It was thrilling, intensely competitive and more exciting than the English Premier League. The Mineola Yellowjackets ambushed the Lindale Eagles Friday night, claiming a 4-3 win at Meredith Memorial Stadium. 

It was going to be a huge test for the Jackets. They were down two men – one to sickness and one to an earlier commitment – and Lindale brought 24 players. The Eagles would be able to freely platoon their players to ensure fresh legs. 

There was something about how Coach Shelby Turner spoke about his team beforehand which indicated that the Jackets were going to be in this one for 80 minutes. They certainly were.

In fact, all three aspects of the Mineola team were fully engaged: the midfield, the defense and the attackers.

The midfield contested and anticipated better than they had yet this season. Defensively, Mineola combined good headwork with speed and aggressive goalkeeping. In the offensive end, the Jackets leveraged every opportunity using relentless pressure and great individual effort to find the back of the net. 

The Jackets lined up in a 4-4-2. In goal was Adrian Rodriguez. Gorge Zavala, Sebastion Klodnicki, Noah Turner and David Delapaz formed the backline. Andrew Martinez, Brayan Torres, Eduardo Zavala and Eddie Lucas ran the midfield, while Alex Cortez and Jonathan Ledesma played forward in attack.   

Both sides had quality chances in the early going. A pass ahead from Andrew Martinez to Cortez resulted in a near-miss as Cortez’ shot went just wide. 

In the 18th minute, Ledesma outmuscled an Eagle in the midfield and played the ball ahead to himself. He split two defenders and beat the goalkeeper with a sizzling right-footed shot. 

The remainder of the first half was some quality soccer by both sides. Mineola had two great chances: Noah Turner took a corner and put the ball directly in front, but it was deflected away. In the 36th minute, Ledesma nicked the ball away and found Cortez alone behind the defense. Cortez had a tough chance with a right-footed shot from the left approach and just missed.

Lindale rallied before the half. Rodriguez made an excellent save in the last minute, diving far to his right to push a hard, low shot clear of the post. The save resulted in a corner and Lindale brought everyone forward as the half ticked away. With 4 seconds remaining they headed a ball home and knotted the score at 1-1. 

All the governors were taken off the respective engines in the second half. The play was exhausting and often end-to-end.

Mineola took a 2-1 lead when the Lindale backline, under pressure from Ledesma, misplayed a long, high pass into the box. Lindale answered 10 minutes later when they scored through a complete traffic jam in front of the Mineola goal.

The Yellowjackets responded with one of the highlights of the game. Eddie Lucas found himself advancing through the offensive zone and surrounded by three defenders in the northwest corner of the pitch. He somehow maneuvered through the three in a series of twists and turns and broke free to send a low centering pass across the goalmouth. Ledesma tapped it home and restored Mineola’s one-goal lead.

Cortez took advantage of a spilled handle by the Lindale keeper to put Mineola up 4-2 in the 60th minute.

After a red card for dangerous play – a call heatedly protested by Coach Turner – Lindale converted a penalty kick and closed the score to 4-3 with 17 minutes left.

The Yellowjackets parried with Lindale in the final minutes. Mineola attacked when it was safe to do so and used speed and quickness (Gorge Zavala and David Delapaz most notably) to stymy attacks from the wings. The late midfield play by Torres and Eduardo Zavala and defensive leadership of Noah Turner secured the win. 

The 2024 Yellowjackets are putting together a great run. Mineola also features one of the scoring leaders in Texas scholastic soccer, Jonathan Ledesma. The striker has a unique combination of speed, quickness, physicality and anticipation which wins him numerous chances over the course of 80 minutes and allows him to put many of those chances in the netting. He could potentially play at a number of levels after high school. 

The Jackets are 4-1 in district play, having scored 24 goals and given up 11. The next opportunity to see Mineola at Meredith Stadium is Friday as they host Van.