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Braden Wilson ‘24 expertly dribbles the ball around Mustang defenders to bring the ball closer to the goal. Wilson was a key player in the game, especially in the first half.
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Playing the national anthem Mauricio Solano ‘24 listens as the final note of the song rings out. Solano had been trying to find a game to perform at for a long time, and was very excited to be given the opportunity to play the national anthem on senior night.
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After the seniors walked down the field towards their family for a picture, the seniors on the team took a photo all together. This was the last home game for them.
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Enzo Estrada ‘24 smiles broadly as he walks across the field to take a photo with his parents. Estrada has been a member of DECA at Westwood, and plans to attend Temple University in the Fall to study Business and Finance.
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About to kick the ball towards the goal, Egan Chaney ‘24 scans for a good angle to kick the ball. The Warriors had many opportunities like this throughout the game.
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Nate Hall ’24 poses with his parents at senior night. During his high school career, Hall has been a member of the soccer program, track, and cross country, and plans to attend Oklahoma University in the Fall where he will study Business Finance.
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Mauricio Solano ‘24 puts his arms around his parents while being photographed at senior night. Solano was a member of the soccer program for 4 years at Westwood, and plans to attend ACC before transferring to UT to study Computer Science.
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Aakash Nagarahalli ‘24 hands flowers to his father. He is a National Merit Finalist, was awarded academic All-State, and also plays guitar, Nagarahalli plans to attend UT-Dallas to pursue a degree in Computer Science in the Fall.
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Neel Kakkad ‘24 walks down the field about to give flowers to his mom. Kakkad is a National Merit Finalist, and has been accepted to UT-Austin and Texas A&M, but he has not made his final decision yet, Kakkad plans to study Business and Finance.
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Pablo Zavala ‘24 stands with his parents and grandfather for a photo. Zavala is a multi-sport athlete who played on the Varsity soccer team as a freshman and also played football and basketball at the Varsity level for Westwood, he plans to attend St. Edward’s University and continue his soccer career at the collegiate level while pursuing a degree in business.
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Egan Chaney ‘24 walks towards his parents and brother. Chaney is a 2 year Varsity letterman and was a district champion in 2023, he plans to attend UT-Austin to pursue a degree in architectural engineering.
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Jackson Connor ‘24 hugs his parents in a photo for senior night. He is in the top 10% of his class and has been named Academic All-State, Connor plans to attend Texas A&M University to pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering after graduation.
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Ethan Bell ‘24 poses with his arm around his mom. In addition to his four years in the soccer program, Bell has also served as an officer for the Pickleball Club; he plans to attend UTSA to pursue a degree in Business after graduation.
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Jorge Pena ‘24 poses with his mom on senior night. Pena played 2 seasons on the Varsity team and plans to attend UTSA in the CAP program to pursue a degree in applied data science.
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Owen Plug ‘24 walks down the 50 yard-line to take a photo with his parents and sister Alyssa. Plug was a 3-year letterman in soccer and a team captain during his Junior and Senior years, he committed to Calvin University where he will study Economics and Data Analytics while playing for their top 10 rated soccer program in Division 3.
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Anvith Maddipoti ‘24 poses with his parents and brother Anish. Maddipoti was named Academic All-State during his Senior year, after graduation he plans to attend the University of Texas at Austin and major in Informatics.
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Shalin Lakhia ‘24 stands with his parents and brother Vishan. Lakhia is a 3-year member of the Varsity team and has been named Academic All-State, he is still deciding on his college destination but he plans to study Business.
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Cayson Ou ‘24 poses with his mom and dad on senior night. Ou is in the top 10% at Westwood and has been named Academic All-State, he plans to attend Texas A&M University to pursue a degree in business after graduation.
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Alex Gardner ‘24 walks down the field to take a picture with his mom and step-dad. Gardner was voted the Warrior Award winner by his teammates in the past two seasons, and plans to attend Texas A&M Corpus Christi to pursue a degree in engineering.
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Logan Priebe ‘24 smiles broadly with his parents while posing. In addition to his 3 years in the Westwood soccer program, Priebe also has a passion for Golf and Pickleball, and plans to attend Arizona State to pursue a degree in Business Analytics.
