The hard-charging Coahulla Creek Colts have foiled plenty of soccer teams this season.
They hosted Gilmer High to begin the Class 3A state tournament last Wednesday. The Bobcats had their minds set on stifling the Colts’ high-powered offense, and they did just that for a half.
Over the game’s final 40 minutes as fatigue set in for the Cats, the Colts began to find success. Shots and goals mounted and they earned 7-0 win over Gilmer.
Depending on the service or publication, the Colts are ranked as high as No. 2 in Class 3A, according to MaxPreps.com. CCHS defeated nine opponents by a 10-0 score. Over a seven-game span in the middle of the season, they outpaced opponents by a combined score of 67-0.
GHS head coach Simon Phipps and assistant Taylor Johnstone formulated a defensive-minded plan that gave the Colts fits in the first half.
“We had done some scouting, spoken to some other coaches, watched some film and knew that it would not be a straightforward game,” Phipps said. “We came in with the plan of trying to frustrate them, defend hard and try to hit them on the counterattack.
“This was very successful for the first 40 minutes, and I think if we had not had the halftime break, we may have been able to sustain it for another 10 minutes or so.”
Much of the game featured Coahulla Creek on the attack, though shots were limited by Gilmer’s high-pressure defense in the first half. The Colts fired six shots, four missed the mark and two were saved by Bobcat goalkeeper Noah Turner.
Gilmer did not possess the ball for long stretches and attacked quickly with through balls and passes over the top. The Cats had three shots in the half, and Tyler Jack had one of the best opportunities for GHS.
With 2:30 before the break, Jack maintained possession in the box, but the ball was poked away. Unfortunately for Gilmer, there were not any nearby Bobcats to secure possession and shoot.
The game started to get chippy toward the end of the first half as the Colts grew increasingly frustrated offensively but no yellow cards were issued.
The Colts received more opportunities in the second half as Bobcat legs grew weary. CCHS had 18 shots over the final 40 minutes and Turner was there for five more saves.
When GHS was unable to clear the ball in the box seven minutes into the half, a Colt promptly did and scored an easy goal. A flicked header was tucked inside the far post less than two minutes later as the Colts led, 2-0.
With 28:35 left in the half, the Colts tallied five more goals over a 24-minute span and one came from the penalty spot.
The Bobcats’ best opportunity came shortly after the Colts’ third goal. A perfectly-placed leading pass from Julien Withrow down the left wing hit Nicholas Dean in stride, who then beat the defender to the inside to earn an open shot. However, his strike from 20 yards out sailed high.
Phipps discussed what led to the Colts’ second half success, saying, “Our downfall was a mixture of fatigue from playing a high-pressure game and not having the numbers available to us to make the rotations we needed.
“Saying that I was very proud of how the boys played and the aggression and passion they showed on the field, it was probably the best 40 minutes of soccer we have played defensively this year.”
Gilmer’s state tournament run came after they started last season poised and in position to do the same. However, COVID wiped out all spring sports a year ago.
“It has truly been a year like no other. To be honest, I was just pleased that the boys that missed half of last season got to play this season,” Phipps said. “The new region is difficult, and there are several really good school teams with gifted soccer players.”
GHS posted a 6-6-1 overall record this season. They will graduate four players and return eight rising seniors for next year’s campaign.
“We are making improvements year after year, and I think the boys soccer program is in a good place at the moment,” Phipps said.
“Obviously, there is always room for improvement, and we will work hard to make ourselves better. There is a good group of eighth graders coming up next year and this will benefit the program as a whole.”