PORT NECHES — There was just more than a minute on the clock and Port Neches-Groves senior Koby Jones knew it was time for the Indians to make a move.
Jones made his move against several Nederland defenders and found the foot of fellow senior Gunnar Nicholson. Nicholson fired toward the goal, and freshman Sergio Aguilar put the ball in the back of the net to give the Indians a 1-0 win over the Bulldogs.
The goal came with 58 seconds left on the clock.
It appeared Nicholson had scored, but PN-G coach Chad Luttrell checked the video after the match and said it was Aguilar who put the finishing touches on the goal.
Nicholson, when asked after the match if the goal was his, responded: “It doesn’t matter. We won.”
It was the first time the Indians seniors have defeated Nederland (5-3-4, 2-1-1) at The Reservation in their career. PN-G is now 9-1-3 overall and 3-0-1 in District 22-5A play.
“We got lucky there at the end,” Luttrell said. “Koby played a good ball. It was all perseverance. Nederland played phenomenal. Coach [Torrey] Gomez always does a great job with those guys every year.”
Nederland came real close to being the team up 1-0 with 10:52 left in the second half. Alex Celaya fired a shot toward PN-G keeper Bryce Meche, and the ball barely missed sneaking into the left side of the goal.
Nederland’s Daniel Luketich, with 5:10 left, took a free kick and Meche had to tip his shot over the net. Meche got his 54th career shutout and is now seven away from tying the Texas record for a keeper.
Meche finished with four saves and Nederland keeper Anthony Drago had five.
“It was a heartbreaking loss because the guys fought so hard,” Gomez said. “We started out on the front foot early in the game and put some pressure on them. We didn’t do as well in the second half and that is a credit to them. We had a couple chances and couldn’t convert. Then, unfortunately there in the last minute they were able to put one in.”
Jones said he did check the clock, and when the time was winding down he knew it was time to make something happen.
“I saw a minute left on the clock and I knew we had to find a way to score somehow and someway,” Jones said. “We pressured the ball and I was able to get past some defenders. We took a lot of pressure to them in the second half. We really were not focused in the first half. We didn’t want to end in a tie with those guys. That is the last team we want to end in a tie with. We had to score. This is the first time we beat them at our place since I have been here. It is a great feeling.”
The Indians travel to face Ozen on Friday, while Nederland plays Baytown Lee at Bulldog Stadium.