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Miguel Ruiz ‘24 walks down the football field to meet his family near the sideline. Ruiz was a member of the 2023 district championship winning team and has been accepted to Concordia University.
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Brian Gaede ‘24 puts his arms around his parents and smiles broadly while taking a photo. Gaede is a member of the National Honor Society, and he has earned the award of Eagle Scout, he plans to attend The University Of Texas at Austin to pursue a degree in Geological Science.
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Braden Wilson ‘24 walks down the 50-yard line to take a photo with his parents and brother Aaron. Wilson is involved in Tech Theater at Westwood, after graduation he plans to attend ACC and transfer to UT to pursue a degree in Nursing before studying to become a Nurse Anesthesiologist.
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Daniel Goolsbey ‘24 poses with his parents and sister Anna. He is a member of Boy Scouts and plans to attend Texas A&M University to study Mechanical Engineering after graduation.
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On Tuesday, March 5, the varsity men’s soccer team lost their last home game of the season against the Manor Mustangs, ending the game 2-1. Following senior night activities, Mauricio Solano ‘24 performed the national anthem for an eagerly awaiting crowd.
“I think we will win, we’ve put in the work in practice and we’re ready,” Neel Kakkad ‘24 said. “[We worked on] not making the same mistakes as last time. We [watched] film on our last game and the last game we played them and get better from it.”
After almost four years of practicing guitar, Solano was given the opportunity to perform on stage with the band Green Day. After his performance with the band he tried to find opportunities to perform at games, ultimately he was unsuccessful during football season but was able to snag a spot in the schedule for soccer during senior night.
“I just let my fingers speak for me, you know,” Solano said. “I can be really shy when I’m talking in public but when I have the guitar it’s easy for me, and I can just show my emotions.”
Swiftly after Solano’s performance, the game started with the Warriors gaining possession of the ball quickly. With an abundance of slide tackles and pushing, the beginning of the game was full of fouls and free kicks. Braden Wilson ‘24 had many breakaways in the beginning of the game, giving the Warriors opportunities to score.
As the game increased in intensity, Wilson upped his game, dribbling around multiple Manor defenders to inch the ball closer to the goal. Not long after that, the Warriors went on defense momentarily, but Miguel Ruiz ‘24 had a breakaway that left the Mustangs in the dust, giving Westwood the advantage once again.
Nearing the end of the half, senior Goalkeeper Aakash Nagarahalli came onto the field to play, which is a very rare occurrence to see in a soccer match, but since he was a senior his coach wanted to give him one last chance to make a couple of plays in the Warrior Bowl. The Warriors ultimately walked off the field for halftime tied 0-0 with the Mustangs.
“The highlight of the game was seeing more seniors play, for example Aakash, who plays keeper, got to play in the field today which was enjoyable,” Caleb Fagan ‘25 said.
After the game resumed, the Warriors edged on the side of defense more than they had in the first half. However, after a couple minutes, Westwood was able to quickly get back in their groove with more offensive plays and attacks. At this point in the game, it was very tense with the Warriors pushing for a goal, but almost all attempts were deflected by Mustang defenders. Unfortunately, 10 minutes into the half, the Mustangs were able to score.
Fagan scored a trivela shot with just 5 minutes left in the game, bringing the score to 1-1 increasing the Warriors’ hopes of gaining a win. To the Warriors dismay, however, Manor was able to score with just under a minute left, crushing Westwood’s hope of getting in another win for the seniors.
“I think I did great on my goal,” Fagan said. “I was able to capitalize on a mistake by [Manor’s] back line and put us back in the game. “I was extremely excited to score, it was a great feeling knowing that we had a chance to win it on senior night, if only we won that game I think the seniors would have really appreciated it. I think that it definitely was unfortunate to lose, especially on senior night. We conceded on plays that could’ve been prevented and the second goal was very unlucky. It was a winnable game, it just never seems to go our way.”
The varsity boys soccer team will take on the Vandegrift Vipers at 7:30 p.m. for the last game of the season this Friday, March 8, at Vandegrift.
