Wylie East junior Mohammed Meher (3) attempts to dribble past a Naaman Forest defender during a 1-0 win for the Raiders from Naaman Forest on Tuesday. Photo by Oladipo Awowale / C&S Media
By David Wolman
GARLAND – The Wylie East boys’ soccer team came into Tuesday night’s road game at Naaman Forest already facing an uphill battle.
The Raiders trailed Garland and Sachse by three points for the final playoff spot in District 9-6A. And with only four games remaining in the regular season, earning three points for every contest is a must for Wylie East if it wants to make the playoffs.
And factor in a heavy breeze that blew across the field, that made the task at hand more difficult for the Raiders.
Senior defender Garrett Zamora and junior goalkeeper Elijah Thompson ensured that Wylie East left Naaman Forest with a win. Zamora converted a free kick with 27:54 to go in the second half, and Thompson turned in a clean sheet to lift the Raiders to a 1-0 win.
With the win, Wylie East (5-4-4) now has 23 points, pulling the Raiders even with Garland and Sachse in the 9-6A standings. Wylie East also got help from their crosstown rival Wylie (9-4-1), which posted a 2-0 triumph of Garland, also Tuesday. Sachse was idle.
“Every game is a must-win,” said Trey Vaut, Wylie East head coach. “We knew that we had to come out and take care of business. Fortunately, we did that tonight.”
The wind nearly got the better of Wylie East in the first half.
Naaman Forest (5-4-3), like Wylie East, came into the match desperate for points as the Rangers were four points out of a playoff spot.
The Randers had a near breakaway on the left side of the field following a defensive breakdown by Wylie East in the seventh minute, but Thompson and the Raiders’ back end recovered just in time with Thompson making a save to keep it scoreless.
“I don’t think I’ve played or coached in wind like this since I was younger,” Vaut said. “The wind going across makes it totally different than going north and south. A big difference in the game. It was actually in our favor in the second half when we got ahead. It made it tough on them to get the ball out of the defensive end.”
Thompson didn’t have to make many saves, but when he did, they were timely ones with every save becoming that more critical in a game in which the two teams combined for one goal. His best save came late in the game when he came out of his goal and made a sliding save with his leg against a Ranger forward in a one-on-one situation.
“Eli in goal has been great for us all year,” Vaut said. “He didn’t have to make as many saves as he normally does because our defense did a really good job of preventing shots. He’s a great weapon for us back there.”
It remained a scoreless game until the second half.
That’s when junior Dylan Falay initiated the best offensive counter of the night for Wylie East.
He passed the ball to his left, which senior Nicholas Nobleza corralled with his feet and used a quick burst to dribble around a Naaman Forest defender. He was fouled from behind in the box and a penalty kick was awarded to the Raiders.
Zamora was denied a goal earlier in the second half on a point-point shot, but he was good on the PK, giving Wylie East a 1-0 lead with 27:54 remaining in the match.
“A great individual play,” Vaut said. “Dylan got the ball in the middle and made a great pass to Nicholas running down the flank. It was just a head’s up play by Nick to step in front of a defender and getting contact from the back, which took him down. Garrett came in and put the PK away.”
Wylie East has three games remaining in the regular season, including a crucial showdown with Garland next Tuesday at Garland. The Raiders will host Rowlett this Friday and Wylie on Friday, March 14.
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