Kempner’s boys soccer team may have fallen on some hard times the last few seasons, missing the playoffs two of the three seasons. But the Cougars look to have something to prove this season, and continued their blazing hot start last week.
The Cougars took down Richmond Foster by a score of 2-1 on Feb. 7 and then defeated Hightower 5-1 on Friday to run their winning streak to six matches. It is the longest winning streak for the program since the 2018 season, when they also won six straight matches.
Franklin Hernandez tallied a goal for Kempner (8-2, 5-1) against Foster, while Sedat Kilicarlas put home a penalty kick in the final minute to secure the win. Emmanuel Rodriguez was the star of the match against Hightower, scoring two goals himself and assisting on three others, while Santos Martinez also scored twice.
In Class 6A action, goalkeeper Matthew Acosta helped the Austin Bulldogs pitch their third shutout of the season last week with a 1-0 victory over Dulles, which they followed with a 2-1 victory over Elkins on Feb. 11. Jose Colin tallied the lone goal against Dulles for the Bulldogs (9-1-1, 4-1-1), while German Caro Alforja and Dillon Trimble each scored against Elkins.
Chris Cuyech tallied his first goal of the season for Elkins (1-11-1, 0-6) against Austin.
Clements bounced back from a 1-0 loss to George Ranch on Feb. 8 with a 3-1 victory Bush on Feb. 11. Julyen Broussard, Chris McMeans, and Tim Kroon each scored for the Rangers (6-5, 5-1), while Maesum Brito dished out his team-leading sixth assist. Reserve goalkeeper Taimur Faisa also got a spot start, and allowed just one goal in his first varsity start.
On the Class 4A side, Aron Maldonado and Justin Zenteno each scored on penalty kicks for the Stafford Spartans in a 3-1 win over Brazosport on Feb. 7. Mohammed Rahmati also scored for the Spartans (6-4-3, 3-0), who have now won three straight matches.
Girls
Ridge Point’s Lady Panthers continued their early rampage through 20-6A with a dominating 7-0 victory over Bush on Feb. 8 and a 10-0 win over Travis on Feb 11. Junior goalkeepers Molly Thompson and Alicia Audu have now combined for nine shutouts this season, and the Lady Panthers (12-0, 6-0) still have yet to allow a goal in district play.
Four different players found the back of the net against Bush, with Charlotte Richardson and Zoe Main each scoring twice. It was even more balanced against Travis on Feb. 11, with nine different players scoring.
Goalkeeper Arwen Bac had a clean sheet for the Clements Lady Rangers in their 1-0 win over George Ranch on Feb. 8, their fourth shutdown of the season. Jayna Patel scored the lone goal of the match for Clements. Isabelle Kent then added a hat trick for the Lady Rangers in a 7-1 win over Bush on Feb. 11, moving them to 8-4-1 overall and 5-1 in District 20-6A.
Solae Young had her first multi-goal game of the season for Austin’s Lady Bulldogs in a 6-2 victory against Dulles on Feb. 8, bringing her total to six goals on the season. Gabby DeJesus also had a goal and three assists for Austin, while Madison McCoy added her team-leading 12th goal of the year. The Lady Bulldogs then beat Elkins in penalty kicks on Feb. 11 thanks to the efforts of Elizabeth Donnelly in net, improving to 8-5 overall and 4-2 in district play.
The Lady Vikings (4-8-1, 1-4) lost their fourth straight match despite the best efforts of Samantha Uschold, who scored her team-leading 13th goal of the season in defeat. Freshman Alyssa Mendez also had her first goal of the season in the match against Austin.
Sophomore Lindsey Arnold scored her fifth goal of the season for the Elkins Lady Knights in a 2-1 win over Travis on Feb. 8. Freshman Madison Innis also scored for the Lady Knights (10-4, 4-2) against Travis, while goalkeeper Ashley Arnold stopped all three shots in regulation against Austin.
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