San Marcos beat Converse Judson 8-3 in its first matchup with the Lady Rockets on Jan. 29. But the Lady Rattlers knew they could do better.
Coming off a 1-0 win at San Antonio East Central last Friday, San Marcos defeated Judson 7-0 inside San Marcos Toyota Rattler Stadium on Tuesday to earn its first winning streak of the district season.
“These girls deserve it,” head coach Jason Carnley said. “I mean, they bust their butt all week in practice and in games. And sometimes the score doesn’t show it, but when you win two in a row, that means something’s going right our way. And that’s a positive.”
The hosts began the game with three goals in the first half. Senior Mary Finch, sophomore Isabel Duenez and senior Danielle Hernandez all found the back of the net for the Lady Rattlers.
“East Central was a physical game,” Carnley said. “This one, we knew it was kind of going to be a possession game and it worked in our favor.”
The momentum carried over into the second half. Duenez picked up another score, and freshman Ana Barragan, sophomore Izabella Olivo and senior Emily Holechek each found a goal to take the 7-0 win. The victory also marked the second straight shutout for the team.
With just a few minutes left in the game, Carnley thought about who stood out to him during the game. The head coach couldn’t think of anyone. It was a complete team effort.
“It seemed like someone new scored every single goal,” Carnley said. “But, the reason they scored the goal was because there was someone else behind them. And our defense was fantastic.”
San Marcos (7-10-4, 3-6 district) will travel on Friday to take on Cibolo Steele (9-5-3, 5-4) at 7:15 p.m.
Carnley believes his team’s newfound confidence will help them down the road.
“We’re gonna have to come in and hit hard,” Carnley said. “We’re gonna have to be physical. We get in their heads, we’re gonna be OK. They get in ours, it’s going to be a long night.”
