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Photo by Beth Miller
February 17, 2025
Bulldogs split district games against Canyon Lake, Fredericksburg
By Brady Keane
The Bandera Prophet
The Bandera boys soccer team split a pair of district games last week against Canyon Lake and Fredericksburg, moving into a tie with Wimberley for fourth place in the district standings midway through the first round of district play.
The Bulldogs defeated Canyon Lake 4-3 in a thrilling game Tuesday night, picking up the team’s first district win of the season. Bandera then traveled to Fredericksburg Friday night and fell in a 2-0 finish. The Bulldogs are now 9-5-2 on the season and 1-2 in district play.
“The Canyon Lake win was important to bounce back from a tough loss to Davenport,” Bandera coach Westley Miller said. “Our guys fought hard and found a way to finish in a close game. All of the matches in this district are a battle, and we’re starting to learn how to finish some of those intense games.”
In the win against Canyon Lake, the Bulldogs struck first on a corner kick from senior Hayden Swalve to Jace Knowles. The Hawks answered quickly to make it 1-1, but Bandera regained control on a header from junior Quin King. Canyon Lake again answered to make it 2-2 at the half, but the Bulldogs began to pull away with a goal from Diego Gomez (assisted by Knowles) and another goal from King (assisted by Swalve).
The Hawks didn’t let up, though, and pushed through to score and pull within 4-3 with less than 3 minutes to go. Canyon Lake was then awarded a penalty kick for a handball in the box with just 43 seconds remaining, but goalkeeper Connor Garrett was able to block the shot and sophomore Jaymin Klein cleared the deflection to hold on for a 4-3 win.
“This was the second time in the last three home games against Canyon Lake that it has come down to a penalty kick with under a minute left,” Miller said. “Thanks to the work Coach Aidan Keane does with our goalies, they have become more confident in high stress and high-pressure situations. This is an amazing group of seniors and underclassmen to work with every day, and that was a big win for us early in district.”
The Bulldogs were unable to keep their momentum rolling into Friday’s road game against Fredericksburg, as the Billies contained Bandera’s high-powered offense en route to a 2-0 win. Fredericksburg scored both goals in the first half, and protected the lead through a scoreless second half.
Now sitting in a tie for fourth place with Wimberley, the Bulldogs will look to respond with a big game Tuesday night on the road against the Texans. Bandera will then host Marble Falls on Friday in the final match of the first round of district play.
“Fredericksburg is a tough team and we knew we were going to have to be at our best,” Miller said. “They capitalized on their chances early, but we’re not dwelling on it. We have another big game Tuesday, and we will be ready to go. We’ve put ourselves in a position to compete for a playoff spot, and it’s going to come down to how we respond in these next few matches.”
The Bulldogs defeated Canyon Lake 4-3 in a thrilling game Tuesday night, picking up the team’s first district win of the season. Bandera then traveled to Fredericksburg Friday night and fell in a 2-0 finish. The Bulldogs are now 9-5-2 on the season and 1-2 in district play.
“The Canyon Lake win was important to bounce back from a tough loss to Davenport,” Bandera coach Westley Miller said. “Our guys fought hard and found a way to finish in a close game. All of the matches in this district are a battle, and we’re starting to learn how to finish some of those intense games.”
In the win against Canyon Lake, the Bulldogs struck first on a corner kick from senior Hayden Swalve to Jace Knowles. The Hawks answered quickly to make it 1-1, but Bandera regained control on a header from junior Quin King. Canyon Lake again answered to make it 2-2 at the half, but the Bulldogs began to pull away with a goal from Diego Gomez (assisted by Knowles) and another goal from King (assisted by Swalve).
The Hawks didn’t let up, though, and pushed through to score and pull within 4-3 with less than 3 minutes to go. Canyon Lake was then awarded a penalty kick for a handball in the box with just 43 seconds remaining, but goalkeeper Connor Garrett was able to block the shot and sophomore Jaymin Klein cleared the deflection to hold on for a 4-3 win.
“This was the second time in the last three home games against Canyon Lake that it has come down to a penalty kick with under a minute left,” Miller said. “Thanks to the work Coach Aidan Keane does with our goalies, they have become more confident in high stress and high-pressure situations. This is an amazing group of seniors and underclassmen to work with every day, and that was a big win for us early in district.”
The Bulldogs were unable to keep their momentum rolling into Friday’s road game against Fredericksburg, as the Billies contained Bandera’s high-powered offense en route to a 2-0 win. Fredericksburg scored both goals in the first half, and protected the lead through a scoreless second half.
Now sitting in a tie for fourth place with Wimberley, the Bulldogs will look to respond with a big game Tuesday night on the road against the Texans. Bandera will then host Marble Falls on Friday in the final match of the first round of district play.
“Fredericksburg is a tough team and we knew we were going to have to be at our best,” Miller said. “They capitalized on their chances early, but we’re not dwelling on it. We have another big game Tuesday, and we will be ready to go. We’ve put ourselves in a position to compete for a playoff spot, and it’s going to come down to how we respond in these next few matches.”