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Marble Falls boys soccer opens district with loss

Marble Falls High School junior forward Jessy Arreguin (left) chases a ball down the sideline during the Mustangs' 2-0 loss to Leander Vandegrift on Feb. 8. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF

MARBLE FALLS — The Marble Falls High School boys soccer team lost 2-0 to Leander Vandegrift on Feb. 8 in the District 51-4A opener for both teams.

The Vipers, who are the district favorites, scored both goals in the first half on set plays.

Mustangs head coach Rick Hoover said his squad didn’t play badly; the Vipers simply took advantage of the defensive formations.

“We left a guy unmarked,” he said. “Against a good team, you can’t do that.”

Marble Falls (8-4-1 overall, 0-1 district) dominated the opening 20 minutes of the contest, Hoover said, and kept the ball on the opponent’s side of the field but didn’t have a goal to show for it.

But once Vandegrift scored, “our boys let a little of the wind out,” he said.

Both teams spent about equal amounts of time at each other’s end of the field. Hoover said he told his players he wanted them to control the ball and look for open passing lanes.

The Vipers speed helped them chase down balls and protect their goal.

Marble Falls still didn’t have players available because of injuries.

“That’s not an excuse,” the coach said. “That made our depth shallow. The last few minutes of the game, we looked like we were running nonstop. I had seven kids who didn’t come out of the game one time. In 80 minutes, that all takes it toll.”

jfierro@thepicayune.com