Rattlers drop nail-biter to Buda Hays

The 2020-21 season has been a tough road for San Marcos. Games have been cancelled and postponed due to COVID-19, a winter storm and on top of that, they’re playing in one of the most competitive districts in the state. District 26-6A includes a few teams that are ranked high in Texas, including Lake Travis who holds the No. 1 spot. 

The Rattlers fell to the Buda Hays Rebels, 3-2, on Friday night at San Marcos Toyota Rattler Stadium. This was a tough matchup between these two teams.

Head coach Lisa Mazur described only one feeling toward the game, and that feeling was disappointment.

“We were in the game,” Mazur said. “We just didn’t pick up the intensity like we needed to get through. So, I’m disappointed.”

The Rattlers (3-8, 0-7 district) started the game aggressively and got a lot of looks at the goal. Within the first 10 minutes of the game, junior Sebastian Terrazas sent a shot attempt, but it ended up going wide to the left. Two minutes after Terrazas’ shot, the Rattlers had two more attempts at the goal from sophomore Nardyn Guardado and senior Melvin Molina, but none successfully made it in.

Midway through the first half, the Rebels had a shot attempt of their own that didn’t make it in the goal. Although, they quickly got the ball back and scored the first goal of the game. 

San Marcos responded within a minute of the Rebels’ goal and senior Jose Duenez was able to get the Rattlers on the board. With four minutes left in the opening half, Molina scored and they took the lead, 2-1, going into halftime. 

During the second half, the game started getting more intense. Both sides were being physical and going at it. About 10 minutes into the final half, each team received a yellow card. 

The Rebels (4-7-2, 2-6 district) took off from there and tied the game with 23 minutes remaining. The match came down to the final six minutes, where Hays took the lead and secured the win from a penalty kick. 

Mazur thought that if her team would’ve made the goals in the first half, they could’ve left the game with a win.

“They were nice hits, we just didn’t put the ball in the back of the net,” Mazur said. “I think if we put some of those balls in during the first half, maybe it would’ve been a different story. We didn’t finish.”

The Rattlers are set to face the Austin Maroons on Monday at 7:15 p.m. inside San Marcos Toyota Rattler Stadium. Mazur hopes her team will keep forging forward against the tough teams in this district. 

“They’ll be good,” Mazur said of the Maroons. “Our whole district is very good from top to bottom, so everybody, on any given night, can play somebody well and beat them or tie them, so they’re going to be good.”