Yoe soccer shows improvement in Cameron tournament

With young teams, improvement from week to week is something both Kevin Webb (Yoemen) and Laura Dickson (Lady Yoe) wanted to see from their soccer clubs. 

Both squads had struggled in their opening week tournaments, but most of the competition featured more established, and well-experienced 4A or larger schools. 

That stiff competition seems to already be paying dividends as both teams picked up their first wins of the season in the Cameron tournament this past week from Yoe Field. 

Yoemen

After tying Caldwell on day one, followed up by losses to Academy and Florence on day two, the Yoemen managed to defeat Hearne on Saturday to end tournament play on a positive note.  

Cameron scored two goals in the first half and added on another early in the second to coast to the 3-1 win over the Eagles.   

The win should prove to be much-need confident booster after two tough losses to Academy (8-0) and Florence (5-0) on Friday. 

"I thought we came back after a really tough day yesterday really well," said Webb.  "I expected them to because they are learning to be Yoemen.  We knew that we took a a couple of tough losses yesterday and we had to come back and play with a better attitude today.  As soon as they showed up to the field house, I knew that we were going to play better."

Diego Martinez provided the spark - scoring the first and last goal for the Yoemen - who improved to 1-6-1 with victory.  

"This represents the dedication that we put in practices and games," said Martinez.  "We come out and play hard.  It's all about Yoe pride.  The first game of the tournament we scored the last goal in the last seconds.  We never give up and we work hard."

The Cameron defense had an equally impressive match, not allowing a shot on goal a majority of the way before Hearne's late push.  

"That is something we have been working on through this whole tournament," said Webb.  "We know that if we want to be competitive in district, we are going to have to play good defense simply because of our youth and our size.  We are not really as physically opposing as some teams we are going to play.  We are going to have to play sound, fundamental defense."

In the match with Caldwell, Cameron trailed 3-2 before Noah Kostroun scored a goal as time expired.  Benny Paredes scored the other two points for Cameron to keep the game within reach for the late goal. 

Through it all, Cameron had plenty of bright moments from last weekend that they will look to harness moving forward.  

"We played a really great game Thursday night in a 3-3 draw with Caldwell.  We played well today and we sandwiched a couple of disappointing performances in the middle.  With a young team, we knew it was going to happen, but we're just trying to work through it right now."  

Lady Yoe

The Lady Yoe impressed during their three days of tournament play.   Cameron picked up wins over Yoakum and Florence, suffered a tight loss to Academy, and tied Madisonville to finish at 2-1-1.  

Cameron had a trio of players contribute in the opening 3-0 win over Yoakum, as Maddi Kenney, Destiny Merrow and Nayali Galvan each scored once.  

"We played really well as a team," said Kinney, who is freshmen.  "We played together and we talked a lot and we shot the ball better."

Junior Karla Martinez added: "The fact that we have some freshmen talent is what we needed and we have it.  We got that out of players like Maddi."

Cailynne Hoelscher moved the mark to four different players to score for Cameron with the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Florence. 

"I really like that we don't have just one go-to person," said Dickson.  "I have several people that can step in and put the ball into the goal, so we're not depending on just one person.  We are working together as a team."

Cameron fell to Academy (1-0) on Friday before tying Madisonville (0-0) in the finale on Saturday.  In total, Cameron gave up just one goal in four matches. 

"I was working in a lot of different people defensively," stated Dickson.  "We have a couple of starters that are out for various reasons, so some of the others stepped up and did a really good job back there for us.  They continued communicating."

Cameron took a few hits on the chin in the 5A/6A Waller tournament last week, but found more success in a tournament with schools of similar enrollment figures. 

"Playing smaller schools, or schools our size, helps us gain confidence," said Dickson.  "We are able to compete better and are our girls are able to see that success.  The attitude about the game changes and they play more aggressively and they have more confidence."

Cameron now has momentum on their side, which is something they will look to carry with them throughout the remainder of the season.  

"We will take forward the confidence that we've gained knowing that we are a competitive team," said Dickson.  "It's not just hoping we get the ball on the other side of the field, but that we are a contender when we step on the field."