MCKINNEY – The most successful run in Dallas ISD boys soccer history is over.
On Tuesday, Pinkston became the first-ever boys soccer program from DISD to make a state semifinal and only the second soccer program overall since 1984 when the Kimball girls team won state.
Pinkston senior forward Jose Joel Rangel’s curler in the 18th-minute of the second half equalized for his team after a stingy first half that ended with Pinkston facing a 1-0 deficit. It was Rangel’s 49th goal of the season.
But minutes later, Bridgeport’s Jared Contreras converted a penalty to reclaim the lead for his team. With just three minutes to play, Cory Lopez slotted home the decisive third goal to cement Bridgeport’s second-ever trip to a state championship, first since 2017.
“We knew we were coming in and we were going to play against really tough opponents,” Pinkston head coach Daniel Bruz said. “Bridgeport, hats off to them. They came out here and it was a dogfight. The better team won today. Somebody always has to win, somebody else has to lose and unfortunately that was us today.
“The community support is crazy, man. We usually never get a lot of people out here, but we’ve made some noise, and we got a whole community behind us, a whole district behind us. We just want to thank everybody that came out to support us, our district personnel, everybody from top to bottom.”
Bridgeport was only the third opponent to score on Pinkston’s defense since February 25. After managing just three shots in the fist half, Pinkston generated four in the second, including Rangel’s eventual equalizer.
“Initially, our coach talked and was saying to lock in,” senior keeper Emmanuel Silva said, who finished with five saves. “We had to push ourselves to the limit until we can’t and so we tried on the field. We scored, but sadly, we got scored on twice with the penalty. But that’s all right, we tried our best.”
Bridgeport controlled possession most of the first-half, successfully counter-pressing Pinkston every time they lost the ball and keeping the backline against the wall. Bridgeport out-shot Pinkston nine to three in the first half.
Pinkston’s strategy was to quickly shift the ball up top to Rangel, which resulted in a few opportunities and a corner that led to a shot on-target. But Bridgeport’s backline swarmed Rangel most of the match and kept him from earning many one-on-one opportunities. Defender Kriss Alvarado produced the first chance for Pinkston with a header off a corner kick that went over the bar in the 19th-minute.
Bridgeport’s Xxavier Garza found the breakthrough for his team in the 28th minute via a soft header into the net. An initial shot attempt ricocheted off the crossbar before falling to Garza for the header.