Houston Ends Dragon's State Hopes
5/14/2009

Perennial rival Houston High School stood in the way of Collierville advancing out of  district 15-AAA.  The semi-final match would send the winner through to the next round along with White Station.  WS won the District by defeating Germantown 1-0 in the early semi.

The Dragons placed a variation formation on the field with Senior Mac McAllister sliding into center back position in place of Kevin Hensley who was serving a red card.  Coach Easterwood pulled several JV players up to aid in the run to State but only Caleb Poley saw limited minutes.

Two first half goals by the Mustangs allowed them to pack the defense around their All-Metro Keeper Will Powell. In the opposite net, Dragon's Freshmen Keeper, Neil Tate would make four acrobatic saves on the night to keep the game in grasp.   In a fast paced game with every ball challenged the Dragons pushed for offensive chances only to be turned away.  Brent Lesnick teamed up with Dillon Thornbury for several offensive charges and McAllister's header off a corner was gathered by Houston's GK.

Houston's bench erupted after a Mustang counter-attack resulted in their third goal and insured the victory.  A fourth would be scored by HHS's keeper who buried a penalty kick in the closing moments.

The loss eliminated the Dragons and ended the high school career for its six seniors.

Photos by Eric Glemser