In the final game at the home stadium, the seniors of the university's soccer team gave the old girl a memorable send-off.
Trojans senior Victor Herrera scored the winning goal with 9:59 left in the Region III-5A quarterfinals Tuesday night at Waco ISD Stadium to lead the school to Region III-5A. They defeated A&M Consolidated 2-1 in the quarterfinals.
“Oh, that's amazing. It couldn't be any better for this group of kids, these seniors,” college coach Kyle Chapman said.
The win advanced University (19-3-2) to the regional tournament for the first time since 2014, a year after the Trojans went undefeated on the season and won the program's only state championship. The Trojans will face Goose Creek Memorial, which beat Galena Park 2-1 on Tuesday, in the regional semifinals at Turner Stadium in Humble on Friday at 6 p.m.
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A&M Consolidated, on the other hand, finished a great season with a record of 17 wins, 3 losses, and 3 draws.
Given that universities are no strangers to dramatic endings, you might want to try out a UIL one-act play in your spare time. The win gave the Trojans their third straight playoff win by one goal, following wins over Montgomery Lake Creek, 5-4, and Georgetown, 2-1.
“Lake Creek was really good, every team we saw,” Chapman said. “They were the fourth seed out of that district, but they didn't play like that. That whole district is good. Maybe we're better, I don't know. , maybe we're better than we think. We're lucky too, don't get me wrong. But we've played against some really good teams. Winning these last three games. There was no team that didn't deserve it.”
Indeed, the consoles did everything they could to defeat the Trojans. The Tigers finished with more shots on goal than the university, 19-12, and more corner kicks, 7-3.
But the Trojans had an upbeat home crowd on their side, and more than a little persistence.
“Home advantage, it helps,” Herrera said. “To our fans, you are always here for us. So we have to bring the victory for them.”
Each team battled to a 1-1 draw through the first half, and each team had a decent performance (or dangerous flirtation, depending on which team you're rooting for) for much of the second half. However, during the first 30 minutes of the second half, neither team was able to score the winning goal.
Then, with 10 minutes and 10 seconds remaining, Consol Santiago Rueda was given a yellow card for trying to steal the ball from a university player. That gave the Trojans a free kick from 45 yards out, and it was a near-perfect spot for Julian “JuJu” Juarez, the school's flamboyant free kick specialist.
Juarez leaned in and took the kick, sending the ball soaring towards the goal. Herrera jumped into the air and poked the ball with his head, but his shot was parried away by Consol goalkeeper Ross Versari. However, the chaos in front of the goal continued, with University's Alejandro Archan spinning around and trying to kick the ball. The ball was deflected again, but rolled in Herrera's direction, and the senior took advantage of it to push the ball into the left corner of the net.
“I tell you, free kicks are always dangerous,” Herrera said. “(Julian) said, 'I'm going to look for you, I'm going to look for you.' I just put my head on it. Unfortunately, the goalie came out and took the shot, but… As Alejandro tried to kick it, the ball bounced in front of me and I slammed it down. We missed two chances in the first half, so we had to score in the second half.
The goal sparked wild celebrations as Herrera and his teammates cheered and gestured to the excited crowd.
“Hey, sweetheart. I don't even know how to feel right now,” Herrera said.
Chapman couldn't have been more proud of his senior leader.
“I can't say enough about Victor,” the coach said. “Victor does everything we ask him to do. He's a captain, he's a leader, he leads by example.”
Of course, there was still work to be done. The console didn't go down without a fight. The Tigers continued to push for the tying goal, but the University back-end defender wisely ran out the clock with a long kick downfield.
University goaltender Ricardo “Ricky” Paloblanco was a true offensive artist and made a match-high eight saves on the night. The Trojans also had a non-keeper defender make another save after Palo Blanco slammed him to the ground to deflect Tiger's shot.
“Consolidated are a great team. They held the ball well and their passing was great,” Chapman said. “That's the opposite of what I said the other day. I knew the wind was going to affect the second half, so I thought we would score more goals in the first half. They played great defense throughout.”
In the early stages of the game, Consol controlled most of the ball. The Tigers put pressure on the college dribblers with fast and focused pursuits, which at times led to takeaways in the Tigers' favor. The Tigers had the first three shots of the game on goal, with University finally firing one toward the goalie box.
But as time went on, College's speed and quick passing began to carve up the field. In the 18th minute, the Trojans pushed the ball near the Tigers' goal. University threw a centering pass from the left side, but it hit a Consol player and deflected, bouncing about 10 yards in front of the net. That's when fellow student Archan pounced on the ball and, with 22 minutes, 53 seconds left in the first half, fired it over the head of Consol's Bersari for his first goal of the night.
University seemed to play with more energy than usual when they took the lead, giving up several ferocious goals that led to their second goal in the first half. However, Consol countered with flashy footwork and pinpoint passing. With 10 minutes and 34 seconds left in the first half, Rueda took the ball in front of the net from a long free kick, panicked in front of the net, and smashed in the tying goal to make the score 1.
It was a goal that was eerily similar to what would come later, courtesy of Mr. Herrera at the university. This goal extends the Trojans' season to the very impressive regional stage, where they are just two wins away from state.
“I don't even know how to feel about it,” Herrera said. “My brothers taught me that. The fun starts here, so let's have fun in Houston.”
