A year after missing a first place finish in district play for the first time in almost a decade, the girl’s soccer team clinched a district championship and are now preparing for the playoffs.
Throughout the season, the girls have been strong offensively and defensively, leading them to an undefeated record in district play. The team plays College Station in the bi-district round to open the playoffs on March 20 at Magnolia High School.
“It was a complete effort throughout the season,” girls soccer coach Jess White said. “We have an averaged sized district so there is not a whole lot of margin for error.”
At the beginning of the season, the team lost three starters to injury. Junior Journie Feliciano, who was one of the leading goal scorers last season, underwent knee surgery. Junior Isa Price and senior Brooke Bowman also suffered season-ending injuries.
Even with injuries, the team led the district with 62 goals scored and had the leading goal scorer in junior Madi Moffitt.
“Of course it feels nice to score a lot of goals, but I also like to assist others,” Moffitt said. “The key factor is having an open line of communication so we can get things done.”
Last year, the team had a tie and a loss against Crosby, causing them to place second in district. They also ended up losing to A&M Consolidated 4-0 in the bi-district round of the playoffs. A&M Consolidated went on to win the state title last year.
Junior Alyssa Toppass, who is one of the team captains and a returning starter, said one of the key factors into playoffs is keeping a strong mentality as they did in district play.
“I’m proud of all of our hard work and effort that we’ve put on the field,” Toppass said. “I feel like if we work as hard as we did for district champs, we can go many rounds deep (in the playoffs).”
With all the injuries throughout the season, the girls have still maintained a connection on and off the field, which is shown on the field during games.
“We are very connected as a team,” Toppass said. “We work very well together and it helps us because we know what each other’s strengths and weaknesses are.”
Even after losing two starting defenders, the girls did not allow a goal in district play. For the team, communication has been one of the key factors for the team, and will help lead them in the postseason.
“One of Coach White’s biggest things he wanted us to work on was communication,” junior goalkeeper and captain Peyton Smithson said. “Last year we didn’t communicate very well and it got us into some difficult situations, especially with us not getting district champs.”
The team is now shifting its focus to College Station, which finished fourth in its district with a 6-4-3 record. The mindset and goal for the girls is to get as far as they can in the playoffs.
“It’s going to be hard,” Smithson said. “But I think if we keep doing what we’re doing and grow more as a team and stay connected, we’ll end up going pretty far.”
