Western Hills boys soccer is looking to have the next historic playoff run for Fort Worth ISD after the Cougars beat Carter-Riverside 5-1 in a Class 4A Region 1 quarterfinal game on Friday at Farrington Field.
Cougars coach Matt Collins said that the program may have reached the regional tourney in the 1980s, but it could very well be their first trip to the region’s final four.
They will play San Elizario in a regional semifinal game on Friday at Northwest ISD Stadium.
“Region 1 is difficult and there are a lot of great teams. It’s a testament on how hard FWISD is working, the coaches and the boys,” Collins said.
Three players scored for the Cougars, who led 2-0 at halftime. Western Hills put on the pressure within the first 10 minutes. The Cougars had a few shots near goal, but Carter-Riverside was able to keep it scoreless.
Emmanuel Nshimiyimana had a shot for Western Hills that went off the right post in the 21st minute. Nshimiyimana had another shot off that was just wide two minutes later.
The Cougars scored in the 31st minute when Guadalupe Roman booted a one timer 30 yards away into the upper left 90. Western Hills scored again in the 36th minute when Yeshua Muhindo passed it to Nshimiyimana who volleyed it to Roman for the header and 2-0 lead.
“We’re all excited. We’re on our way to the fourth round. They had us going out this round and they had us going out the last round,” Roman said. “We proved them wrong and we’re going to the fourth round. It has a lot of meaning for us since we’ve never made it this far in the history of the school.”
Western Hills took a 3-0 lead in the 44th minute when Hector Palomares converted an assist by Nshimiyimana. Carter-Riverside, which was in the regional quarterfinals for the first time, had a corner kick that Western Hills cleared in the 51st minute.
“Regional tournament isn’t easy to make so for us to qualify and beat a good team, I’m happy and proud but at the same time we have a big journey ahead,” Nshimiyimana said. “It’s one step at a time, we have more games coming up, but it’s a step in the right direction.”
“Carter had a great season and they’re always a tough game for us. I’m shocked. We played so well tonight,” Collins added. “We have a lot of good players and we’re finally starting to figure out where they all fit. They know what to do and they’re easy and fun to coach.”
Three straight corners from Western Hills came with under 25 minutes left in the match, but the game remained at 3-0. Western Hills’ Wilondja Ebula had a free kick in the 63rd minute, but Carter-Riverside’s keeper Guadalupe Ontiveros punched it over the post.
The Eagles put a goal on the board in the 66th minute. Roberto Venegas was fouled in the box and converted the penalty kick to make it 3-1.
Muhindo scored a pair of goals in a three minute span to extend the lead to 5-1.
“Muhindo is a physical marvel. He’s hard to mark,” Collins said. “He had a low point in the middle of the season so to see him have success tonight, it was fantastic.”
“This is the furthest we’ve ever been in our school history and for Western Hills it’s the same so that was the beauty of tonight,” Carter-Riverside coach Tyler Doyle said. “One of us had to go home tonight and unfortunately they absolutely kicked out butts. They came out and thumped us tonight. Their guys played so well.”
Doyle is in his first season as soccer coach, but seventh at the school. He was the track and cross country coach.
“All year we’ve talked about culture change. For years we’ve all been in the same boat being one and done in the playoffs,” Doyle said. “As a district we’re taking steps forward. It’s a rising tide and it just lifts all the boats and everybody is better. I remember texting Coach [Matt] Collins after our first game, 1-0, at our place and I told him that we were better and more prepared for the playoffs tonight after having played our games and it showed.”
Western Hills had beaten Carter Riverside in two district games, both by a single goal.
Diamond Hill-Jarvis boys went to the state final in 2021, the first soccer team to reach state in FWISD history. Trimble Tech boys went to the state semifinals last year.
