Davis’ Hat-Trick Highlights Home Tourney for LG Soccer

Leopard Stadium was a busy place Thursday-Saturday as La Grange hosted a 15-game boys soccer tournament.

Corpus Christi London ended up winning the event, going 4-0-1. Manor New Tech was second, Sealy third, La Grange was fourth, Gonzales fifth and Bandera sixth.

“It’s very rewarding hosting something like this because it’s for the kids,” said La Grange head soccer coach William McGonagle. “We have a nice facility, great refs, we haven’t had to deal with the elements. It’s been a team effort, Coach Westall, Coach Kates, lots of help from parents, Coach Mc-Gee and the opposing coaches have helped as well.”

The Leps started the tournament strong with a 3-1 win over Gonzales before tying Manor New Tech 1-1 Thursday night. Friday La Grange beat Bandera 5-0 before losing to Sealy 2-0.

Then Saturday the Leps lost to London 2-0.

The highlight of the tournament may have been that big win over Bandera, during which C.J. Davis scored three goals for a hat-trick.

“Three goals – I’ve been wanting that since I was a freshman. I just have to thank my teammates, and I was able to use my speed,” Davis said.

While some players on the Leps have been playing soccer since they were little, Davis just started his freshman year at the urging of his cousin Phillip Arceneaux, who is one of the stars of the team. Davis said most of what he knew about soccer before he started playing was because of video games.

“He’s a kid that came out and wanted to play as a freshman and had never really played. We told him you have to be willing to be coached and play hard,” McGonagle said. “He’s taken that instruction and criticism every step along the way. He’s a natural athlete. To see him step up in that game was huge. The guys were excited, and I couldn’t be prouder of him.”

While Davis is a senior, the Leps continue to get big contributions from young players too, including freshman Jeffrey Cabrera, who scored a pair of goals in his varsity regular season debut last Tuesday in a win over Wharton.

“At first it felt like a lot of pressure, but I got used to it and learned the pace of the game,” Cabrera said. “Scoring those goals was nice. I didn’t know how to react ... The older players have talked to me a lot and really help me through the games.”

The Leps return to action Tuesday at 7 p.m. when they host Weimar.