Boys varsity soccer played host to Robert E. Lee High School from San Antonio in its first playoff game. Despite the fact that Westlake finished the regular season with a worse record than its opponents, the Chaps won 4-1.

“[This game proves] that records don’t matter,” head coach John Campbell said. “Once you get to the playoffs, every game is a new game. It says that these guys are ready to fight for their spot in the playoffs.”

It didn’t take too long for the action to start, with forward junior Andres Silveyra scoring in the eighth minute.

“It was amazing,” Andres said. “I got moved up from JV A a few weeks ago and this is the first time I’ve started. [The game] was a lot different. You have to focus and stay calm.”

Soon after his first goal, Andres scored his second from a deflected shot to put Westlake ahead 2-0. Things got a bit unstable afterwards. There were a few poor challenges made by the Lee defenders, which caused some unrest among the players. The official handed out a few yellow cards and the game moved on.

Throughout the first half, Lee had many chances at goal. Although they kept threatening, Westlake managed not to concede, which Campbell credited to discipline and sticking to the game plan.

“Everybody’s committed to this right now,” Campbell said. “The boys payed attention to the adjustments and that’s what sent us through.”

The Chaps continued their aggression on the attack, which resulted in a goal with 12 seconds remaining in the first half. The scorer was winger senior Landon Vladyka. By the end of the first half, Westlake had maintained their 3-0 lead.

“We knew those guys were good.” Campbell said. “They were really fast through the midfield, and they connected very well. I felt like we were probably better off sitting back and trying to absorb the pressure.”

Early into the second half, Lee scored to put the game at 3-1. Wilmer Aguilar started his run from 20 yards out and finished with an outside-the-box shot into the bottom right corner. The Volunteers rallied around the goal and gained momentum.

“I think there was a lapse leading up to their first goal.” Campbell said. “We’ve typically responded pretty well to getting scored on this year, whether it was going behind or giving up a goal, so I wasn’t too worried about it.”

An error by Westlake almost allowed Lee to get a second goal, however, their shot hit the crossbar and soared away. It didn’t take too long for the Chaps to take advantage of the missed chances, as Landon Vladyka scored his second goal of the game 72 minutes into the match. The clock ticked away, and the game ended with a 4-1 scoreline.

“[The crowd] means a lot,” Campbell said. “You can see how excited the boys are. As tired as [they] were, having this many people cheering them on definitely gave them the energy for that last 10 to 15 minutes.”