. Waxahachie (14-2-4, 9-0-1 in 28-4A) will now prepare for the playoffs. All four of the district’s playoff teams (Waxahachie, Red Oak, Corsicana and Ferris) receive a first round playoff bye due to the UIL alignment. The teams’ first playoff games will be Thursday or Friday against Dallas ISD teams. Contact Billy at b.wessels@waxahachietx. com or 469-517-1454.
Boys soccer falls to Red Oak, Hawks win district By Billy Wessels Daily Light Sports Editor
RED OAK – Waxahachie’s boys soccer team entered its regular season finale against Red Oak with not a lot to play for. The Hawks on the other hand had a lot on the line. Both teams had already clinched playoff spots, but the best spot Waxahachie could finish in district 28-4A was third. Red Oak still had an outside shot at the district title. The Hawks needed to beat rival Waxahachie and then get district leader Ennis to lose to Corsicana. Red Oak did its job with a late goal to beat the Indians and the Lions lost a late lead to the Tigers to give the Hawks the district title. Waxahachie gave Red Oak just about all it could handle, but it wasn’t enough in the 3-2 loss. “We played really well I thought,” Waxahachie coach Jason Venable said. “I thought it was a pretty even game except for that late goal I thought they were offsides
SPORTSEXTRA Baseball team walks to a win Waxahachie’s baseball team used patience and 14 walks to top Lake Ridge. PAGE 3B
on. That’s just the way it goes though.” The Indians forced a tie the first time these two teams met almost a month ago thanks to a goal in the last five minutes. This time it was a Red Oak goal in the last three minutes to clinch the district title. A Hawk broke past the defenders and was close to being offsides, probably close enough to warrant a call, but there wasn’t a call and he had a breakaway and just chipped a shot over the Indian goalkeeper’s head and into the back of the net. Red Oak had several opportunities like that one, but missed the mark and allowed the Indians to stay in the game. The Hawks, playing with the wind in the first half, took a lead early in the first half off a rebound goal by Marcus Gonzalez. Waxahachie was trying frantically to even the score before halftime and barely did so. Meny Garcia weaved through traffic near the top of the goalie box, but was clipped
and took a tumble with just 30 seconds left in the half. Waxahachie quickly set up for a free kick attempt, taken by senior Ivan Anaya. He drilled a low liner to avoid the wind, but it was rejected. However, the rebound attempt by Alan Velazquez wasn’t. The ball found its way to his foot and he buried the shot into the back of the net with just 20 seconds left in the half. The teams stayed tied for the first 20 minutes of the second half before the Hawks broke through again. The initial save on a corner kick was made, but a rebound shot was redirected to the top corner of the goal to make it 2-1 with 17:45 left in the contest. Once again, Waxahachie had its backs against the wall needing to make something happen. Once again, Garcia stepped up. He weaved through some traffic near the top of the box again, but this time didn’t wait for contact. He tripped a low line drive that just beat the diving goalie to make it a 2-2 game with just seven minutes remaining.
Softball team hangs on to win Mansfield Lake Ridge kept battling back, but Waxahachie found a way to get a big 9-7 victory. PAGE 3B
Red Oak was able to respond just four minutes later to seal the victory. Minutes later, the team found out about Ennis’ result and was able to celebrate its fourth district title in the last five years. All four of the district’s playoff teams earn a first-round bye in the playoffs due to how the UIL alignments are made so it is still unknown who the teams will face in its first playoff games. Waxahachie (9-8-5, 4-4-2 in 28-4A) is likely destined to face Dallas Samuell or Dallas Seagoville. Waxahachie hasn’t played either of those teams yet this year, but Seagoville did play at Waxahachie’s season-opening tournament in January. Waxahachie did beat Seagoville in 2012 2-1 in an early season contest. The Indians are still in search of their first playoff win in school history and this year’s senior-laden, cohesive group is hoping this is the year they break through. Contact Billy at b.wessels@waxahachietx. com or 469-517-1454.
Photo by Scott Dorsett/ The Daily Light
Waxahachie’s Meny Garcia scored one goal and set up the other in the Indians’ 3-2 loss to Red Oak on Friday.
Also inside JV soccer scores SAGU basketball falls Neal’s Wheels Sports happenings PAGES 2-4B
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