MINERAL WELLS – The Brownwood Lions soccer season concluded following a second straight trip to the Region I-4A area round of the playoffs as head coach Michael Westerman’s squad was upended up by District 7 champion Fort Worth Diamond Hill-Jarvis, 6-0, here Tuesday night.
One of the top-ranked teams in the state, Diamond Hill-Jarvis (25-1-1) scored just 2:27 into the contest against the Lions (13-12-1), and tacked on three more goals before halftime. DH-J also found the net with 26:33, 24:53 and 31 seconds left in the first half. The second-half goals for DH-J came with 33:17 and 26:35 remaining in the contest.
“The score is a bit rougher than I think the performance was,” Westerman said. “I’m very pleased with how we performed. We stepped up, we matched intensity, we played physical and we played hard. Our game plan going in was effective, they were just able to expose us and take advantage of the opportunities they had and that was the difference.”
Despite the loss, back-to-back bi-district championships have re-established the Lions as a legitimate postseason contender since Westerman’s arrival, as the Brownwood grad has revitalized a program that had struggled for the better part of the last decade.
“I can’t put into words how proud I am of the boys for embracing me in my first two years and buying into the program that I want to help turn around,” Westerman said. “They’ve been phenomenal, great kids on and off the field and bought into everything I’ve wanted to implement. They’ve been positive and given me nothing but the very best and that shows and translates on to the field.”
Regarding the contributions of the departing senior class, Westerman said, “It was a massive senior class with a lot of leadership. They had great attitudes on and off the field. They bring a lot of energy to practices, to training sessions, to games. They’re great kids and I wish I could have had them since they were freshmen but the last two years I’ve had with them were phenomenal. We’re going to miss them dearly moving on but they’ve definitely set the path for the underclassmen and have showed them what success, hard work and consistency look like.”
Brownwood, the third seed out of District 5, defeated Kennedale, 5-4, last week to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
