GEORGETOWN – In a blink of an eye, the Sachse Mustangs found themselves down two goals with time running out.

Katy Seven Lakes scored two goals in 90 seconds in the first half of extra time, and that was the difference as they defeated Sachse 3-1 in the 6A state semifinals Friday night. Head coach Benjamin Buentello said the Mustangs ran out of steam toward the end, leading to the two late goals.

“I saw a bunch of guys that ran out of gas,” Buentello said. “We were just tired. Credit to Seven Lakes, it was an end-to-end game and I think their lungs were a little bit bigger than ours.”

Sachse battled back after Seven Lakes took the lead 13 minutes into the game. The Spartans had a high press early in the first half that got the Mustangs out of their comfort zone early. Sachse was outshot 6-3 over the opening 40 minutes. Still, despite the deficit, the team didn’t feel like they needed to change a lot and saw more chances open up in the second half.

“We felt like in the first half we weren’t breaking through in the final third,” Buentello said. “We came out with the same game plan and the same formation in the second half. It was just a matter of us connecting on our passes and breaking through in the final third and the chances started coming our way.”

Those chances started coming for the Mustangs, who dominated possession and the scoring chances most of the second half. After only conceding one goal for the entire postseason heading into the game, they held the Spartans shotless for almost 25 minutes during the second frame.

Finally, Sachse evened the game from a header from Lucas Story at 61:26. Story found himself open at the back post after a brilliant move from Cooper Tea beat multiple Seven Lakes defensive players, and his cross reached just over the outstretched goalkeeper. Tea, a senior on the Mustangs, was the driving force behind Sachse’s comeback attempt and played a large part in most of their chances late. He also had a volleyed shot late that sailed just over the crossbar.

“Cooper is a leader for us and he makes things happen,” Buentello said. “I know it didn’t go our way, but there’s no way we get here without a guy like Cooper. For as great of a player as he is, he’s an even better person. Whatever he decides to do in life, he’s going to be successful.”

Tea is one of nine seniors that finished the season 21-7 overall, including eight straight wins over the regular season and playoffs to reach the state semifinals. Tanner Tea, Zebastian Rios, Jorge Martinez, Elias Prieto, Cody Ranta, Anthony Gutierrez, Haris Dunic and Marc Wilson are the other seven seniors. Buentello, a first-year head coach, was proud of his team’s fight until the last whistle of the season.

“I have absolutely no regrets,” Buentello said. “These guys will hold a place in my heart for the rest of my life, and I know they gave everything they could.”

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