FORNEY — Kilgore boys soccer coach Aaron Erickson wasn’t comfortable with a small lead at halftime. He felt much better in the second half, though.

The Bulldogs scored two goals in the final half to pull away for a 3-0 victory against Ennis in the Class 4A Region II quarterfinals Tuesday at City Bank Stadium.

Kilgore (21-3-4) advances to meet the winner between Dallas Molina and Frisco Wakeland in the regional semifinals at 5 p.m. Friday at Carrollton ISD’s Standridge Stadium. It will be the Bulldogs’ fourth consecutive appearance in the regional tournament.

“It was big holding them in the first half, because I feel like when we get to the second half if we’re close we can always pull it out,” Erickson said.

Kilgore took a 1-0 lead into the break, capping a back-and-forth opening 40 minutes that featured little action at both goals.

But one of the lone shots on goal found the net, thanks to Collin Nutt scoring on a header in the 30th minute. Alex Torres provided the assist on a corner kick, which Nutt headed just under the cross bar.

From that point forward, Kilgore dominated the Lions.

It took the Bulldogs only five minutes into the second half to increase the advantage to two goals, thanks to Jose Rico’s straightaway goal from about 10 yards away. It remained 2-0 until the 34th minute of the half, when Cristian Perales scored on a left-footed cross from about 15 yards out.

“I feel like we controlled the ball a lot better than we have the past three games,” Erickson said. “It was good to before the big one.”

Kilgore’s J.D. Perales provided another shutdown performance at goalkeeper, registering his 15th shutout of the season. The standout only faced a few threats, but denied a goal in the first quarter when a Lions player got past the Bulldogs and blasted a wide-open shot right into Perales’ hands.

Perales faced 20 shots on goal against John Tyler in the sectional round, limiting the Lions to one goal in a 2-1 victory.

“It was good going into games knowing he’s back there,” Erickson said.

North Dallas 2, Lindale 1

GREENVILLE — The North Dallas Bulldogs scored a 2-1 win over the Lindale Eagles in a Class 4A regional soccer quarterfinal on Tuesday at T.A. Cotton Ford Stadium.

The Bulldogs (20-3-1) advance to play Mesquite Poteet, a 2-1 winner over Sulphur Springs, on Friday in a regional semifinal at Standridge Stadium in Carrollton.

Lindale ends its season at 21-6-6.