Wylie freshman Luke Montgomery scored three goals in a 5-2 bi-district playoff win over Rockwall-Heath on Friday. Photo by Elijah Kloepping / C&S Media
By Mark Saldana
ROCKWALL — The Wylie Pirates used a dominant second-half performance to defeat Rockwall-Heath 5-2 in the UIL 6A Division I Bi-District Championship Friday night at Wilkerson-Sanders Stadium.
The victory was the first playoff win for head coach Scott Dillon since he took over as the team’s head coach 12 years ago.
“It was a long time coming and I was happy for the kids,” he said. “They earned it. We’re going to see how far it takes us.”
After a defensive battle early, both teams struggled to find the back of the net through the opening 20 minutes. Strong defensive play on both ends kept the match scoreless at the 25-minute and 18-minute marks, with limited clean scoring opportunities.
Rockwall-Heath broke through first, capitalizing on an inbound pass at the 17:08 mark in the first half to take a 1-0 lead. The Hawks nearly added to their advantage late in the half, but Wylie’s defense and goalkeeper came up with a key stop.
Wylie responded just before halftime. With 45 seconds remaining, Luke Montgomery delivered a crucial equalizer, finishing a scoring opportunity to tie the match at 1-1 heading into the break
“We had been working on corner kicks all week,” Dillon said. “Luke got a header on a corner, and it gave us a pep in our step going into halftime.”
It was the first of three goals on the night for Montgomery, just a freshman.
The Pirates carried that momentum into the second half.
Montgomery struck again early in the half, finishing off an assist from Sebastian Sanchez at the 36:57 mark to give Wylie its first lead of the night at 2-1. Wylie continued to apply pressure, with Zach Alsahli hitting the crossbar and creating multiple chances before eventually breaking through.
Alsahli extended the lead to 3-1 at 22:02 with a goal off an open look, giving Wylie breathing room. Rockwall-Heath answered with a penalty kick goal at 14:47 to cut the deficit to 3-2, but Wylie quickly regained control.
Montgomery completed his standout performance with another goal at 13:41, this time off an assist from Jonathan Kassa, pushing the lead to 4-2. Alsahli later added his second goal of the night on a penalty kick at the 7:57 mark, sealing the 5-2 victory.
“I’m really proud of the way the boys responded tonight,” Dillon said. “We knew it was going to be a tough one, especially after that first goal, but they stayed composed and trusted in each other. The way we came out in the second half, moved the ball, and finished our chances shows the growth and character of this group.”
With the win, Wylie advances to the area round, where the Pirates will play Duncanville next week at a location and date still to be determined.
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