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Girls soccer: Centennial offense goes quiet against Turner (updated)
By Chris O'dell, codell@starlocalnews.com
LITTLE ELM -- The Lady Titans easily had the upper hand during the first half of Tuesday night's area round playoff matchup in Little Elm.
However, Centennial didn't translate that early dominance into a goal and Turner made the Lady Titans pay late in the game.
With neither team scoring in the first half, Turner took control of the contest with a goal from freshman Olivia Rodriguez in the 68th minute that ultimately gave the Lady Lions a 1-0 victory.
Rodriguez's goal came on a corner kick just when it looked as if the game would need extra time to determine a winner.
"It wasn't a beautiful goal," Maher said. "but it got the job done."
The goal came as a relief for Turner, as the Lady Lions mananaged few scoring opportunities in the game.
"We didn't take care of business and score first," said Lauren O'Brien, Centennial head coach. "And they did."
The Lady Titans dominated possession in the early going and generated several scoring chances on Turner goalkeeper Angela Thompson.
"In the first 10 minutes, I thought we were done for," Maher said. "They had our number early on."
Thompson made several key saves though, preserving a scoreless tie and eventually earning her tenth shutout of the season.
"It was a scrappy game," Maher said. "And we're a scrappy team."
Thompson would have the benefit of several Centennial shots hitting the crossbar to keep the Lady Titans from finding the back of the net.
"[Turner's] defense compacted the goal a lot," O'Brien said.
Between the pipes for Centennial was junior keeper Cara Connatser, who made several key stops in the second half after a quiet opening 40 minutes.
"She's phenomenal," O'Brien said. "She always is. I'll have her back next year too since she's just a junior."
Connatser made one of the biggest saves of the evening during the 67th minute when a ball came through heavy traffic to nearly sneak between the posts. The junior got to the ball just in time and kept the game scoreless before Rodriguez's goal one minute later.
Although the Lady Lions didn't have immediate success on the corner kick that provided the game's winning goal, Rodriguez eventually put the ball in after several stops in front of the net.
The freshman's goal made it 1-0 with just 11:49 remaining in the game and fueled Turner's momentum. Centennial fought for the remainder of the game, searching for the equalizer, but Thompson denied any chance the Lady Titans had.
"[Thompson] was on her game tonight," Maher said. "She was solid. She's been solid all season long."
Maher added that his team's defense is what impressed him the most Tuesday.
"I have to give them a lot of credit," he said. "They're all about six inches shorter than Centennial's players and we defended all of them."
The Lady Titans end their season with an 11-6-5 mark, while Turner advanced, but came up short in the sectional round against Creekview, 3-0.
Boys soccer: Lions blank Paris in sectional round
For the second consecutive season, R.L. Turner's boys soccer team will be playing for the right to advance to the UIL Class 4A Region I Tournament, which takes place at Standridge Stadium in Creekview.
The Lions faced West Mesquite Tuesday at Hanby Stadium (results not available as of press time) and were coming off a 1-0 victory Friday over Paris in the sectional round.
Last year, Turner advanced to the regional quarterfinals but fell short of the regional tournament after they were defeated in a shootout by Bryan Adams.
The Lions entered the sectional round after holding off Frisco Wakeland April 3 in the area round, 1-0.
Baseball: Turner still seeking first win in district
Pitcher Garon Goodspeed gave Turner's baseball team one of its best performances on the mound during the district season Friday, but it still wasn't enough as the bats were quiet in a 3-0 loss against Frisco.
The Lions (0-9) are still seeking their first win in district but are showing progress, having lost by three runs or less in three of their past five games.
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