Grapevine comes close to making soccer history, falls in overtime in state title game
Grapevine could taste victory. It was right there.
But for the third time, Frisco Wakeland was the Mustangs’ Achilles heel.
Grapevine led by two goals with 11 minutes left in regulation, but Wakeland scored two in the final 10 to force overtime before winning 3-2 in the Class 5A girls soccer state championship on Saturday at Birkelbach Field.
Sophia Pehr lined up a free kick in the 95th minute and it was finished off by a Bella James header.
Then Wakeland keeper Drew Stover made a last second save in the 99th minute as time was winding down to push the Wolverines (23-1-4) to their third state title overall (2011, 2018).
Meanwhile for Grapevine (22-3-1), it was denied a chance for its first state title in program history.
The Mustangs also lost to Wakeland in the 2018 state final and 2021 semifinals.
“Feels familiar unfortunately, but at the same time so unbelievably proud of my kids. They fought all year long,” said Grapevine coach Steve McBride, who has taken Grapevine to state five times since 2015. “I think that’s what makes this difficult to swallow. Up 2-0 with 17 minutes left.
“Credit Wakeland, that’s a championship team. Reason why they’re in the position they’re in. There’s no quit.”
Grapevine had a few tries within the first seven minutes, including a goal by Samantha Larsen that was negated with an off sides call. Wakeland had the better shots, though, with a 7-1 edge in shots on goal in the first half.
However, both defenses and goalies (Stover, Ashley Knight) kept the clean sheet as it was a scoreless half.
Grapevine grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute. Sammie Lumpkin had a long throw-in and Baylor commit Theresa McCullough headed it to the back post before Larsen scored from close range.
The Wolverines had two free kicks and a corner to start the second half, but couldn’t find the back of the net because of the Grapevine defense and keeper Addison Williams. The Mustangs put a hold on the game when in the 60th minute, a Presley Rhodes shot went past the keeper and into the back post.
Wakeland cut it to 2-1 in the 70th minute when Cori Cochran finished off a long cross in the box by Katy Gregson point blank. Then Cochran added a second goal when she converted a Dayleigh Bos assist 20 yards away over the keeper that tied it.
Grapevine still had a chance to take the lead in the first overtime with multiple shots compared to none by Wakeland. McCullough crushed an attempt 30 yards away that went right into the arms of Stover. She had a free kick from 20 yards in the 87th minute that went high.
Trailing 3-2 with under a minute left in the second overtime, Lumpkin’s throw in rolled to Caroline Martin, whose kick would have gone in if not for Stover, who pushed it over the net. Grapevine’s corner was kicked into the side of the net with 10 seconds and Wakeland ran the clock out.
“Even after we gave up the second, coming into the first overtime, I thought that we still had a chance,” McBride said. “Great save there at the end to preserve the game.”
Cochran was voted state title game MVP.
Grapevine will graduate nine seniors on the state tournament roster, including five starters, Knight, Larsen, Kasten Merrill, Naomi Jeter and Sydney Martin.
“Can’t say enough about my girls. They’ve been fighting all year long,” McBride said. “Kills me they have to go home with another silver. But at the end of the day, we got to play on the last day in the biggest game of the year for our classification and a lot of people at the start of the year didn’t think we’d be here and here we are.”
This story was originally published April 16, 2022 at 2:57 PM.