Published: March 21, 2008 03:24 pm      

Indians lose to Marshall in soccer playoffs

By Jason Lawless

Special to the Progress

MINEOLA — The Jacksonville Indians lost 1-0 to the Marshall Mavericks Thursday night at LeTourneau University in a bi-district playoff matchup.

The Indians came into the game having finished in second place in District 18-4A with the Mavericks finishing third in District 17-4A.

Both teams seemed to start the game with the butterflies in their stomachs but after a few minutes they both settled down and played some great soccer. The defenses from both sides seemed to control the game at first.

Marshall finally got on the scoreboard around the 26-minute mark of the first half. Marshall’s leading scorer and captain received a pass from an outside midfielder wide open in front of the Indians goal.

Keeper, Chad Leinback, came out on the Maverick forward but the shot sneaked by the diving Indian goalie. The scored remained 1-0 until halftime with both teams putting pressure on the defense but nothing could seem to get by.

Jacksonville came storming out the second half with several opportunities to score. The Mavericks goalie made several great saves to keep the 1-0 lead.

Jacksonville kept pouring on the heat after getting several corner kicks and restart plays. Brent Colvin and David Forry kept the Mavericks defense on its heals all evening, using speed and physical play to their advantage. Colvin was cautioned with a yellow card after being called for several hard fouls.

The Mavericks showed a lot of poise as they held on to the 1-0 win over the Indians. After the game, Jacksonville head coach Matthew Loafman said, “We had several opportunities to tie the game but we just couldn’t seem to find the back of the net.”

The Mavericks will go on to face powerhouse Brenham in Area.

Marshall and Brenham will meet up in Temple on Monday. Game time has yet to be determined.



Editor’s note: Jason Lawless is the head coach of the Lindale Eagle soccer team and a former Jacksonville Indians player and coach. Lindale won first place with a 14-1-1 record this year under Lawless in his first year as head soccer coach.