Keller-Southlake tie in important 5-5A game
Published 3/14/2007 9:42:40 AM by Staff from DFW.com
Keller 2 Southlake 2
Southlake Carroll was more than willing to walk away with a 2-2 tie with Keller on Tuesday night. The Dragons (18-3-1, 9-2-1 District 5-5A) had been in first place in district going into the game, while second-place Keller (13-4-3, 7-2-3) had been its nearest challenger. The Dragons, who scored the tying goal with 8 minutes remaining, left the field still two points ahead of the Indians in the district race.
"We are happy with a tie, because it doesn't hurt us that much," said Carroll forward Will Aufricht, who scored the Dragons' second goal. "If we'd lost, Keller would have been in first place."
Carroll faces third-place Grapevine on Thursday and Richland on Tuesday in its final district game. Keller will play its final games against Colleyville Heritage and Haltom.
Carroll struck first when Edgardo Padilla scored on a free kick 7 minutes into the game. Keller had several opportunities to score over the next 10 minutes but didn't capitalize until 22 minutes were left in the first half as Brett Garrett scored off an assist by Colin Bjostad. Each team had good shots on goal before the break, but neither capitalized.
The Indians came out strong in the second half, taking a 2-1 lead when senior forward Trey Perkins sent the ball into Carroll's net less than 3 minutes into the period on an assist from junior midfielder Robert Olivieri.
Carroll had four opportunities at Keller's goal before Aufricht headed a corner kick by Padilla into the net. "There was no one marking me, and I gave Eddie a wave, and he saw me," Aufricht said.
Oliveri said the Indians knew beating Carroll would be difficult. The two teams also tied in their first district meeting. "We'd rather be in first, but this is all right," he said. "We just need to keep working hard."
Carroll coach Greg Oglesby said he was happy with the way his team responded when Keller gained the lead. "In the second half I thought we played much better," he said. "We ran a different formation in the first half, and in the second half we did what we normally do."
Label: Keller-Southlake High School Soccer Tie
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