Broncos blank Tigers 3-0 in crosstown matchup

February 27, 2025

By Tony Adams

Belton Journal

The Crosstown Rivalry continued on Tuesday night at Bronco Field, as the Lake Belton Broncos boys’ soccer team celebrated senior night as they hosted the Belton Tigers.

Tyrrence Taylor’s goal off a corner kick with 1:14 to play in the first half stood as the game-winning goal, and Roman Manriquez and Kevin Muchunu added second-half goals, and Caden Ortiz and Canyon Burke combined for a clean sheet to give the Broncos a 3-0 victory.

“I am happy for the guys. They have been working hard all season,” Lake Belton head coach Andrew Kirshner said. “We have played some tough teams this season and we have had our ups and downs. I feel like we are playing well right now and playing for each other.”

While the teams split play on both sides of the field over the first five minutes, the Tigers held early momentum. Lennin Malvaiz had four free kicks for Belton in the first half, with three sailing wide left of the goal and one wide right. Josh Roberts slid a free kick over the crossbar, and another wide left.

Lake Belton’s Austin Robello had a pair of close calls by the goal that were steered aside by the Tigers’ defense.

“We created a number of chances for ourselves in the first half,” Belton head coach Carlo Mosnia said. “Our keeper made the stops, but we missed on our chances and couldn’t the shots away.”

The Broncos swung momentum in their direction over the final three minutes of the first half. Josue Reyes Trejo had a pair of corner kicks, with one headed away by Cole Francis and the second snagged in traffic by Ortiz.

Off a corner kick in the Belton zone, Taylor deposited the ball in the left corner of the goal past Daniel Arroyo to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead with 1:17 to play in the opening half.

“They scored the goal right before the half off a set piece,” Mosnia said. “We talk at halftime about overcoming adversity and try to get the next one.”

The match experienced some feisty moments in the second half, as the foul count picked up with four being awarded yellow cards.

Manriquez and Kevin Muchunu combined to score the second goal with 32:41 to play in the game. Off a free kick from 25 yards out, Muchunu sprinted past the ball and Manriquez blasted the shot through the Belton defense and past a diving Arroyo to double the Broncos’ lead.

A foul in the goal box by Lake Belton resulted in a penalty kick. Malvaiz had plenty of pace on the shot destined for the right corner. Ortiz has the timing down, dove and snagged the shot to keep the Tigers off the board.

“It is always reassuring that Cayden is in the net,” Kirshner said. “We had played the tough teams and made saves on quality shots. This is his third year with the program, and his second year on varsity. He has really grown since last year and it shows in his play.”

Muchunu added an insurance goal off a 15-yard free kick with 24:13 to go.

“The mindset, the crowd, and the energy was amazing,” Kirshner said. “With it being senior night, it was huge. They wanted to play well in front of their families and friends. It motivated them to play well.”

Belton had two more quality chances, but both shots ended up wide of the net.

The Tigers will have a couple of days to heal and learn before hosting Waco University on Friday and Killeen Chaparral on Tuesday.

“We need to work on mindset,” Mosnia said. “This game is done. We need to move forward. We have three games left in district, and we need to win them.”

Lake Belton will head to Killeen to take on Ellison on Friday and will take on first-place Waco High on Tuesday.

“Our big thing tonight was to play for each other,” Kirschner said. “Let’s play for the team. Let’s play for us. We didn’t make the game bigger than it was or focus on anyone else. Moving forward, we showed the confidence to play the game that we want to play, and ensure the trust is there for one another.”