HS Boys Soccer Playoffs: College Park Wins Exhilarating Game In Penalty Shootout

SPRING, TX – The College Park Cavaliers won an exciting Area Championship over the Tomball Memorial Wildcats in a penalty shootout that ended 6-5 in the Cavs’ favor.

Despite mere seconds ticking off the clock, early offensive pressure from the Wildcats emphasized to College Park that their defense would be paramount in keeping a top 60 team in the state scoreless.

Runs at the Cavalier goal tried to break through while the players found their legs, but the Cavalier back line was steadfast in holding against the attacks. Disciplined play in the face of early adversity ensured that the opening score would have to come later.

Head coach Mike Jaskowiak constantly encouraged and coached the Cavs in their defensive holds by harping “Nothing easy,” and “Put it on them,” instilling an opening mentality of harassing the Wildcats at every stretch of the field.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, Jaskowiak discussed the role his vocality played in the course of the game.

“It’s one of those things, like, I am who I am, and we’ve been together for four years now, these seniors and I,” explained Jaskowiak. “They know who I am, and if I weren’t doing that, they would probably wonder what was wrong with me.”

Retreating defenders continually poked the ball away from the advancing Wildcats, while the Cavalier forwards tried to spark prospective counters.

A handful of College Park’s pushes did threaten the Tomball Memorial goal, but they were turned away due to distant passes or last-second defense that allowed the Wildcats to reset on set pieces.

The trading of back-and-forth attacks filled a majority of the first half. Strong play on defense and in the midfield kept the pushes infrequent for both teams while stressing the importance of disciplined passing.

“The past five games this team has played in as a program, we’ve given up one goal, and it was a penalty kick,” said Jaskowiak. “We defend like crazy, and that’s been the backbone of our program.”

Tomball Memorial’s strongest chance came when a slip-up in the Cavalier defense gave the Wildcats an opportunity for a free kick. The ensuing lob sailed towards the back post, where a Wildcat went unmarked. Luckily for the Cavs, the attempt was misjudged, and the ball missed the goal entirely.

More minutes passed before College Park got in a responding push, but a missed free kick in the 31st minute guaranteed that the zero-to-zero deadlock remained on the scoreboard headed into the half.

“We were a little nervous in the final third of play,” said Jaskowiak. “The touch was a little off, maybe trying to do too much, sometimes, maybe not doing enough.”

Even with Jaskowiak’s fiery orating during the halftime break, Tomball Memorial remained heavy on the attack to start the second half, with two of their first pushes nearly leading to scores.

A speedy press down the left side of the formation saw the Wildcats maneuver into the box with only one Cavalier defender and the keeper left to prevent the score. Good shuffling and close defense worked the ball toward the side of the net, where the attempt was forced out of bounds.

Wildcat forwards continued to fuel their attacks with runs past the last line of the Cavalier defense, where last-second attempts by the defense did just enough to keep the tie intact.

Unfortunately for the Cavs, their play in the midfield did little to alleviate the constant pressure put on by the Wildcats. Inconsistent passing, slow steps to the ball, and heightened play by Memorial kept the balance of possession heavily in the Wildcats’ favor.

“They’re just a really good team. They played in a tough district, so every game they had was really hard, and they had a lot of close games,” said Jaskowiak of his opponent. “We knew what we were getting into, and we knew it was gonna be a scrap.”

But despite the lopsided possession and Tomball Memorial’s repeated threats, the Cavs continued to play at the caliber expected of a district champion.

Timely tackles and communication in the clutch decreased the number of previously repeated attacks from the Wildcats.

Cavalier keeper Miguel Becerra explained his perspective of having to stare down the incoming attacks while maintaining a level head should he need to make a save.

“I just push my teammates harder. Everybody marks up and everybody does their job,” said Becerra. “Nobody walks. If they’re throwing in, because they had some long throw-ins, we all come in, get up tight, and mark.”

