BURLESON - The Aledo Bearcats’ fourth-place finish in District 5-5A isn’t all it seemed.
Aledo’s played excellent soccer most of the year, save for the first three matches of their district run.
That was a lesson Arlington Heights learned first-hand when the two teams met in Burleson for the bi-district round of the 5A playoffs on Tuesday, March 26. The Yellowjackets’ fast, aggressive style of play wasn’t enough to help them overcome a disciplined Aledo squad that kept their shape and capitalized on every opportunity as they advanced to the area round of the playoffs with a 3-0 victory over Arlington Heights.
“We’ve been on a pretty hot streak the last nine games,” said Aledo head coach Derek Vierling. “I hate to say we’ve got Heights’ number, but that’s four or five playoff games that we’ve beat them.
“The boys played well. That’s what I’ve been seeing all year long.”
Aledo (14-3-6) was playing Denton (16-5-2) in the second round on Thursday, March 28 at press time. The winner will take on the survivor between Everman (12-11-1) and Denton Ryan (17-3-3) Monday or Tuesday, April 1 or 2.
Heights (17-5-2), the champions of District 6-5A, controlled much of the possession throughout the match. Their speed up front and in the midfield helped the Yellowjackets dictate where the action took place on the field.
Yet, despite the persistent pressure, the Bearcat defense was unyielding. Aledo’s center backs stood their ground, and even managed to recover their position the few times Arlington Heights appeared to be set up to score.
Senior goalkeeper Deagan Dietz played like he was 10-foot-tall standing in the net with nothing evading his grasp during the 80 minutes of action.
Midway through the first half each team had taken some shots on goal, but came up empty. That is until Austin Randriamahefa managed to sneak one by the Yellowjacket keeper during a scrum in the box when the ball leaked out his direction for goal No. 23 on the year.
With so many bodies clustered together, the keeper was unable to get to the ball as Randriamahefa put the Bearcats on the board off the tapper with 25:26 left in the first half.
Coming into the match, Aledo knew Heights was going to be physical and aggressive. The game plan for the Bearcats was to be counter-punchers. When the Yellowjackets overextended themselves, they took advantage by running by their center backs with little help from the midfield being at the disposal of their defense.
With just over nine minutes left in the half, the plan worked to perfection. After fighting off a barrage from Heights, the Bearcats were ready to throw their counter shot. Randriamahefa controlled possession, found a little space in the passing lane, and sent a good pass over to Brody Gill who won the foot race against the Yellowjacket defender. Gill made his run and put a clean shot on the wide side of the net for his 18th goal of the season as the Bearcats went up 2-0 heading into the half.
In the second half the Yellowjackets cracked up the aggression in hopes of erasing the 2-0 deficit. As they had done all night, the Bearcats found ways to weather the storm. Dietz successfully fended off multiple shots on goal by Arlington Heights as the Bearcats kept their eyes peeled for an opportunity to bury another goal and the Yellowjacket season along with it.
Trapper Davis found that opportunity in the 68th minute. Davis managed to get by his marker, leaving him with a wide open shot at the goal, with the backup goalkeeper tending the net for Heights after their starter tore his hamstring. Davis made it look easy with a goal that cemented the victory for Aledo.
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