Diamond Hill-Jarvis advances with big second half; Keller takes out district rival Central
Fort Worth Diamond Hill-Jarvis 4, Midlothian Heritage 1
For the first 49 minutes of Friday’s match, the Eagles trailed the Jaguars 1-0.
Then sophomore Ricardo Gonzalez came alive.
Gonzalez scored a hat trick in a three-minute span and DHJ beat the Jaguars in a Class 4A Region 1 quarterfinal at Dragon Stadium in Southlake. The win clinched DHJ its first boys soccer regional semifinal berth where it faces Stephenville at 8 p.m. Tuesday from Aledo High School.
“Halftime we talked about how our soccer was just okay and we had to keep working hard,” DHJ coach Kyle Reopelle said. “We’re a senior heavy team and they’ve been working their butts off for four years. We started to press hard and we made some changes in order to make some quicker passes.”
Heritage struck first when a cross from Wesley Nelson bounced off the DHJ keeper and a defender. Elliott Moore was in the right spot as his header gave the Jags a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute.
The Eagles had a couple chances in the first half with no luck.
It wasn’t until the 50th minute when Luis Jaimes passed it to Gonzalez just inside the box and Gonzalez beat the Heritage keeper for the goal. Two minutes later and it was Gonzalez again to give DHJ a 2-0 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Eagles stole possession and the Jaimes-Gonzalez combo found success once more to extend the lead to 3-1 with 28 minutes to play.
“Ricardo played phenomenal. He was in great position and moving all around the field and recognizing the open spaces, and he took his chances,” Reopelle said. “He continues to impress us at a young age.”
Jaimes would add a goal with under 10 minutes left.
Cristian Alvarez assisted on two DHJ goals.
Keller 2, Keller Central 0
Keller got a penalty-kick goal from Andrew Sanchez in the 46th minute and another goal from Tyler McCollom in the 55th minute to down District 4-6A rival Keller Central in a Class 6A Region 1 quarterfinal Friday night at Keller ISD Stadium.
Keller (18-2-1) advances to the regional semifinal and will face Allen (18-4-1), a 3-1 winner over Prosper.
Bryce Boneau set up Sanchez’s PK goal after getting mauled rushing down the right side of the box.
A throw in by Britten Majure from the right side made it through to the middle of the pitch where McCollom drove it home from 14 yards out to seal the win.
Central (13-8-3) was never able to crack the Keller back line and goalkeeper in three tries this season. The Chargers lost 7-0 and 1-0 in district play.
Central’s best scoring chance came in the 71st minute when Caleb Watson was called on to take a penalty kick after a Keller foul in the box. But Keller keeper Evan Bribiesca made a great save to preserve the 2-0 lead.
Keller, district champ, was making its first appearance in the quarterfinal round since 2011.
Central, the No. 4 seed, enjoyed its best playoff run since 2013.
Colleyville Heritage 2, Wichita Falls 1 OT
The Panthers scored with three minutes left in the extra frame to upset the Class 5A No. 1 Coyotes in a Region 1 quarterfinal game on Friday at Mustang-Panther Stadium.
CHHS hands WF its only loss this season (24-1).
Brice Smith and Aidan Shimmick scored for the Panthers, who advance to the regional semifinal round for the first time in program history.
This story was originally published April 3, 2021 at 12:04 AM.