Sometimes, all it takes is just one goal to get things rolling.
It happened for the Mansfield soccer team this weekend against crosstown rival Timberview. The Tigers struggled to get any finishes against the Wolves for most of the game, with the contest still scoreless with about 24 minutes left.Chase Lankford then threaded a long pass to forward Nathan McBride down the middle of the field. McBride got behind the defense and hammered in Mansfield’s first goal of the game, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead.From there, Mansfield took control of the game and got two more goals from McBride to win 3-0. It gave the Tigers their fifth win in District 7-5A and kept Mansfield right in the thick of the playoff race after beating South Grand Prairie 3-1 earlier in the week.Coach John Fazekas said McBride’s first strike lifted a ton of pressure off the Tigers at that point.“It was a relief, and then we started playing and more opportunities came,” Fazekas said. “When you don't score, the other team keeps going and thinks they have a chance. It was frustrating in the first half but it’s a rival, anything can happen.“We were fortunate to score three goals.”Fazekas said the win can give Mansfield the push it needs to close out the season. Cedar Hill, Midlothian, Duncanville and Grand Prairie are all on the schedule in Mansfield’s final district games and all those schools are all fighting for the four playoff spots in 7-5A.It’s going to be a battle, Fazekas said. He’s glad his team took care of business last week, going 2-0 against Timberview and South Grand Prairie.“We have quite a few tough teams coming up,” he said. “We have to be consistent, we have to win 50-50 balls and finish our chances. We’re not going to have as many opportunities to score against these tough teams.”From earlier in the season till now, Fazekas said one of the bigger improvements have been the play of his forwards.In the beginning of the season, Mansfield’s forwards were hesitant to shoot, sometimes over-dribbling or taking one touch too many. Now he said his forwards are getting the confidence to take more shots and be more aggressive.“We’re doing much much better in that aspect,” Fazekas said. “We went from not shooting to shooting. Now, let’s put ball in the back of the net. Every time we score it builds more confidence.”Defensively, sweeper Ben Bennett has been leading. Fazekas said the defensive group has gotten better as the season has gone on.“The defense has played a lot of games together now, they know each one's strength and weakness. They’re communicating much better now and that comes with playing more with each other.”Now Fazekas hopes his team can put it all together for the stretch run. He admits that his team doesn’t always play to its potential every game and he feels like that just has to do with playing first-time varsity players.With the first half of district behind them, he feels that will change.“With the team, we tend to play to our competition,” he said. “If its a high-level team, we bring it up. If it’s lower, we play down. That’s just coming with inexperience as a group. It will get better as we close things out.”Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