A handful of menacing Cavalier counters forced the Wildcats to drop back their aggressive formation out of respect for the potential scores College Park was working towards. Lengthy runs by the Cavalier wings pressed deep into the Wildcat defense before a late challenge would eventually snuff out the attempt.

“We talked about it at halftime, we had to keep pushing,” said Jaskowiak. “I thought we were going to get one there and we just couldn’t work it out.”

As if sensing the limited time remaining, both teams drastically stepped up their attacks to previously unseen levels.

The Wildcats made furious attempts to break past the Cavalier defenders with pure speed as their tool. But the College Park defense found enough in the tank just before Memorial shots to keep the goal untouched.

“They’ve been through this, and I love these guys and I trust them,” said Jaskowiak, discussing his team’s play in the clutch. “I told them, basically from the beginning of the season, ‘If we’re at our best, I’ll take us over anybody,’ and tonight, we were sometimes at our best and other times we weren’t.”

Meanwhile, the Cavs played a handful of strong through balls into the Wildcat box with the opportunity to steal the lead with single minutes remaining. The shots were taken, but inaccuracies and saves from the Wildcat keeper turned the Cavs away.

No presses in the last minutes of play led to goals, and the squads had to ready themselves for an intense stretch of extra time.

Compared to the openings of the first and second halves, the Cavaliers came out of the gate in extras with multiple forceful attacks that could have secured a lead in seconds.

Tomball Memorial’s previously top-notch midfield experienced lapses that surrendered possessions on their side of the field. Were it not for a leaping save by the Wildcat keeper and some savvy defending in the box, the Cavs would have gotten on the board in the first three minutes of extra time.

College Park controlled the rest of the ten minutes but could not break past the goal to find the game-changing score.

A brief pause midway through extra time let the teams refuel and rehydrate before a final ten-minute stretch either crowned a winner or forced a penalty shootout.

The Wildcats were the authoritative force in the second extra period, reinforcing their attacks with a formation that only left three players in defense to stop potential counters. The approach worked in creating looks at the goal, but the Cavalier defense was determined to hold out.

Collapsing on the Wildcat attackers and forcing them to dribble under pressure were massive points of emphasis for the College Park defenders as they stayed vigilant against the encroaching pressure.

More time slipped off the clock without successful attacks, and the buzzer sounded to ring in a shootout to crown an Area Champion.

“You can only practice penalty kicks so much because you can’t replicate [pressure] in any kind of practicing,” said Jaskowiak. “You trust your gut and we had our list.”

One-on-one penalty shots put immense pressure on both players to make the critical play needed for their team. Adding to the pressure was a wall of fans and family that encroached down to the railing to cheer or rattle the opposing player.

As the fans poured intensity from the stands onto the field, Becerra entered with a mentality of confidence.

“This is my time to shine. It’s all me,” said Becerra. “It’s just me against him, and we came out to get the job done.”

The Wildcats stepped up first and started a stretch of three consecutive goals made compared to the two made in response by the Cavs.

Tomball Memorial seemed poised to seal the deal following a save that put the Cavaliers behind early, but a costly miss over the crossbar kept the teams balanced in goals, as the teams now headed to sudden death with substitute kickers needed.

Both keepers began sudden death with breathtaking saves that heightened the tension to its peak.

Becerra stepped into the goal to face his eight Wildcat kicker three rounds deep into sudden death. A correct dive and steady hands combined to block the incoming shot, sending a roar of cheers from the Cavalier faithful toward their unshakable goalie.

“It feels great, it feels amazing,” said Becerra of the moment. “I give it all up to God and put it in his hands.”

The cheers rang even louder following a successful boot by Aaron Ruiz to seal the game in a 6-5 penalty shootout win for the Cavs.

After the celebration has subsided and the adrenaline of the moment passes, College Park’s eyes now turn to the third round of the playoffs and the matchup between either Mesquite or Rowlett.

“Obviously, you’d like to stay with the momentum,” said Jaskowiak. “We want to be fit, we want to get everybody healthy. And if we can defend like that, we can beat anybody. I believe that.”