Princeton junior Sal Gutierrez (13) and the Panthers boys soccer team will look to start the second half of District 6-6A play with a win over Plano East on Friday. Photo by Jerry Winfrey / C&S Media
By David Wolman
After starting District 6-6A play with three wins in its first four matches, the Princeton boys soccer team dropped three straight contests and hoped to return to its winning ways this week.
Head coach Kent Ackmann said he was proud of how his team played in a 2-1 loss to Allen on Feb. 2, particularly with how the Panthers responded after conceding an early goal to the Eagles.
Allen took a 1-0 lead when Pablo Gozman scored just four minutes into the match.
Anthony Armijo got Princeton on the board shortly afterward to level the score at 1-1, but Allen regained the lead with 11 minutes remaining on a perfectly placed strike by Daniel Mogeni. The Eagles held on from there to secure the victory.
“We created a number of scoring chances early that could have changed the dynamics of the match if we were able to convert some of those, but I was proud of how we responded to draw even at 1-1 after giving up a very unlucky goal off a set piece in the first half,” Ackmann said.
The loss marked the first of three matches for Princeton last week, as a winter storm forced the Panthers to make up a previously scheduled contest.
One day after the loss to Allen, Princeton (5-6-2 overall, 3-4 District 6-6A) fell 4-1 to Plano West, a state semifinalist last season. The Wolves led 2-0 at halftime. The Panthers got on the board in the second half on a goal by AJ Lopez, but Plano West added two more goals over the final 40 minutes to pull away for the three-goal win.
Princeton capped the week with a 3-0 loss to Prosper on Friday.
The Princeton Lady Panthers also played three matches last week and dropped all three.
Princeton lost 5-0 at Allen on Feb. 2, 4-0 to Plano West on Feb. 3 and 9-1 at Prosper on Feb. 6.
Senior captain Gabriella Trejo snapped a three-match scoreless drought for Princeton (1-10 overall, 0-7 district) by scoring on a free kick from 35 yards out against Prosper.
Princeton played McKinney Boyd on Tuesday and will open the second half of district play Friday against Plano East. The girls match will be played at Jackie Hendricks Stadium, while the boys match is set for Tom Kimbrough Stadium. Both matches are scheduled for 7:30 p.m.