The Angelina College Lady Roadrunner soccer team saw its remarkable inaugural season come to an end on Thursday, with the No. 7 Tyler College Lady Apaches taking care of their home field advantage in a 7-0 win in Tyler.
Six different Lady Apaches found the net, with Carlota Suarez striking twice. Claire Ramet, Jolenne Calleja, Cooper Mullins, O’Shay Nelson and Shauni Reid also scored for Tyler, which advances to Sunday’s finals against Navarro College, winners over Northeast Texas Community College in Thursday’s other semifinal.
AC head coach Freddy Drago said he knew his team was disappointed in the outcome, but reminded them of the larger picture.
“I told the girls after the regular-season finale on Saturday that whatever they did after that was icing on the cake,” Drago said. “For a first-year program to make the playoffs is pretty amazing, and I don’t want them to forget it.”
The bigger and faster Lady Apaches pressed a relentless attack while holding the Lady Roadrunners to precious few scoring chances. Lauren Martinez sent two kicks near the Tyler goal, and Bre Hinojos nearly pulled off a score off an interception midway through the second half.
In the end, however, the Lady Apaches proved worthy of their national ranking.
But Drago said this year was only the beginning for his young program.
“From the beginning, we told the girls when they came here we’d be counting on them to lay a foundation for future teams,” Drago said. “I’m very happy and very proud of the way they represented this team, our college and our community.”
The e-mail address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu
