The Carroll girls soccer team has been dominating the competition for most of the 2013 season. But there are times when even the most complete teams have their “what was that?” moments.
That happened to the Lady Dragons (18-2, 7-1 in District 4-5A) last Friday against Keller Central. Central pulled off a shocking 1-0 upset. That certainly was a different story from the first meeting, when Carroll won convincingly, 4-0.Despite the setback, Carroll remained in first place with 21 points. Keller (6-1-1) was in second place. The Lady Indians’ 0-0 tie with the Lady Texans prevented a first-place tie.Carroll had been dominating play through first seven games as they outscored their district opponents, 27-1. They averaged nearly four goals per game. That includes a 7-0 win over Keller Fossil Ridge and 5-0 victory over Northwest.Carroll played Keller Timber Creek Tuesday and will meet Richland on Friday.Packing a punchCoach Matt Colvin knew he was blessed with offensive punch coming into this season. A year of maturity would give him the chance to try and return this program to the Class 5A state tournament in Georgetown. Carroll was eliminated in the Region I quarterfinals in 2012.So far, the offense has lived up to the expectations. Coming off scoring 32 goals last year, Sophie Groff is at 21 this year and has a chance to set a new milestone. Groff also has nine assists.Grace Cory has been a welcomed addition to the team with 12 goals, while Julia Dyche is third with six. But Dyche leads with 11 helpers.In 20 games, Carroll has scored 56 goals (2.8 per game) and seen 11 different players find the back of the net.Defensively, Carroll has recorded shutouts in 16 of its 18 victories and surrendered only five goals all season and never more than one per game.Wrapping up basketballCarroll’s girls basketball season came to a disappointing end in the Region I quarterfinals, a 62-48 loss to Lubbock Coronado in Abilene on Feb. 19.Carroll finished the season at 23-10. If there was any consolation, Carroll wasn’t the only team to feel disappointed about Region I. As expected, heavy favorite Duncanville won the regional championship and advanced to the Class 5A state tournament that begins Thursday in Austin. The Pantherettes are expected to defend their title.Of course, the highlights to Carroll’s season was the outright District 4-5A championship, the 2-1 record at the Hawaii tournament and a 14-game winning streak. Plus, the Lady Dragons lose only one senior starter in Kami Mickens. Keep in mind senior post Danielle Lepicier went down with a torn ACL at the Bishop Lynch tournament in late November.The likes of 3-point specialist Gretchen Morrison, point guard Kennedy Leonard and post Madison Drescher return. Junior post Lexi Smith should also be at full strength after breaking her arm during the district season.In Morrison’s four years at Carroll, she’s taken the program to the postseason but hasn’t been able to get this group to the regional tournament. Carroll was eliminated by Duncanville in the Region I quarterfinals in 2011 and 2012.“Winning district championships is expected around here, but we have to get to the regional tournament,” Morrison said. “We’re probably going to do some things differently in the offseason. We’ll learn from it.”Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
