Cleburne boys pick up road shutout over Joshua, girls teams end in scoreless draw
Cleburne sophomore EJ Jarmon scored two goals, one in each half and the Yellow Jackets’ back line and defense shut down Joshua, 2-0, in a District 14-5A boys soccer game Monday night.
“It’s a huge win for us and confidence booster. Unfortunately it came late in the season, but it’s a good learning lesson and gives us some momentum to finish the season strong,” Cleburne coach Jose Salazar said. “We knew how Joshua plays so we just adjusted to the long ball, the throws and making good reads.”
Jarmon scored his first goal in the seventh minute when a Joshua defender misplayed a ball. Jarmon took the ball away, dribbled inside the box, cut past another defender and beat the goal keeper for the 1-0 lead.
The Yellow Jackets continued to put the pressure on the Owls, who won the first meeting 3-1.
Joshua had a hard time getting shots off and when the Owls did, Cleburne’s defense and goal keeper Owens James kept the clean sheet in tack.
“Owens did great. He came out and really showed up and proved what he can do. The back line proved they could make the stops and pick up this shutout,” Jarmon said.
Anthony Terronez had a chance to make it 2-0 just before intermission, but Joshua goal keeper Mario Miranda just got enough to make the save. The ball bounced off the top of the net and gave Cleburne a corner attempt.
Miranda made another stop in the second half on a Jarmon shot and Joshua was able to clear the ball away.
However, Cleburne would go up 2-0 with seven minutes remaining when Jarmon took a pass off the chest, let it bounce once and drilled it before Miranda had a chance to make a move.
“EJ is our top scorer and has been taking over games for us all season,” Salazar said. “He’s the guy we look to up top. He’s only a sophomore so it’s a huge plus for next year and the year after that. It’s definitely good to have him.”
Cleburne will finish up with Ennis on Tuesday and next Monday while Joshua will host Midlothian.
“Feels great. We also had some JV players today and they helped us get the win,” Jarmon said. “They were putting the pressure on us all game, but in the end we played really well and just executed.”
GIRLS: Cleburne 0, Joshua 0
For 160 minutes, the Lady Jackets and Lady Owls couldn’t find a winner as the two schools ended in a scoreless draw Monday night. The two teams also finished in a scoreless draw on Feb. 25 at Cleburne HS.
Joshua moves to 11-2-7 overall. Cleburne moves to 11-4-5.
The Owls held more possessions in the first half and their defense gave the Yellow Jackets a hard time getting across midfield. Joshua finished with at least three shots on goal and one corner before halftime.
Kylie Criner had the best opportunity in the first half when her free kick from 25 yards out hit the field goal post just above the top of the net. Reagan Easter got inside the box and also got a shot off, but it was deflected by Cleburne goal keeper Lexie Key, which resulted in Joshua’s corner.
Both teams struggled to find any offense in the second half.
Cleburne plays Red Oak and Ennis twice to close the season. Joshua hosts Midlothian next Monday.
