On a chilly Tuesday night, the Coppell Cowboys would host their Senior Night Game against the Plano Wildcats. After a tough defeat against the Flower Mound Jaguars, the Cowboys hoped to recover on what was to be an emotional night for both coaches and players. Before the match, senior players and their parents had their Senior Night ceremony, including Maddox Matute, who returned after a successful surgery. On what was a memorable night for our senior Cowboys, the team was able to comfortably beat the Plano Wildcats 2-0.

At the beginning of the match, the Cowboys heavily utilized their wingbacks in an attempt to stretch and create holes in the Plano defense. The Cowboys also enforced a high press against an inexperienced Plano backline, causing many turnovers in Plano possession. After a dominant first twenty minutes by Coppell, they would open the scoring in the match off of a cross by left-back Manav Kapadia. His cross would be cleared by the Plano defense, but only to forward Sam Stone, who was lurking on the edge of the box. Stone blasted the ball on the first time half-volley into the bottom left corner, leaving the keeper no chance to save the shot.

The Cowboys would continue their dominance after the first goal. Forward Nick Eppelman would be played through down the line and was able to beat the last defender after a lucky deflection. With the Plano keeper left on an island, Eppelman toe-poked a shot aimed for the bottom corner, but the ball squeezed past the post in what was a painful miss. However, a couple of minutes later, forward Luca Grosoli would pounce upon a sloppy touch by a Plano defender and find himself on a one-on-one breakaway. He coolly slotted the ball past the keeper, doubling the Coppell lead to 2. The Cowboys would have another chance to score but again would miss by mere inches. Defender Srikar Mulukutla would find himself wide open for a header, but he could only direct the ball onto the crossbar.

With a halftime score of 2-0, the Cowboys hoped to prevent any shot of a comeback. The Plano Wildcats would try to create chances in the second half but weren’t able to create enough danger to score a goal, ending the match with a final score of 2-0. This win will hold many memories for our senior players as they near the end of their high school careers. Hopeful to make playoffs, the Coppell Cowboys will hope to redeem themselves in what will be a difficult match against Plano West.