Jordan Matthews leads Taft past Brennan, into regional round rematch with Round Rock

Finally, Taft has a chance to avenge its only loss from the last two years. 

Behind senior forward Jordan Matthews’ two goals and two assists, the Raiders blew past District 29-6A rival Brennan 5-0 on Tuesday at Dub Farris Stadium to punch their ticket to the Class 6A Region IV semifinals. 

Waiting for them is Round Rock, which ended Taft’s undefeated season with a 2-1 victory in the same round last season. The rematch takes place at 1 p.m. Friday at Comalander Stadium.

“It’ll be a dog fight,” Taft coach Scott Davis said. “It was a tight game last year. We were a little bit like, ‘Hey, this is new.’ Hopefully we don’t have quite the jitters we had last year. We had a lead in that game, and hopefully if we get a lead this year we can hold it.”

Outside of their lone loss to the Lady Dragons, the Raiders (20-0-4) have dominated their opposition the last two seasons, including two District 29-6A titles and now two regional tournament appearances. Brennan (16-7) saw its season end in the third round following a fourth-place finish in 29-6A.

The main ingredient in Taft’s success has been Matthews, who led the district with 50 goals — 20 clear of second place. The senior also tied the school’s single-season scoring record with her two goals in Tuesday’s game.

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Along with her record-breaking performance, Matthews was satisfied with her team’s statement win.

“I think in this game we really proved to a lot of people that we’re up there and that we can make it past the third round,” she said. “We just have to keep working on the things that we’re dwelling on and be practicing and working hard to get even further in where we want to be.”

Matthews was all over the place in the first half, scoring or assisting on all four goals. The first came in the third minute of the game when Matthews had a clear shot on the goal, chipping the ball in on a cross-body kick off her left foot into the right side of the net. Both squads missed several scoring opportunities until the Raiders scored three goals in the final five minutes of the opening half. 

“We started fast on the first goal, and then I wasn’t real happy with the next probably 20 minutes,” Davis said. “The second goal felt better, and then the third and fourth kept me from having to yell at them too much at halftime.”

After Matthews missed a shot, Taft regained possession and fed the ball back to Matthews. Matthews, drawing multiple Brennan defenders, was running down the right sideline when she found senior forward Layla Rangel open at the goal for a clean shot in the 35th minute.

In the 39th minute, the Brennan goalie sent the ball to midfield where sophomore midfielder Jessiny Aguillon gained possession. After passing to junior defender Kaylee McCrum, who then advanced the ball to Matthews, Aguillon made a run to the goal, where Matthews found her for the easy score. 

With 15 seconds left, Rangel made a move and shot on the goal. After the miss and a Bears defender kicking the ball out, Matthews punted the ball before it could even touch the ground, sending it over everyone’s head and into the back of the net as the horn sounded. Rangel scored the game’s final goal in the 44th minute. 

Taft has breezed its way through the first three rounds of the playoffs, outscoring its opponents 16-1. With the competition getting tougher as the postseason progresses, Davis hopes to rely on his stout defense to put together the deepest playoff run in school history. 

“Just try to limit what the other teams get and obviously keep them out of the goal,” he said. “We don’t have to win (games) 5- or 6-0. If we win in the 21st PK, all that matters is you survive and advance. We’ll do that if we have to in the next one.”