GEORGETOWN — Vandegrift goalkeeper Charlie Reed flew toward the ball as it drifted into the box. When he missed his punch, though, Flower Mound senior midfielder Alex Tabbah poked a finish into the vacated net.
For a second time on Friday night, Jaguars senior defender Carter Simpson’s long throw, which senior forward Jack White called a “game changer,” created chaos in the Vandegrift box.
”He can sling it in on a line drive or he can throw it to the back post, sometimes we look for the flick, sometimes we look all the way to the back,” head coach David Doyle said. “It’s a good weapon to have. I’d rather have it than defend against it.”
In the first half Jack White capitalized on the confusion. Tabbah’s marker in the second half sealed Flower Mound’s (23-2-2) second-ever trip to the state final. The Jaguars needed just four shots to down Vandegrift (22-3-2) at Birkelbach Field, 2-0, in the second class 6A state semifinal.
They face a short turnaround and will play reigning state champions, Katy Seven Lakes (24-1-2), in the state championship game on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Last week in the regional tournament, Flower Mound finished its semifinal game around the same time (a little before 9:30 p.m.) and had to play in the regional final at noon the next day.
“We got six hours extra from last week,” Doyle said. “So we’ll be good to go.”
Flower Mound is seeking a second state championship after winning the 6A title in 2019.
”We’re excited, but we’re not done yet,” White said. “One more game. That’s the mindset.”
White put Flower Mound on the board first. Simpson’s long throw bounced over a few players’ heads on that occasion before landing on White’s boot. He placed his low shot to the far post, just out of reach of Reed.
Scored nine minutes and 52 seconds into the match, White’s goal was the second-fastest scored at this year’s UIL state tournament to that point.
Aside from White’s finish, neither side generated many threatening opportunities in a choppy first 40 minutes. They combined for three shots.
“Defensively, we rotated well and didn’t let their best players beat us,” Doyle said.
Vandegrift tested Flower Mound goalkeeper Morgan English twice late in the first half, but he comfortably parried both. Soon after, the Jaguars nearly doubled their lead with a cross across the face of the goal mouth that no one got on the end of.
Tabbah did find a second breakthrough for Flower Mound just over three minutes into the second half when Reed missed his clearance on another Simpson long throw. Reed prevented a third Jaguars goal midway through the second frame, diving to the ground in time to block Luis Garcia’s shot along the turf.
English stopped two shots to preserve Flower Mound’s fourth clean sheet of the postseason. The Jaguars have allowed three goals in six playoff matches to this point.
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