A pair of players walked off the field with hat tricks in the Monroe County Classico, but Abram Torres was the only one who walked off with a win.
Torres and Jefferson Garcia notched a combined six goals when Sweetwater outlasted Sequoyah 5-3 in Madisonville on Thursday.
Two early goals from Torres had the game nearly settled near the 20-minute mark. The Wildcats (2-1) stretched ahead by three goals when Justin Deaton received a pass from Angel Quintino and slotted home.
Down 3-0, Sequoyah looked dusted, but the Chiefs scored two quick goals and turned the deficit into a one-goal game within three minutes.
“That is something I talked to the boys about this game and the game before. It seems like, whenever we are up two or more goals, they think everything is already done and kind of relax,” Sweetwater coach Ricardo Torres said. “It does not mean the game is over. They lose concentration on what they are doing. They should still focus the entire game.”
Garcia found the back of the net in the 38th minute and two minutes into stoppage time.
“He was on fire. He drove it straight down the middle,” Sequoyah coach Lindsay Liszeski said. “It was pretty exciting.”
Sequoyah trailed by two again at the break, but Garcia found another goal nine minutes into the second half, slotting his third goal home.
Garcia operated as a single striker, getting support from both wings.
“I think that they were resilient. They knew we had the potential to beat Sweetwater. We ended up falling short in the long run,” Liszeski added. “But I think something lit a fire in those boys. When that fire got lit, they were ready to go.”
Gabby Bedolla finished with a goal and assist on Torres’ second score. Demarth Upton’s throw-in set Bedola up to slide home an immediate response to Sequoyah’s second goal.
Torres’ first goal, 13 minutes into the night, came off a pass from Cameron Pippin. He completed his hat trick in the 53rd minute.
“I don’t feel that we played well. I know we scored more goals than the other team, but there were one or two goals where we connected some plays, made some passes and had good triangulation,” Torres said. “The rest of the goals, those were not something we created from the back. Just being there is good, but if we want to compete with better teams we have to do better than creating chances.”
The Chiefs held Sweetwater to one goal in the second half. Sequoyah picked up strong performances from Christian Palacios and Jimmy Vasquez, both recording shots on goal.
“They were on a roll. We had some other really critical guys there too,” Liszeski said. “Oscar Chavarria has really stepped it up this year. He had some adjustments but has done really well in learning how to play with our team.”
Brandon Herrera and Roni Cruz continued to contribute for the Chiefs along with Kadin Haynes.
“(Haynes) did a really good job and showed he always had it in him. He was doing a great job holding his ground,” Liszeski added.
Sweetwater moved things around defensively, to try to shore up the defensive performance.
“From all of the games that we have played, I think this was the poorest performance from the defensive line. Miscommunication would be a confusion because of a change in the formation,” Torres said. “The lack of communication and coordination between them (factored in).
“Everyone is putting in the effort, we are just not playing smart. That is something we hope to improve.”
Sweetwater played its first game without Brennan Teutimez. The senior, who set a record for goals in a single season last year, has suffered a season-ending ACL injury.
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