Boys soccer faces Palestine Friday

Photo/Jim Jackson That's what you call keeping your eyes on the ball, as both Whitehouse and Marshall soccer players anticipate a corner kick.

The varsity Wildcats won their last two conference games against Marshall and Chapel Hill, improving their record to 12-2 (17-4-2 overall) and finishing second in district.

Whitehouse now faces Palestine for the bi-district championship at 8 p.m. Friday in Nacogdoches.

Prior to Friday's contest with Marshall, 11 seniors were recognized for their hard work and dedication and earned starting nods from Coach Chris Clemons.

Whitehouse got on the scoreboard first when Paul Metzner struck gold off a free kick with 15 minutes left in the half. As the clock wound down, Metzner passed to Payne Stinchfield who put it by the Maverick keeper for the 2-0 halftime lead.

Neither team managed a score in the second half, giving the Cats the 2-0 victory. Justin Parker and Colton Strother shared the goal for the 15th shutout of the season.

Against Chapel Hill last Tuesday, the Cats were able to get on the scoreboard first with 21:54 remaining in the half as Metzner passed the ball out wide to Justin Seal who was able to race past the Bulldog defense and put the ball in for the 1-0 lead.

Knowing that rain was in the forecast the game was postponed due to lightning in the area with 17:56 remaining in the half. The game resumed Wednesday, with the Cats totally dominating, out-shooting the Bulldogs 22 to 5.

The final score came with 8:42 left in the half when Chris Carter sent a ball up to Eric O'Neill who was able to put it in the corner for the 2-0 lead. Despite the Cats domination, neither team was able to score the second half.

Parker and Strother again shared the goal for the shutout.

Whitehouse JV 4, Marshall JV 1

The junior varsity Wildcats wanted to finish the season on a winning note and that they did. The Cats scored three first-half goals from Wes Holt, Ivan Perez and Colton Strother. The Mavericks scored a goal late in the half to give the Cats the 3-1 halftime lead.

Julio Alleman scored a goal in the second half to give the Cats the 4-1 win. The JV ended their season with a record of 11- 5-2 overall and 9-3-2 in district.

- Reported by Mark Hays