Southwest Legacy goalkeeper Nerick Lozano in a match against Southwest on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. Lozano had a clean sheet to help the Titans to a 1-0 win over Corpus Christi Flour Bluff in the regional finals Friday at Gustafson Stadium.
Ronald Cortes/2026Ronald Cortes
It took extra time, but Southwest Legacy finally secured a spot in the state quarterfinals thanks to a 1-0 win on Friday over Corpus Christi Flour Bluff at Gustafson Stadium.
Sophomore Cristian Ovalle scored the game winner with 6:01 left in the second overtime frame, sending the Titans to the next round, where they take on La Joya Palmview, which beat Leander Glenn 1-0 on Friday night.
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The lone goal came after nearly 100 minutes marked by challenging weather conditions and inspired play by the Titans’ defense and senior goalkeeper Nerick Lozano.
In early January, Flour Bluff beat Southwest Legacy 3-1 in tournament play, which dropped the Titans to 0-3 in the season’s opening weekend. This time, Legacy came up big when the stakes were highest.
“We had to deal with a lot of adversity, but overall the boys played well,” Southwest Legacy coach Juan Sandoval said. “We played as a team, and we came away with a victory.”
For the majority of the first half, Flour Bluff (22-3) controlled the ball, attacking the Southwest Legacy (18-8) side of the field. With a strong, unrelenting wind at their backs, the Hornets launched multiple shots on goal from long distance.
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Lozano was challenged early and often in large part due to the elements. Despite the barrage of shots on goal, Lozano kept the Hornets off the scoreboard in the opening half.
“[The wind] threw a wrench into our system, into our strategy,” Sandoval said. “We were able to adjust pretty well.”
At the start of the second half, with the field flipped and the Hornets going into the wind, Flour Bluff still kept up their attack. The first 10 minutes were all virtually spent in Titans’ territory. Despite the pressure, Lozano was able to keep Flour Bluff off the scoreboard.
“Well, it’s just my business,” said Lozano of his shutout performance. “I have to prove what I’m capable of. It’s everything for my last year here.”
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Southwest Legacy began to turn the tide every so slightly around 25-minute mark. Their offense, now using the wind to their advantage, was able to keep the ball on the Flour Bluff half of the field for long stretches of times. This led to an increase in shots on goal for the Titans.
Despite this pressure, when the buzzer sounded at the end of regulation, the score was still 0-0.
In the first overtime period, the Hornets again tried to use the elements and again kept up their attack, but it was to no avail as Lozano was up to the task. The game moved into the second overtime period scoreless, setting up Ovalle’s heroics.
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“This is just, I don’t know how to explain it,” Sandoval said. “We’re just living the dream.”