DONNY STX #ManOfTheMatch
On a perfect Sunday morning in Austin, Jacob Donfris led the Southlake Dragons to an 11-6 victory over the Anderson Trojans at Calhoun Field on the campus of Anderson High School.
Anderson played host to the visiting Dragons as each team looked to get a quality game against an inter-district foe. Southlake entered the game 6-3 after taking a tough L on Saturday against Vandegrift. Anderson is also off to a strong start to 2020 with a 4-2 record and looked to build on some momentum after a win against Bowie earlier in the week.
For Southlake, Jacob "Donny" Donfris absolutely went off scoring 3 goals and 3 assists to lead the Dragons in the road win. Also leading way for Southlake's offense was senior midfielder and West Point commit, John Manero, with 2 goals and 1 assist to his credit. Junior attack/midfielder, Bailey Phillips recorded 1 goal as did Aiden Gillen. It was not just the usual suspects for Southlake in the scoring column on Sunday, though. Of Southlake's 11 goals, 4 were scored by poles! Danny Sommerhalder had 2 goals on the day, while Conor Spagnolli and Hunter Holden each scored once.
POLE GOAL- There Were 4 In This Game
This game started out fast and competitive. Both squads were flying around and looking to make plays in transition and early offense. The ball was moving and teams were generating plenty of scoring chances. At the end of the first quarter, Southlake was up 3-1. The 2nd quarter of play was a little sloppier on both sides. Numerous penalties and uncaused turnovers made for a tough 2nd quarter to watch and Southlake took a 5-2 lead into halftime.
Anderson came out hot to start the 3rd quarter and scored first to bring the game back within 2 goals. Southlake responded quickly with a pole goal to extend the lead back to 3. The Dragons employed the 10 man ride for much of the second half of play and were able to create havoc and numerous Anderson turnovers to extend their lead to 9-4 headed into the fourth quarter before sealing the 11-6 victory on the road.
Caiden Marlowe
Anderson had a tough time offensively most of the day due to Southlake's ability to apply pressure between the boxes and on ball in settled 6 on 6. Leading the way for the Trojans in the loss was sophomore midfielder, Alex McNeils, with 3 goals. Also scoring for Anderson was junior midfielder, Caiden Marlowe, with two buckets of his own. This was a great test for this Anderson team. An opportunity to play a team that they are not SUPPOSED to beat, learn from it, and improve moving forward with no playoff implications involved. Southlake's offense made it tough on Anderson's defense most of the afternoon occupying slides and forcing the Trojans to be late on numerous help situations. Again, a great opportunity to learn and improve for the rest of the season.
With the win, Southlake split their weekend games in Austin 1-1 and improved to 7-3 overall on the season. Anderson is now 4-3 with the loss and their next match-up is a big one. The Trojans look to get their first district win of the season on Thursday at home as they take on the 9-0 Vandegrift Vipers.
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