CEDAR CREEK — For a team that has seen its share of controversy, Tuesday night’s ending was rather fitting.
The Bastrop Lady Bears lost to No. 1 San Antonio Reagan 3-1 in the bi-district round of the Region IV-5A girls soccer playoffs at BISD Memorial Stadium.
The Lady Bears (14-7-3) trailed by one goal when Kattie Patterson found the back of the net to what should have been the tying goal.
The cheers from the large crowd at Bastrop quickly turned to boos when the goal was waived off to a controversial offsides call on Patterson.
It proved to be the difference between winning and losing, said head coach Angelia Watson.
“I definitely believe we would have scored again if that call wasn’t made,” Watson said. “Kattie was our equalizer.”
Bastrop fell behind 2-0 at halftime after the Lady Rattlers (18-2-2) got two goals from Sarah Van Horn, who finished the game scoring all three of Reagan’s goals.
The Lady Rattlers dominated the first half, holding Bastrop to just one shot on goal and using their aggressive attack to throw the Lady Bears off their game.
Reagan took no time attacking, getting a shot on goal within the first two minutes of the game.
Bastrop, however, showed its tenacity in the second half and dominated possession and looked to be out-powering the top-ranked Lady Rattlers.
Patterson found the back of the net in the first 10 minutes of the second half on a powerful shot from 30-yards out.
The senior striker left the game six minutes later with what appeared to be a pulled hamstring.
The Lady Bears didn’t let up its attack, however, and had a chance to score with 14:41 left to play when the ball bounced over Reagn goalkeeper Jenna Graas’ head. Bastrop was unable to take advantage of the opportunity.
After the controversial offsides call, Patterson and company had their momentum taken out of them and Van Horn unleashed the Lady Rattlers venom one last time with 8:14 left to play to complete the hat trick.
“You have to give it to these girls, they played relentlessly,” Watson said. “There was a lot of young players out there, so we have a lot to build on.”
It was the third straight year Reagan eliminated Bastrop from the playoffs and fourth year in-a-row that the Lady Bears lost in the first round.
This year, however, was Bastrop’s best playoff appearance, despite the loss.
The Lady Bears will move to Class 4A after earning a playoff berth for four straight years.