COPPERAS COVE — Oscar Bersoza uses every advantage, including the weather.
In the season opener, Belton went to Copperas Cove on Monday and made an unexpected stop after Mrs. Bulldog requested that the contest be added to her schedule at short notice. However, the Lady front with his Tigers moved into the area, bringing gusts of wind.
In the first half, the wind was behind Belton and the Lady Tigers capitalized.
Belton scored five goals in the 21-minute stretch and was never challenged en route to a 9–0 victory. After the shutout, Lady his Tigers head coach mentioned the importance of using Mother Nature as an ally.
“In these conditions, we don’t know what will happen in the second half, so we want to use it to our advantage. It may be a sunny day with no wind.
“Now it can be difficult with the wind behind you as the ball tends to go away from your feet, but you still need to make the most of the opportunity.”
Battling a talented side and weather conditions, Copperas Cove (0-1-1) struggled to get past midfield in the early stages, and in the final minutes of the first half, junior Emma Ross scored a first goal. The shot advanced the ball into Lady Tigers territory only twice.
But by then it was already too late.
After a 10-minute scoreless stretch to the start of the game, Belton claimed control of the contest with the first three goals from senior standout Makena Morrow, and less than 10 minutes later, teammate Jarelli Reyes put it in the net. threw a shot.
In the next 12 minutes, the Lady Tigers put the score out of reach as Morrow, junior Tori Luxinger and Reyes each scored, sending the Lady Bulldogs into halftime with an insurmountable deficit. .
The result was disappointing, but not unexpected for Copperas Cove first-year head coach Francisco Bernal.
“I could have taken the easy route,” said Bernal. It doesn’t make sense to just schedule a team that can be easily beaten.
“I don’t want to be on the receiving side of a match like this, nor are the girls, but we want competitive matches. I would like to know if there is
Despite winning four straight District 12-6A championships before falling in the classification during the recent reorganization of the Collegiate Interscholastic League, Belton has also experienced major turnovers within the program.
Notably, senior standouts Daisha Thomas and Sara Navarro, who earned superlatives in all districts last season, graduated, so Berthosa welcomed a new cast of faces to help fill the void.
But that wasn’t a problem against Copperas Cove.
Seniors Angelica Rivera scored twice for Belton after half-time, while team-mates Avaits and Morrow also found the net.
The Lady Tigers are now looking to move the Lady Bulldogs to the Humble Tournament based on their performance in the three-day Frisco Tournament, which begins Thursday.
The goal is always to win, but Bersoza has additional concerns moving forward.
“We just need to give these girls experience,” he said. So we have to find a way to give them experience in our system.
“That said, we’re facing challenges in Frisco, so we need to be prepared.”