South Hills, Crowley and Castleberry girls make history, Birdville and Aledo boys advance
Fort Worth South Hills forward Johana Rodriguez scored two first-half goals in a girls Class 5A Region I area round match against Aledo, and the 2-0 advantage proved to be enough as the Scorpions beat the reigning state runner-up.
The Scorpions (22-5-1) advance to their first regional quarterfinals to play Grapevine (24-1-1), which beat Wichita Falls 1-0.
"If there was one word to describe tonight's game it would be incredible," said Rodriguez, who leads the team with 29 goals. "Nobody was expecting us to win."
Rodriguez scored in the 7th minute off a corner kick to give South Hills a 1-0 lead. She added her second in the 24th minute. Goalkeeper Gizelle Torres posted the shutout.
"We left it all on the field and every single girl worked so hard," Rodriguez said. "We're district champs, bi-district champs and area champs, but we aren't done yet."
Crowley 3, Dallas Wilson 2 OT: Brianna Kamp scored on a penalty kick in overtime to send the Eagles (16-5-2) into their first regional quarterfinal since 2008. They'll face Midlothian (15-4-8), which beat North Dallas 7-0.
Kamp also scored in regulation on an unassisted corner kick and Lexi Beck added a goal off an assist from Macey Buncik.
"Our girls played their absolute hearts out. To say they left it all on the field is an understatement," coach Sean McGarry said. "We started the game very slow and Wilson capitalized on their opportunities well, forcing overtime. Once in overtime the ladies came together as a whole team, dug deep, and got the victory."
Castleberry 3, Gainesville 1: Mitzy Guereca scored her 48th and 49th goals of the season as the Lions (19-5-1) won their first area round championship in program history.
The Lions, who play Melissa, scored twice in the second half, after a 1-all tie at the break.
Guereca recorded her 29th assist to Caitlin Buendia, who assisted both of the other goals.
Joshua 6, Dallas Sunset 0: For the second straight game, Chloe Walker scored two goals and the Owls (19-1-1) advanced to play Mansfield Lake Ridge, which beat Dallas Molina 2-0.
"We've been super blessed thus far in our journey, but know that we can't take any team lightly from here on out," said Walker, who has 15 goals. "Round three will be a tough game, but no matter the outcome, we'll come out on top with our hard work, dedication and positivity toward one another."
Caylen Wright added her 26th goal and Lauren Freeman recorded her 20th shutout.
Keller Central 3, Odessa 2 (3-0 penalty kicks): Central goalkeeper Ashley David made three stops in the shootout to secure the Chargers a trip to the regional quarterfinals for the first time since 2014. Central (17-4-3) meets Mansfield (22-2), which beat El Paso Franklin 1-0.
"We definitely deserved the win," forward Anika Maher said. "It was one of our toughest games ever, but we have the best group of girls. I'm so grateful to be apart of something so amazing."
Hannah Gott and Mackensie Moreno scored in regulation. Moreno, Sydney Padget and Maddy McElwee scored in the shootout.
"The win was definitely one our most challenging," Moreno said. "But In the end we really came together as a team and Ashley has an amazing read on penalty kicks and dominated."
Trophy Club Nelson 5, Irving MacArthur 1: Maddie Turlington and Kennedy Dahlin scored two goals apiece and the Bobcats (12-6-1) move on the regional quarterfinals against District 5-6A rival Flower Mound Marcus (20-5-1), which beat San Angelo Central 4-0.
"I'm so proud of each of my teammates who aren’t only my teammates, but my best friends," said Dahlin, a Houston commit. "As we have grown closer, our game has only gotten stronger. We have truly developed so much throughout this season and it shows."
BOYS
Birdville 2, Wichita Falls 1: Goals by Ignacio Herrera and Jeremy Zakhary led the Hawks (18-6-1) to a second consecutive trip to the regional quarterfinals. Zakhary and David Miranda recorded assists.
"The win was just one more step toward what we should’ve achieved last year," defender Br yson Guinn said. "We started slow this season, but really getting back to our best form and everything is starting to click."
The Hawks meet Wichita Falls Rider, which beat South Hills in penalty kicks.
Rider 1, South Hills 0 (6-5 penalty kicks): It took 100 minutes and eight rounds of penalty kicks to decide a winner on Monday night, as the Raiders (12-4-8) prevailed against the Scorpions (23-5).
Scorpions goalkeeper Jordan Venegas made two saves and with Rider up 3-2, Julio Ibarra tied it to force sudden death. Ramon Ramirez and Uriel Diaz also scored.
Each team traded off the next five attempts before Rider goalkeeper Zack Majewski stopped South Hills' eighth kick to seal the victory. Gerson Hernandez and Javier Almanza scored in sudden death for the Scorpions.
Aledo 1, Arlington Heights 0: For the third straight year, the Bearcats (23-2) knocked the Yellow Jackets out of the playoffs.
Brandon Wrinkle took a pass from Connor Steele in the 43rd minute, dribbled once and shot it off his left foot for the game-winner. It was his 14th goal of the season.
"We actually switched Brandon in the middle of the first half to the other side, hoping we could get him free on that outside," coach Derek Vierling said. "We talked about captializing at halftime and three minutes in, he made it happen. Makes a coach look good."
Goalkeeper Konrad Garbowski recorded his 12th shutout. Aledo next meets Denton Ryan, which beat North Side 2-1.
Irving 1, Euless Trinity 0: Adrian Contreras' free kick from 25 yards out proved to be the game-winner in the 70th minute. The Tigers (12-5-5) will play Grand Prairie, which beat Flower Mound 1-0.
Contreras lined up on the left hash mark and sent a ball that took a short hop over the Trinity goalkeeper.
The Trojans finished 14-4-4 and won their first playoff game in Tracy Duren's 25-year tenure.
This story was originally published April 4, 2018 at 4:30 PM with the headline "South Hills, Crowley and Castleberry girls make history, Birdville and Aledo boys advance."