JOSHUA — The Cleburne Lady Jacket soccer team saw their playoff chance take a hit after Joshua rallied for a 2-1 victory on Wednesday night at Owl Stadium.
Cleburne shut out the Lady Owls in the first half and Jessica Perez put the Lady Jackets on top with 11:03 remaining in the opening period with a goal that was assisted by Taylor Bicknell.
In the second half, Cleburne had two early chances to extend its lead, but Bicknell and Perez each misfired on close opportunities and the lead stayed at 1-0.
Joshua began to find its offensive flow as the second half wore on and Kaitlin Martindale began breaking free for scoring opportunities.
After near-misses at the 33:11 and 22:13 mark, Martindale finally scored to tie the game with 17:34 left off an assist from Lori Gaskill.
Four minutes later, Martindale assisted Gaskill who scored to give the Lady Owls the lead for good.
In the district standings, Cleburne remaoins in fifth with 12 points behind fourth-place Alvarado (14).
The Lady Jackets’ path to the postseason goes continues at 7 p.m. Friday at home against Granbury, and Alvarado will take on Hillsboro.
Cleburne needs a win and a loss by the Lady Indians to have a chance at the final berth.
Joshua has 19 points after the victory.
“I think the girls played extremely well considering the hits we’ve taken this season,” Cleburne head coach Laurie Ellison said. “We came out wanting to win it and playing to win it. Considering the last time we played it was 6-3, they played very well.”
Joshua head coach Jeff Brooks said a win over a rival is always a good thing.
“Cleburne played a lot better against us than they did the first time, so we’ve got to give credit to them,” Brooks said. “That was not necessarily our best effort of the season, but any time you beat a rival it’s a big deal and we’re grateful.
“It was a little closer than we would’ve liked, and we’ve had issues finishing games off the last couple of weeks. We did that tonight.”
