SEVEN-UP! | Kilgore soccer teams shut out New Diana, both 7-0 scores

Lucky seven?

Not if you’re New Diana. Not on Tuesday, anyway.

Kilgore High School’s soccer teams hit seven twice – coach Todd BonDurant’s Lady Bulldogs rolled up seven goals on the New Diana Lady Eagles on Tuesday night, winning 7-0, and then the Bulldogs won by the exact same score, both games at the Eagles’ stadium.

Both Kilgore teams will face Tenaha on Friday in Tenaha. The games were originally supposed to be at Kilgore this Friday, but the dates were swapped earlier this season because the field was so wet. The varsity girls game will begin at 5 p.m. and varsity boys will follow.

But first, though, there is a junior varsity girls game on Thursday; that’s at Tyler Legacy at 5:30.

Kilgore 7, New Diana 0 (girls): Kilgore’s defense – led by the trio of goalkeepers Esperanza Garcia, Kaitlyn Tryon and Julie Gonzalez – didn’t give up a goal in this game, and in fact, they haven’t in a WHILE.

The Lady Bulldogs have won six straight games, and haven’t allowed a goal since a 3-2 win over Carthage on Feb. 9. Since then, they’ve outscored opponents 33-0, and in district play, they’ve outscored the opposition 71-5.

Yeah, it is ridiculous.

At any rate, there’s offense there, too, obviously, and Phenix Rivers continued to terrorize District 15-4A rivals. She scored the hat trick again Tuesday night, three goals in a game.

Also scoring for Kilgore were Jocelyn Serrano, Emily Beason, Gloria Cedillo, and Juliana Cedillo.

Players with assists in the contest Tuesday were Rivers, Reese Burgess, both Gloria and Juliana Cedillo, Serrano, Angelica Canchola, and Dulce Campos.

BonDurant’s Lady ‘Dogs are 14-3 overall, now. They’re 10-1 in district play, still trail Henderson by a game because of that head-to-head loss, although they meet again next Tuesday, March 5.

Counting this Friday’s home game against Tenaha, the Lady ‘Dogs have five regular season games left before the playoffs.

Kilgore 7, New Diana 0 (boys): After a good test at home from rival Sabine, the Bulldogs are looking healthier and aiming for another district championship.

Tuesday’s road game at New Diana did absolutely, completely, totally nothing to dispel that notion.

Diego Rojas and Adan Reyes each had another big night, both scoring twice. Rojas opened the floodgates with the first score of the game, a goal off an assist from Ruben Rodriguez.

Reyes then scored his first of the game, off an assist from Enrique Salazar (2-0 Kilgore).

Joseph Chavez scored to make it 3-0 Bulldogs off an assist from senior Leo Yzaguirre, who played sparingly in the win over Sabine last Saturday. Peralez told ETBlitz he’d been gradually working Yzaguirre back into the line-up, and it’s working.

Rojas scored Reyes’ assist to give the Bulldogs a 4-0 lead, and then Reyes scored unassisted (5-0).

Jerson Avelar Flores, who broke the scoreless tie last weekend against Sabine, made it 6-0 Kilgore, off an assist from Jorge Aleman, and then Yzaguirre finished things off with a solo goal (7-0).

Kilgore ran its overall record to 16-1-2 with the win (Center did beat Kilgore on Feb. 19, dealing the ‘Dogs their first district loss in three years, but injuries and missing players were a factor – Kilgore looks to have steadied things since then).

Like the Lady Bulldogs, there’s still a good bit of regular season games to go. Including Friday’s game against Tenaha, the ‘Dogs actually have six games left in the regular year, as there’s a pair of non-district games on the schedule (at Caddo Mills on March 8 and at Nacogdoches to end the regular season on March 19).

The playoffs begin the weekend of March 25-26. The area, or second, round is March 28-30. Regional quarterfinals (round three) are scheduled for April 1-2, and the regional finals – the regional tournament that both Kilgore teams have been so adept at reaching – are once again at CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium. Those dates are April 5-6.

The University Interscholastic League’s State Soccer Tournament for boys and girls for all classifications is once again at Birkelbach Stadium in Georgetown on April 10-13.