Lake Travis boys soccer exacts revenge on Westlake

LAKEWAY — If revenge is a dish best served cold, Lake Travis had the perfect result Friday.

Aided by a wind chill that made it feel like the game was played in sub-freezing temperatures, the Cavs dominated Westlake 3-0 at Lake Travis High School in the season’s second “Battle of the Lakes,” reversing the score from the first matchup.

“After losing to them the last time, we really had to refocus,” said Cavs senior midfielder Ben Platt, who scored the team's second goal off a brilliant strike from the top of the box. “We went into that game flat and thinking that they were just kind of going to roll over, and no one does that for you. Coming into this week, we remembered how it felt to lose at their place. We came out tonight, were intense and got it done.”

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Lake Travis (17-3, 13-1 District 26-6A) had already wrapped up the district title entering the contest, but that mattered little playing its rival and looking to respond to the previous game between the two.

The Cavs dominated possession the entire game, even when playing against the strong westerly wind, and went ahead early in the first half when Jackson Wolf settled a pass over the defense on the back post and finished the ball to the opposite side.

Platt’s phenomenal hit came 15 minutes later, and Lake Travis led 2-0 at halftime before Alex Bethke easily put a deflected shot into the goal in the 58th minute for a 3-0 lead.

“The whole thing about this sport is having the intensity and drive to want to win,” said Bethke, the Statesman’s 2021 Player of the Year after firing in 36 goals and recording 17 assists a year ago. “We were overconfident in the last matchup — and that loss hurt, to be honest. It lingered, and with the way we played tonight, this is the environment that prepares you for the playoffs.”

Lake Travis has plenty of players back from a year ago that helped it make a run to the regional final.

To make another deep postseason run, Cavs coach David Bammel said the mental part of the game is just as important as the physical with what will be a two-week break before it plays Round Rock in the first round.

“We’ll give them some time off to rest up and recover, but the key is keeping the guys sharp mentally,” he said. “We have a lot of seniors, so it’s not like these guys haven’t experienced this before. So they know what to expect and know that we have to keep working hard.”

As the Cavs exited the field to “We are the Champions” by Queen blasting over the loudspeaker, they were in more of an enjoy-the-moment mode than looking ahead. And it’s hard to blame them with the performance they turned in.

“This is exactly what we were looking for tonight,” Bammel said. “Since that last game against Westlake, we’ve scored around 40 goals. I’m proud of our guys to get a shutout, produce three good goals and create a number of other good chances. That’s reassuring for our chances in the postseason.”

Westlake (14-5-3, 10-2-2) will also be heading to the playoffs as the No. 2 seed out of the district and will face Westwood in the first round.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Lake Travis boys soccer beats Westlake