Lady Panthers get first playoff win since 2011

Sometimes the triangle works. Sometimes it doesn’t.

But when Colleyville Heritage flipped its triangle move with its midfielders in the second half against South Grand Prairie, it lifted the Lady Panthers to a 2-0 victory in the bi-district round this past Friday.

Colleyville Heritage (11-6-5) advances to the Class 6A Region I area round where it will meet Byron Nelson at 7 p.m. Friday at the Birdville Fine Arts and Athletics Complex in North Richland Hills.

Here’s what flipping the triangle means: Tsapos took his two wide players (midfielders) who typically support the offensive attack and flipped them more toward the defensive side of the field.

What he saw was that when a South Grand Prairie attacker would get past the middle defender, the two wides would get split up. When Tsapos reversed it, they stayed tight. The move worked as Colleyville Heritage probably had ball possession 70 percent to 30 percent in the second half. The Lady Warriors really never had a true scoring chance.

Thus, the season is still going for the Lady Panthers. Forward Taylor Hamzy and midfielder Jazmyn Sollars, who assisted on the first goal, scored the second one early in the second half.

“Our first half was really not a good performance, but we did some decent things in the second half,” Tsapos said. “We probably had some nerves at the start. But our girls recovered and played pretty well.”

Now, the challenge with Nelson will be against a team that is carrying some confidence. The Lady Bobcats feature a very prolific scoring team along with a very technically sound defense led by Tsapos’ daughter, junior Katina.

“We need to shut down their midfielders,” he said. “They have three special players that we need to address. But it’s about executing our game plan. If we can get up a goal, we’ll have some confidence. If we’re chasing the game, then we have a battle.”

Breaking the hex

Colleyville Heritage’s win marked its first postseason victory since 2011. While just about every program at the school has been able to reach the postseason, the school has not enjoyed not much postseason success. So this victory could serve as a pick-me-up.

“I don’t get emotional or excited,” Tsapos said. “But the win was big because it got a big brick off our backs. I hope it’s a changing point for our program.”

Grapevine update

Steve McBride found the comfort of playing in a district where his team was clearly better than the rest. He could mix lineups, evenly distribute playing time and watch goals come from all angles.

Well, that approach changed once the playoffs started. In Grapevine’s overwhelming 7-0 victory over Azle in the Class 5A bi-district playoff, McBride said he played his starting lineup for about 60 percent of the game. Jordan Slim had a hat trick. Hayley Bargery added two goals, while Sydney and Sophia Smith each scored the other two.

The Lady Mustangs (19-2-1) face Burleson Centennial in the area round at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Saginaw High School. It’s another doubleheader with the boys team.

“With the time off we had, we had to maximize the time with our players because they’re going to play more if we have a chance to go deep in the playoffs,” McBride said. “I never unintentionally run up the score, but we have some off time coming up, so we have to take advantage of it.”

The other good sign for this team is that it is at full strength. Both Ellen Colburn and Tori Sledge have recovered from ankle injuries and saw time on the field. However, McBride said he will find a way to weave them into the rotation.

This story was originally published March 30, 2015 at 3:27 PM with the headline "Lady Panthers get first playoff win since 2011."