Jackets give one away in district-opening 3-2 loss to Wolves; Lady Jackets tie Timberview

Jan. 11—The Cleburne Yellow Jackets let one slip away in their District 8-5A opener Tuesday night vs. Mansfield Timberview.

In the final 5 minutes of play, the Wolves scored two goals less than a minute apart to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead, and Timberview held on for the win, stealing one from Cleburne.

It was a painful way for the Jackets to not only suffer their first loss of the season, but start district play with such a disappointing loss in a game they controlled play.

Cleburne got out to a 1-0 lead after a series of good passes led to a quality shot on goal that was stopped by Timberview goal keeper Tyler Strumila but ricocheted off a Wolves' defender and into the back of the net for an own goal midway through the first half.

Just over 1 minute later, the Jackets had another golden scoring chance but Strumila came up with a big save to keep it a 1-0 score.

With 10 minutes left in the first half, the Wolves had their first solid scoring chance but Cleburne goal keeper Nolan Crawford came up with a big save, deflecting a shot that would have snuck in the corner of the goal post, and the Jackets maintained a 1-0 lead at the break.

In the 51st minute, the Jackets had a free kick from about 25 yards out but Strumila was again up for the challenge, making a leaping save. And less than 3 minutes later, the Wolves found the equalizer when Hussain Al-Tamimi set up Abraham Rivera for a goal to make it 1-1.

Cleburne battled back just over 10 minutes later, however, when Jesus Cardenas fed a perfectly placed pass through the defense to Jonathan Martinez. Cardenas' pass brought Strumila out in an effort to play the ball, but Martinez got to it first and maneuvered through traffic to boot the go-ahead goal in for a 2-1 lead with just 14 minutes remaining.

However, things fell apart a few minutes later for Cleburne. The Wolves were awarded a free kick from 40 yards out and Timberview scored off the set piece on a header by Tife Adesanya to even things up at 2-2.

It went from bad to worse for the Jackets as Timberview was awarded another free kick less than a minute later, and even though this one came from an awkward angle nearly 50 yards out, the Wolves managed to score on a second straight set piece to stun the Jackets and take a 3-2 lead with 3:56 to go. Al-Tamimi was credited with the game-winning goal on Noah Hernandez's second straight assist.

In a manner of moments, the Jackets went from trying to play keep-away and protect a one-goal lead to having to frantically find a game-tying goal. The Jackets had a scoring chance with 1:10 to go but the ball was saved, and Timberview stalled enough to run the clock out for a 3-2 win.

Cleburne fell to 3-1-0 overall and starts district play 0-1-0 while Timberview picked up its first win of the season.

The Jackets have a bye Friday and then will visit Arlington Seguin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Lady Jackets, Lady Wolves play to draw

The Cleburne Lady Jackets and Mansfield Timberview Wolves battled to a 1-1 tie in their District 8-5A opener Tuesday.

In the 10th minute, Cleburne grabbed a 1-0 lead on a highlight-worthy rocket shot on a bad angle from 35 yards out by Allyson Reed with the assist going to Kayla Abbott.

But aside from one more scoring chance for Cleburne that was thwarted, there wasn't much going on offensively the rest of the first half.

While Timberview didn't register a shot on goal in the first half, Cleburne defender Samantha Vesely had two strong plays deep in the Lady Jackets' end that prevented scoring opportunities for the Wolves.

With Cleburne protecting a 1-0 lead at halftime, the Wolves came out firing to start the second half. Cleburne goal keeper Karyme Garcia had two big saves, with one coming against a Timberview corner kick, to preserve the 1-0 lead.

But in the 70th minute, the Wolves scored on a goal by Ariana Gutierrez to tie it up at 1-1.

The Lady Jackets had a strong scoring chance in the 84th minute but Timberview's keeper came up with the stop. Neither offense mounted strong pushes over the final 15 minutes of play as the two teams ended even at 1-1.

After a bye Friday, Cleburne (2-0-1, 0-0-1) is scheduled to visit Arlington Seguin at 5:30 p.m. Friday.