Wildcats beat Ardmore 3-1 in boys soccer opener

MADILL – It was a huge win for the Madill Soccer Wildcats as they beat Ardmore 3-1 March 6 and ran their record to 2-0. The game was pretty much controlled by the Madill squad with some outstanding play by their senior goalkeeper Ulyses Camacho to go along with outstanding offensive play highlighted by two goals by sophomore Francisco Perez in the first half and one goal by Diego Ibarra in the second half.

Ardmore was awarded a penalty kick with 22:04 remaining in the first half and it was a good shot which was high and to the keepers left but on target to score. Camacho jumped to his left and was able to direct the shot over the goal which resulted in a corner kick. With just 4:42 remaining in the first half, Perez won the ball and scored on a very quick shot past the Ardmore keeper for a 1-0 lead. Then, with just 2:34 remaining in the first half, Perez nailed a 30 yard free kick to the top right part of the goal and Madill was up 2-0. With just 48 seconds left in the first half, the referee once again awarded a penalty kick to Ardmore. Once again, Camacho was able to redirect the solid penalty kick and it flew over the goal.

So, going into the halftime, Madill was up 2-0 but it could have easily been 2-2 if it weren’t for the super saves by Camacho.

There was another play by Perez that is worth noting. He could have had his third goal in the first half as he headed a long pass from Madill’s right side into the net over the keeper’s head, but he was called for offsides.

It was a very intense game with both teams called for 12 fouls during the game.

There were numerous times that the referee stopped the game to warn the players about being too physical as they were getting ready for a set play.

With 16:26 left in the game, Madill’s sophomore Diego Ibarra nailed a hard shot into the net to make the score 3-0 Madill and pretty much put the game out of reach for Ardmore.

But, the Tigers came back and with 7:03 remaining in the second half, Creed Cox scored a goal for Ardmore.

From that point on it was a tremendously fast paced competitive game with both teams reaching back for all they had to finish the game.

Things got a little heated and the referee gave one Madill player a yellow card (caution).

At one point late in the second half the referee added back 25 seconds on the time remaining because he considered Madill was taking too long to tie a shoe.

But in the end, Madill held Ardmore off and won the game 3-1 to run their record to 2-0 heading into the Durant game Tuesday, March 10.

“The goalkeeper made a tremendous save on the first penalty kick,” said Madill soccer head coach Jose Cortes. “He really had to dive hard to his left.”

Cortes was asked about goals for the team.

“Our goal this year is to make sure we play one game at a time,” Cortes said. “Last year we looked ahead to the next game and it cost us. This year we have to be playing one game at a time.”

Cortes was asked a question about the amount of playing time that Perez was allowed to have.

“We play him only the last 20 minutes of each half as he is still rehabbing from surgery,” Cortes explained. “This is what the medical people wanted. He makes quite a difference on the field.”

Madill had a 12-4 record last year and won the first two rounds of the playoffs which put them in the state playoffs. They lost in the first round of the state playoffs to Crooked Oak.