The Permian boys soccer team looked steady when Wolfforth Frenship pressed and sent its quickest players up to attack Tuesday.
Holding firm on defense eventually led the Panthers to a quick goal and a 1-1 tie with Wolfforth Frenship in District 2-6A play at Ratliff Stadium.
“Some of these guys, their effort tonight was outstanding,” Permian coach Luis Carmona said. “Some of these guys in the midfield, covering space and creating opportunities, tonight was a whole team effort.”
Through the first half, both teams made attacking difficult by closing passing lanes and clearing the ball effectively once it got past midfield.
The only clear scoring opportunity came 15 minutes into the match, when Ben Baker pushed a quick shot toward the center of the Permian goal to give his team the lead.
That advantage held up through the first 40 minutes, as both teams began to battle in the midfield for possession and couldn’t complete combination passes to create more movement on the scoreboard.
After trying to fight through the Tigers’ strong back line for the first 19 minutes of the second half, Permian got the break it needed.
Adrian Martinez dribbled into a comfortable spot and sent a bending shot into the top right corner of the Wolfforth Frenship goal to tie everything up.
The score gave the Panthers a push to continue attacking and put the Tigers in tough spots.
“That was a great finish on his part, taking the kids on,” Carmona said of Martinez. “That’s one thing we’ve been trying to work on all year, he has the ability and he has the talent, skill level to take kids on and to shoot.”
Wolfforth Frenship looked to jump ahead for the second time in the contest in the final minutes, but couldn’t get past the sturdy defense Permian set up.
With four matches left in the regular season, the draw was beneficial to the Panthers as they are still in the fight for a playoff spot.
Permian (5-8-2 overall, 3-3-2 district) will face Odessa High for the second time this season at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Ratliff Stadium, looking to avenge a 2-1 loss earlier in the season.
“I think we’re starting to play well together, starting to believe,” Carmona said. “We know it’s going to be a tough game Friday, but at the end of the day we need to set the pace and tempo, and play the way we need to play.”
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