Freshmen goals, including hat trick, send Southlake Carroll to girls soccer state title
The UIL state tournament is the biggest stage for any high school player ... especially a freshman.
But not for ninth grader Kennedy Fuller and the rest of the Southlake Carroll team.
Fuller scored two first-half goals and three total, and Carroll went on to beat Rockwall 4-0 in the Class 6A girls soccer state championship game on Saturday at Birkelbach Field.
Carroll (22-1-4) wins its third state title in program history (2008, 2019).
Rockwall (22-4-2) had its best season ever with its first state appearance.
“All the effort they gave throughout the season, that was the key to it,” Carroll coach Matt Colvin said. “Happy for these kids and the coaching staff. It’s an awesome feeling.”
Carroll applied the early pressure, like it did in Friday’s semifinal win over Austin Westlake. The Dragons had multiple possessions deep, including in the 12th minute, but a try was booted out of bounds by Rockwall.
That turned into a Carroll corner, which was cleared by the Yellow Jackets.
Almost two minutes later and the Carroll offensive attack was at it again. Freshman Hannah Jordan gave it up to Fuller, who dribbled for 20 yards and drilled a 25-yarder into the upper left corner for a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute.
“People keep telling me I need to be more selfish,” Fuller said. “I took one chance and as soon as I beat that last defender, I said this is my goal, this is my chance. So I took it and it went in.”
Carroll upped the lead to 2-nil in the 22nd minute when another deep possession was taken by senior Hanna Khan, who passed to Fuller as she finished off from 10 yards to the near post.
Khan scored two goals against Westlake.
Leading 2-0 at intermission, the lead quickly grew to 4-0 in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Freshman Zoe Matthews lined up a free kick from 35 yards and drilled a low shot that beat the Rockwall keeper on the right post. Carroll starts six freshmen. Along with Matthews, Jordan and Fuller, Carroll also starts defenders Abby Mills and Parker Wilkerson, and keeper Olivia Geller.
“It’s super crazy,” Matthews said. “I finally got my body over the ball and it was just an amazing feeling. I’ve always dreamed of this moment and it’s finally here.”
The Carroll pressure was too much for Rockwall as the Yellow Jackets gave up a third goal to Fuller in the 50th minute for a 4-0 lead. Fuller finished off a Matthews assist just inside the box.
Fuller, who was voted state title game MVP, tied the girls state tournament record, for any class, with her three goals. That also included then Carroll senior Madi Drenowatz during the 2019 final.
“She came off yesterday a little bit frustrated,” Colvin said. “She was being doubled teamed in a state semifinal and I said, that’s all right, you’re going to get yours tomorrow. She definitely came out and showed what kind of player she is.”
Added Fuller, “I still haven’t realized it. It feels like a dream. It’s crazy.”
Drenowatz was also state title game MVP that season.
Fuller finishes with team-high 26 goals overall and 13 in the postseason.
“These girls have given me a new perspective on soccer. They’re the sweetest girls,” Fuller said. “As I build and grew as a player during this time with these girls, it’s built my game and made me see it in a different way, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
The Carroll defense was once again superb.
Rockwall came in averaging 3.6 goals per game and scored four times in Friday’s overtime win over Fort Bend Ridge Point. The Dragons end this playoff run with five straight clean sheets, six in seven games and a 25-1 goal differential.
They have yielded just one goal with nine shutouts in the last 10 games (38-1 ). Along with Geller in goal, Mills, Wilkerson and sophomores Kaylie Harris and Carly Walter make up the defense.
“Fortunately for us, our future looks pretty bright,” Colvin said.
“We’ll go enjoy this one, recoup and go after it next year.”
This story was originally published April 16, 2022 at 7:15 PM.