HS Soccer: New College Park Head Coach Enters First 13-6A District Season

THE WOODLANDS, TX -– College Park Cavaliers’ new soccer head coach, Mike Jaskowiak, looks to make an impression for his first season. Previously coaching for Klein Oak, Jaskowiak brings his knowledge of the game to an already difficult district. As for the final game of the non-district season, Jaskowiak was encouraging and tough on the boys as they faced the brutal 7-2 Lufkin Panthers.

The first half was a battle as College Park struck first, scoring early on in the half. But without hesitation Lufkin came back and scored, tying up the game in the later part of the half. For College Park, this changed the momentum of the half and gave them the determination to win the game. Unfortunately for them, the tough Lufkin offense pushed through the defenders and scored a second goal deflected off a Cavalier player.

Going into the final half, College Park was down 2-1 and was facing an already fired-up Lufkin team. As they fought many small battles for the ball, College Park was able to break away and get to the Lufkin side and put pressure on the goalkeeper. From outside the box, Alessio De Pippo shot an absolute rocket that passed the goalkeeper and slammed the back of the net. This tied up the game once again and changed the momentum of the College Park boys. After a hard-fought war, the buzzer sounded and the score remained the same. College Park ended their non-district season with a draw against Lufkin.

After the game, Coach Jaskowiak said, “I’m really proud of how we fought and played against a really quality opponent.” He was encouraging on the sidelines, yelling out his approval and giving encouragement to players as they ran up and down the field. He continued to say that, “The big thing for us was putting in a performance and putting in an effort right before district that we could build on.”

When asked about district, Coach Jaskowiak said, “there are no easy games and every game is going to be a dogfight.” Being his first year, he is still learning the players, and the players are having to give their trust in his ability to make the right decisions. “We hope that our pre-season has gotten us ready for that [a tough district season], that we can come out no matter who we play and give max effort and get results.”

College Park is set to face Grand Oaks in their season opener.