The Morgan County Bulldogs boys’ soccer team fell to Coahulla Creek 1-0 in the first round of the playoffs last week to end its 2022 season.
The team finished the season 10-5-1, while going 7-1 in region play to win the school’s second region championship in a row.
Head coach Aaron Paul was grateful for his team when it was all said and done.
“I’m really proud of our team probably more so than past teams for winning the region,” Paul said. “We had a little bit more adversity this year than in seasons past. We started the season off with a six-starter turnover, and then we had some injuries pop up that made us hit another reset button, and the way we finished the season showed our team’s maturity.”
In the first half of the state playoff game, Morgan County controlled possession and made it difficult for the Colts to find openings. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they found the one opportunity they needed midway through the second half.
The lone goal discouraged Morgan’s players and the team was unable to execute down the stretch. Multiple secondhalf opportunities never came to fruition but made for an exciting second half.
Even though the end result was undesirable for the Morgan County faithful, Paul acknowledged how much this senior class contributed to the program. “We had a lot of seniors this
“We had a lot of seniors this year,” Paul said. “Jose Lopez was our goalkeeper and a starter for three years. Jacob Martin has been with me for four years who battled cancer and got back through that and played for us this year.”
Over the course of the season, the Bulldogs scored 57 total goals while only allowing 11 through 16 matches.
With a majority of starters graduating, Morgan County now looks to their younger players to step up next year. Paul believes this newer group will pick up right where this year’s team left off.
“Freshman Blake Downs, he got in goal for us a couple of times this year when our starter got banged up and had to come out for a couple of games, and he did a great job,” Paul said. “We’ve got a couple of other freshman will be big for us next year, and even the eighth-grade class has been playing well.”
The Bulldogs have made the playoffs every year since Paul started and will hope to make it deeper in the tournament next year.