Southlake Carroll girls can’t solve Forney; Dragons fall short in state bid

The Forney girls soccer team is filled with underclassmen, but the young Jackrabbits were not at all intimidated by Southlake Carroll and its deep tradition.

Forney pressed Carroll from the first whistle and finally got the break it was looking for as the Jackrabbits slayed the previously unbeaten Dragons 1-0 in a Class 6A Division II state semifinal Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

It wasn’t quite a David vs. Goliath situation since the young Rabbits have much more in their arsenal than a slingshot and a rock. While Carroll (26-1-1) came into the match as the No. 1 team in Texas, according to MaxPreps, and No. 9 nationally, Forney (28-1-0) wasn’t far behind at No. 4 in the state and No. 25 in the country.

The Jackrabbits came out pressing and made it difficult for Carroll to even get the ball out of its own end without a quick Forney forward taking possession away. Forney led in shots in the first half 8 (3 on goal) to 6 (5) for Carroll, so the Dragons did wind up getting chances.

Carroll’s best chance in the first half came in the final minute on a corner kick from Audrey Anderson. The boot by Anderson was near perfect, finding Mariana Auns in front, who tried to head the ball into the goal.

Forney goalkeeper Cinnamon Hurst was able to bat the ball back out where Peyton Hayes was waiting. Hayes, who has signed with SMU, was able to take a quick shot, but the ball was cleared and the teams headed to halftime tied nil-nil.

The pressing finally paid off in the 48th minute when Forney sophomore Addison Staats picked the pocket of a Carroll player, raced 30 yards down the left side and threw a perfect cross to Kalani Brundage, who was all alone, 5 yards in front of the net.

Carroll keeper Sophie Adcock, who was superb in goal in the match, didn’t have a chance as Brundage buried it in the back of the net. Forney went into protect mode from that point, taking only two more shots the rest of the match.

“You’re dealing with their press, and it was really, really good and then the wind in the first half was also an issue for us,” said Carroll coach Matt Colvin, in his 26th season at the helm of the Dragons. “But in last 10 to 12 minutes of the first half we started to kind of find a groove. Then giving up that goal and then trying to chase the game, that’s not where we’ve been this year.”

Carroll had a nice try in the 62nd minute when a corner kick found Auns, surrounded in front of the goal. The freshman forward tried to maneuver for a shot, but just couldn’t shake the defenders enough to get off a clean look.

The Dragons really turned up the pressure in the final 13 minutes of the match, taking six shots with three being on goal. A handball by Forney in the 67th minute resulted in a free kick from the middle-right side from 20 yards out, but Hayes blasted the ball into the Jackrabbits’ wall.

A nice cross by Anderson in the 76th minute was just mishit by Macie Colvin and went wide left. In the 78th minute, a corner by Anderson bounced out to Macie Colvin, whose blast from 18 yards out was saved on a dive by Hurst to preserve the clean sheet.

“They did a fantastic job the last 20 minutes of just managing the game,” said Matt Colvin. “Getting numbers behind the ball and not giving us clear shots. I don’t think we had too many clear chances in the second half.”

Forney will head to Georgetown, where the Jackrabbits will face Kingwood (26-0-2) for the state championship at 4 p.m. Saturday at Birkelbach Field. Kingwood slipped past Dripping Springs 1-0 on Friday.

“The one thing that we talked about at the beginning of the year, the first thing, is that we have to believe that we can be champions,” Matt Colvin said of his squad. “And that’s what I was proud of this group for doing.

“All across the roster, every one of them thought that we would hoist the trophy at the end of the year. When you have belief like that, you’re going to have a good season.”

This story was originally published April 4, 2026 at 8:13 PM.