The Brownwood Lady Lions scored just over five minutes into their season opener, and put six goals on the board before halftime en route to a 8-1 victory over the Waco La Vega Lady Pirates Tuesday night at Gordon Stadium.
“In our pre-game I told the girls they needed to go ahead and set the tone for the season and they came out strong,” said Lady Lions second-year head coach Alexis Mosqueda. “I told them the first five minutes are the most important of the game. The next five minutes that are the most important come after they make a goal. They responded well to that and I was pleased with the way they played today.”
Kennedi Johnson led the onslaught with five goals – three in the first half and two in the second – as four Lady Lions found the net by the end of the night.
“Kennedi is a powerhouse anywhere she goes on the field,” Mosqueda said. “She handles the ball well, she can distribute the ball well, but all those goals are attributed to the assists. Multiple people had assists tonight, I was proud of that, and our set pieces looked good.”
Johnson opened the scoring 5:40 into the contest as she scored off an assist from Ataleigh Constancio. Then, with 22:20 remaining in the first half, Molly Oliver found the net with an assist from Watts Jones, which triggered a run of five goals in just over nine minutes for Brownwood.
Johnson scored her second goal with an assist from Oliver with 19:31 left in the half, then 61 seconds later Johnson stole the ball from the La Vega defense and scored unassisted. With a little less than 15 minutes left until halftime, Jones found the net on a 25-yard free kick from the right side, while Braycee Lee capped the first-half scoring on an assist from Constancio at the 13:09 mark.
In the second half, Johnson scored with 26:15 remaining after receiving an inbound ball by Sydney Stewart. The final goal was set up by an Oliver pass that Johnson wrestled away from two La Vega defenders and scored with 22 minutes left in the contest.
Defensively, the Lady Lions yielded just one goal with 12:12 left in the first half. Allorah Franks and Jenzen Constancio split time in the net for Brownwood.
“After I said I’d like to have a shutdown defense we allowed that one goal,” Mosqueda said with a laugh. “When we went to halftime I addressed it with the girls. The defensive line is young and they just lack communication. We figured that out in the second half and as long as they continue to do that we’ll have a good defensive line.”
The Lady Lions (1-0) are back in action Friday and Saturday at the Gatesville tournament.
“I want the girls to continue to set the tone for this season,” Mosqueda said. “They have a chance to do good things this year, and I expect good things out of them.”
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Wichita Falls Hirschi 8, Lions 0
WICHITA FALLS – In their first game under new head coach Michael Westerman, the Brownwood Lions dropped an 8-0 decision at Wichita Falls Hirschi Tuesday.
The Lions (0-1) will compete in the Georgetown Governor’s Cup Thursday through Saturday.
